Meet Chef Leek

I really started making music as just an outlet or a hobby type of thing. I played sports 90% of my childhood so all I ever really knew was a football and cleats. When it came time to hang things up I didn’t really know which direction I wanted to go with life. My boy Seldom I’m really close with, like family to be honest, got me to take music serious when he helped me see the potential in the art I was creating. I’d carry a big ass desktop with FL Studio on it, monitor, mouse, and midi keyboard to his crib and cook up all day and all night just producing different vibes. He’s an artist also so it always worked out on us building songs together and keeping motion. Before I really got into production though, I engineered at Capstone studios in Atlanta where Lil Nas X recorded his “Old Town Road” hit. As I went through a roller coaster of emotions, growth, and development, I gained more and more ground on the understanding and the ins and outs of the industry. Once I caught a couple placements around the city, from Lil Keed to Ayzha Nyree and Pooh Shiesty, I came onto the Radar Live label and management team owned by Mel-man here in Atlanta. Currently we are putting the puzzle pieces together and pushing the button on the marketing plan for my debut project “Diamonds in the Rough” featuring Pooh Shiesty, Alley Boy, Lil Keed and more, being released on every platform July 16th.

The journey has definitely been an obstacle course. I’d be lying if I said it was a one way road to stardom or a cake walk in the industry. Just to name a couple things because shit gets deep in the game, I’ve dealt with numerous “execs” or A&R’s claiming they can connect the dots quicker for me or selling false hope. I learned to see through the bullshit that gets baited to me and to take only my team’s advice because they’ve got the experience and proven loyalty that I can trust. None the less though, there’s more often than not, an opposing force to every action or any motion you have. That’s with anything in life though. You’ll always run into a mountain, but unless you plan on starting over you have to go up it and come down the other side. No matter what that mountain looks like, if you keep God first I have no doubts in my mind that me, you, or anyone else on Earth can overcome the adversity. Never forget also to watch those who try to belittle you or your motion. No one can put a price on your worth but you, and if you feel as if you’re not being respected then step away from that situation and continue growing as an artist, producer, entertainer, dancer, musician, fry cook, janitor, chauffeur etc. Just stay true to yourself.

So I’m a music producer/beatmaker. I use Native Instruments Maschine MK3 as my DAW and I make a lot of southern/dirty south hip-hop type of beats. I’m frequently known for my unusual but life like and big orchestra sounding beats. Many tracking engineers for different artist always explain it to me as them sounding “movie like” or just having a great mix down for my tracks. I’ve always felt as if beats with real sounding instruments, when paired with lyrical or captivating artists, make for great hits and songs that can hold its’s longevity and earn its’s place on a musical chart somewhere. Along with my eccentric sound selection, I keep artists and listeners enticed with my producer tag “Cook Up That Crack Leek”.

Success to me looks a lot like doing what you love and making money in your sleep. We all want to be comfortable and successful but for me to feel like I’ve reached a level of notability or success I need to be doing what I love so I’ll never work a day in my life. Not only that though; I’ve always wanted to put my great, great grandchildren through college with a solid foundation. Generational wealth has been a big part of why I got serious about music and started holding myself to a higher standard in the industry, my work ethic, and my self-integrity.