BALTIMORE — At just 14 years-old, Errigh "Neek B" Laboo Jr. came up with an idea that would change his path in life forever.
Before his organization "Bmore Than Dance" started making noise in Baltimore and eventually the word came to know the name, he was just looking for a way to celebrate the city's club music culture.
"If you are a native of Baltimore City, you know the sound, because the sound is what gave you a childhood," LaBoo Jr. said. "The sound raised you. It was a part of those Saturday mornings, those Friday nights. [The music] your aunties, your uncles [and] everybody listened to."
After being taken under the wings of people like the late legendary DJ K-Swift, he was inspired.
"She used to take dancers that she knew had the skillset was top tier and showcase them at Super Sundays," he said.
From those experiences, he wanted to create his own way of showing appreciation to the sound that's become synonymous with his hometown. That's when he came up with a little dance competition he wanted to throw called the "King of Baltimore."
He reminisced with WMAR-2 News' Randall Newsome about what it felt like hosting this event for the first time.
"I’ll never take anything away from that night, however, I will say we could’ve been way more organized," he laughed.
Initially, he only wanted to there to be one competition to crown one "King" once and for all; especially after his first time putting on the event, but the audience had other ideas.
"It was literally less than 24 hours before people were talking about “2” and I'm jumping on MySpace like let me logout. This ain’t my business," he laughed "Let’s just say it’s probably the best decision I ever made."
11 competitions and 9 kings later, the competition is one of the most recognized competitions in the city pulling in some of the city's top talent.
"I wanted the platform to always showcase the best of the best. I didn’t want in between, I didn’t anything else because I knew that’s what the rest of the world needed to see to respect us," LaBoo Jr. said.
The competition gained notariety, not only in the city, but nationwide and be a part of the Netflix film "Dark City Beneath the Beat ." However, along the way he also noticed that young up and coming talent needed more guidance and more of a platform. That's why he created "Bmore Than Dance."
The nonprofit has become a hub for people serious about uplifiting Baltimore Club Culture and its legacy and using it to build a better life while investing into their futures.
Staying true to its name, Bmore Than Dance has created opportunities for people.
"I look at the club culture as being one of the most prolific saviors of Baltimore city youth," Laboo Jr. said.
"We created an ecosystem that is literally getting 2 to 300 citizens of Baltimore paid. They are doing this for a living. We started the school programs where some of them are now teachers."
Even though he's always looking for more ways to expand and elevate what they've been able to, his "Bridging The Gap" interview with WMAR-2 News gave him a chance to smell the flowers.
"Who would’ve thought?" he said. "We were kids having fun dancing at hole- in- the- walls and now we’re receiving calls from Red Bull’s International Dance to be on their stages."
Still, he will never be satisfied until the value of this culture and its origin story are undeniable.
We asked the question: If your life were a love letter to Baltimore Club, what would the final sentence be?
He paused for a minute and then answered:
"I don’t know if I ever sign that letter officially," he said. He went on to say he hopes there's never an ending to that story and that it lives on through the younger generation for them to carry the torch long after he's gone.
"I think their stories are gonna be the finishing touch to that letter."