Stack$

Born in Washington DC and raised in Miami, Yannique Barker, p/k/a STACK$, was about to enter his 3rd year at the prestigious USC School of Film and Cinematography when he decided to postpone his registration to pursue his lifetime passion for music and rhyming full-time. Just one year later, this aspiring 20-year-old is preparing to release his debut album, CraZee and ConfuZed, this Spring. With cameos from some of today's hottest stars like Paul Wall, Trick Daddy, The Game, Fat Joe, Beenie Man, Trina, Diddy and Pharrell, the album also features tracks produced by the likes of Scott Storch, Pharrell Williams of the Neptunes, Red Spyda, and Stevie J.

Bangin' in the Miami clubs and on the local radio, STACK$'s debut single “MIA” features a cameo by Diddy, a current Miami resident. The video features STACK$ and Diddy livin' the high-life in the local hot-spots and on the beaches of Miami. As he rhymes, “STACK$, you know the name mean money; spell it right ma, I'll put some Cris in your tummy.” Shot by popular video director Gil Green (Lil Jon, Guerilla Black and Young Buck), the clip also features appearances by Timbaland, PitBull, and Victoria Silvstedt, the former Ms. Sweden and Maxim's 2002 Woman of the Year. But the most notable guest star in the video is his drop-top Rolls Royce Phantom convertible, complete with suicide doors. Custom-made for STACK$'s video, the Phantom “chop scene” is captured on film as the original top is removed to produce the one-of-a-kind, ultimate drop top…the only one in the world!!

How did this unknown rapper land a debut album with an all-star cast of guest MCs and producers? As STACK$ recalls, “It all really started when I met Scott Storch in Miami, who has since become a friend and a mentor to me. We vibed in the studio, dropped a couple of tracks, and the next thing I knew, he was executive producing my album. He brought incredible artists into my sessions. It was ill to have Twista, The Game, Busta, Trick and Diddy on my debut album. It was a crazeee experience for me, a new artist, to be working with veteran artists and producers whom I long admired. To have a bunch of platinum producers and multi-platinum artists throw down on your debut album is sick!!”

Despite his young age, STACK$ has long been serious about perfecting his craft. When he was 15, a kid at a party stepped to him on the mic, dissin' him in front of the entire crowd. As he recalls, "I had no idea how to respond to being dissed on the spot like that at that time. I just remember thinkin' 'there is no way he made that all up right now. So, I decided at that very moment to start working on my freestylin'. A lot of people are always testing me based on my appearance or their desire to test my street cred. But once I start rhymin', they have to acknowledge my talent.” As he says in “Sittin' In My Six Four” featuring an appearance by Rap's MVP, The Game, “one mic is all I need and you can close the show, let my pen bleed and dream and that's all she wrote.”

A year and a half after that defining party incident, STACK$ landed a spot in MTV's Freestyle Battles, but never got to compete on air due to their 18 and over age requirement. Still determined to make his name as an MC, STACK$ spent the next few years perfecting his flow, taking homemade CDs to local radio stations, and spittin' verses on mix tapes. When some of his joints caught the ear of record executives in 2004, STACK$ was quickly signed to SoBe Entertainment/Warner Brothers, and began working immediately on his album, CraZee and ConfuZed, in stores May 2006!

Armed with an arsenal of hot beats and compelling rhymes, STACK$ debut album features stand-out tracks like “Git It, Git It,” on which both STACK$ and Twista remind the rap world of their origins and their respective talents as MCs, and the infectious “I'm On” featuring Paul Wall, Pitbull, 8Ball & MJG which is sure to become a rap anthem. With a goal of being “the first MC to win a Grammy for Rapping and an Oscar for Directing,” this handsome, young MC is just getting started. Stay tuned…