Revere rapper driven to succeed

REVERE – It was Tarik Bakkal?s birthday four years ago that inspired him to start rapping. “I really had nothing else to do,” he told the Daily Item during a recent interview at the Revere Public Library. “I thought it would be a fun hobby.” However, rapping soon turned from hobby into Bakkal?s passion. His stage name is Yung T. “It was around 2009 when I started to take it more seriously. I wasn?t just rapping for the fun anymore,” the Revere teen said. “I was rapping about more serious things like life and everything around me.”It was also around that time when the 19-year-old met Salvador Flores through a mutual friend. Bakkal soon found out that Flores also had a passion for music. Thus, began the partnership of Bakkal the artist and Flores acting as his manager.?I thought it would be great if we could get this little group together,” Bakkal said. “When we are together, we are better. We think stronger together.” While the group may only be teenagers, they take their art very seriously. “I see how motivated he is and that makes me motivated,” Flores said. “We motivate each other.”Bakkal said life is what inspires his lyrics. “Friends, family and the things we go through, that is what motivates me,” he said. “I try to make it so everyone can relate to it.” The young rapper credits Revere for making him the artist that he is.?Revere has made me such a confident artist,” Bakkal said. “They have given me so much love and support. It makes me want to take music to a whole new level. It is that kind of love that makes me want to take on the world.” Bakkal was born in Casablanca and grew up in Morocco.?I think I?m the only Moroccan rapper from Boston,” he joked. He would later move to the Bronx, when he was a young teen. His mother decided to move to Revere when his older brother started getting into trouble. “If I didn?t move to Revere, I don?t think I would have fallen in love with music,” Bakkal said.When his family moved to the city, his father got a job and began making more money for the family. He bought Bakkal his first computer, which he credits for exposing him to the world of music and hip hop.?I was curious so I would look up songs all day,” Bakkal said. “I would start memorizing the lyrics since I had nothing to do and no friends yet. Then, one day I decided, ?why not do it myself?? ” The support Bakkal receives from Revere is not something he takes lightly.?I want people to know I?m from Revere and how proud I am of that,” he said. He already has quite a fan base. He has 3,891 subscribers on his YouTube channel and gets 800 to 1,000 views a day. “We always say promote, promote, promote,” Flores said. “That means Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.” “In the beginning, we would get 600 hits and I thought that was cool,” Bakkal recalls. The videos Bakkal puts on YouTube are done with precision and care. “We don?t just put whatever on YouTube,” Bakkal said. “There is a lot thought that goes into it.” This year, he is hoping to start performing more. When he first started performing, he performed at Sweet 16 birthday bashes.?The first few performances were terrifying,” Flores said. Since then, he has performed at Middle East in Boston and Columbia University. “The Middle East is great. If you have no fans in the room, everyone stills supports you,” Bakkal said. Bakkal has high hopes for the future, “I want to put my name everywhere and conquer the state,” he said. “By the end of the year, I want everyone to know who that new kid is.” He never sees a life without music in it. “I?m addicted to the love I get from the fans. I feel empty without it,” he said. “If I stopped putting out songs, I wouldn?t be a normal person.”Sara Brown can be reached at [email protected].