CHESAPEAKE, Va. — He's known as Liq from the Peake!
Malique Hawkins is a 20-year-old clean rapper from Chesapeake.
"[I'm] not using any explicit language, so that anybody... can all listen to my music and enjoy it," he said.
Three years ago, Hawkins received 15 college acceptance letters and was offered more than a million dollars in scholarships. Now, he's a senior at North Carolina A&T on a full-ride. And he's busy making music.
"I'm really into, like, lyricism," Hawkins said. "Definitely a lot of bars, a lot of wordplay, but also telling that story."
Back in 2017, Hawkins started making a difference.
He was a student at Grassfield High School when he launched an online clothing store called The Movement.
"No racism, suicide, bullying and violence," he explained. "Now, putting it on a shirt, putting it on something tangible so that when you're walking around, you can see it on somebody else's back, and that might change your day."
Hawkins now manages the store from college, where he co-founded a record label for student artists called 1891 Hot 10. He's also a motivational speaker and actor.
"A lot of TV shows, movies, commercials," he said. "Doing a lot of voiceover work."
Hawkins said he hopes to inspire others to set goals and reach them.
"Showing other people that look like me, or don't look like me, that are younger that they can do all of those things," he said. "Just finding something that you're passionate about or finding something that you just are curious and want to try, and just doing it."
Hawkins' music is available on many major music platforms. Just search 'Liq from the Peake'.
You can also follow Hawkins on Instagram.