Teen throb Latimore lives dream with Scream Tour

Courtesy of It Is Done Communications

Jacob Latimore

While other 15-year-olds are preparing for homecoming or counting the weeks to spring break, Jacob Latimore is at a dance studio in his adopted hometown of Atlanta, Ga., polishing his moves. He's about to head out on the new leg of the Scream Tour, a national teen concert series headlined currently by Latimore's good friend and sometime music partner, fellow 15-year-old Diggy.

The tour, which also features up-and-coming youth acts OMG Girlz, Jawan Harris and TK-N-Cash, stops at the Orpheum theatre Saturday night.

"We're going to some of the same places and getting to see some of the same fans again to kind of give them a different show but with a lot more energy," says the home-schooled Latimore, who was with Scream last October at the DeSoto Civic Center (now known as the Landers Center) in Southaven, Miss. "The Scream Tour is actually the first big tour I've been on so far, and its great to be going out on it again.

"In the music business at a young age you're around a lot of grownups, so it's cool to be on tour with people my own age and have fun with them."

While Scream is his first grab at the kind of big-time music success enjoyed by his role models Usher and Michael Jackson, Latimore is no stranger to show business. He was born in Milwaukee, Wisc., where he spend most of his childhood. His father, Jacob Sr., is a member of a popular family gospel group, the Latimore Brothers, and in the late '90s was a part of the group LaMore, who were signed to MCA Records for a time.

"Singing and entertaining was always in my family," says Latimore, who drew early inspiration from a TV movie about Motown legends The Temptations as well as the '90s R&B group B2K, whose videos he used to imitate. "It was just all around me, and I loved doing it. When I turned around 9-years-old, that's when I really started taking it seriously and started recording my own music and doing more shows and just promoting myself as an artist."

Latimore made up for his "slow" start by scoring a hit with his very first song. In 2006 "Best Friend," written by Jacob Sr., was picked up by Radio Disney, which featured the youngster in its Incubator contest for new talent.

Two years later, following gigs opening for Chris Brown and B5, the Latimores cautiously moved to Atlanta so their only child could pursue his music career.

"I came to (my parents) and told them this is what I want to do," says Latimore of convincing his parents to allow him to follow his dream. "They were a little worried, but I think overall, since my father and uncle both had experience in the business, they thought they could look out for me and were supportive."

In 2007, the relocated Latimore made his first Billboard chart appearance with "Superstar," produced by Usher and Beyoncé favorite Rico Love. In 2010 he signed to RCA Records and released the single "Like 'Em All," which featured his fellow adolescent performer Diggy.

"I met Diggy in New York where I recorded one of his songs for his mixtape," says Latimore of meeting the son of Joseph "Rev. Run" Simmons of the pioneering rap group Run-D.M.C. "So when we recorded the single 'Like 'Em All,' I thought, 'We need a rapper on this.' So Diggy just kind of returned the favor."

Latimore is now working on his first full-length album, an effort that features contributions from Love, hit tunesmith Claude Kelly (Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson), and, perhaps not the first name one thinks of when one thinks of teen music, R. Kelly.

"I'm going for more of an R&B, pop-driven feel," says Latimore, allaying concerns about the album's direction. "The music, it's not like adult or too bubblegum-ish. It's more teenage edgy, but it's not inappropriate or anything."

In fact Latimore is acutely sensitive to portraying a positive image for his young fans. While working on his album, he has also been pursuing an acting career, focusing largely on family-friendly fare like "Tyler Perry's House of Payne" and "Reed Between the Lines," as well as developing his own BET sitcom, "Young Man On Campus." And he likes to lend his name to causes like Above the Influence's recent "Unwasted Weekend" campaign, where he challenged his fans to spend their down time in positive, constructive ways.

"My dad and uncles have given me a lot of advice, the best of which is go hard out there but keep a level head and be humble," says Latimore. "I will always be that way, especially toward the fans."

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The Scream Tour

6 p.m. Saturday at the Orpheum theatre, 203 S. Main St. Tickets: $42.50, available at the box office and through Ticketmaster. For more information, call (901) 525-3000 or visit orpheum-memphis.com.

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