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 All clothing and accessories by **AMIRI**. Shameik Moore isn’t afraid of heights. the actor soars between buildings—dipping, dodging, then careening to the right, as the skyscrapers nearly lick the clouds above. He waves to his winged friends as his arm extends, shooting a web to guide his high-speed knifing through the city. Then, his voice belts out as his animated self, clad in red and blue, arrives on the scene to bust up crime and save all that is good. As the voice of Miles Morales, AKA Spider-Man, of 2018’s _Into the Spider-Verse_, Shameik Moore is more acquainted with flying than ever before, and lately, it’s given him a sharper vantage point for a further deep-dive into film, TV, and music. The 25-year-old actor, singer, rapper, and _Flaunt_ alum began his ascent in Atlanta, Georgia, where he found some of his first gigs, and continues to split time between there and NYC. “When I was 13,” he recalls, as he wanders into a personally chosen NYC spot, [Village Revival Records](https://www.instagram.com/villagerevivalrecordsnyc/), for his photo shoot, “I had booked that job, Tyler Perry’s _House of Payne_. But about the time I was 13 and a half, going on 14,” Moore continues on his early, and I mean early, budding career, “I was touring DeKalb County, middle schools and high schools, elementary schools. There’s videos of me on YouTube, like 13 years-old, being pulled off-stage, not because I was famous, but the presence—I am performing, I am singing, I am dancing, I am doing my thing.”   Little did Moore know that 2006 Tyler Perry gig would lead to the wealth of projects he is participating in today. Booking his first major television role in 2013’s Cartoon Network sketch comedy series _Incredible Crew_, Moore’s been seen in projects like 2015’s coming-of-age drama _Dope_ (for which he was nominated for a Critic’s Choice Movie Award), Netflix’s Baz Luhrman musical drama series, _The Get Down_, about the late 70s New York disco and hip hop scenes, and 2019’s _Wu-Tang: An American Saga_ on the formation of the the unequivocally legendary hip-hop clan. “I booked _Dope_, and the acting realm just pulled me. God is good, flow and let go,” Moore summarizes with a smile. And flow Moore did, most recently starring in the heist film _Cut Throat City_ from Wu-Tang Clan emissary RZA, bringing his recent roles full circle. When asked about his personal evolution as it relates to the continuous roles, he responds, “When I think about my evolution, it’s hard for me to really even see it. I would say the biggest evolving thing is my mentality—and what I am okay with—that digging within, getting in trouble, being quiet, being still, talking to God, reading books, saying ‘Hey, I am not focused on this anymore. I am not focused on that anymore. This is what my focus is.’” Indeed, the rising star—who concludes his shoot with a round on the heavy bag at NYC’s iconic boxing club, [Overthrow](https://www.instagram.com/overthrownewyork/), and stopping to drop off some goods at the boxing club’s plant-based [community fridge](https://www.instagram.com/overthrowcommunityfridge/)—continues to bounce focus from the ring, to music, to film. With teases of single drops over the years, most recently “Mhmm” in April of 2020, Moore eyes the forthcoming release of his debut album. “This was a long time coming,” he says, dangling the release in front of us like a piece of candy, “It’s like ‘Okay, we already have Usher, we already have Chris Brown, we already had Michael Jackson. Who is Shameik? Why would we want to listen to you? Why would we want to support you as a musician, as an artist, or as an actor?’” The proof is in the pudding, as they’ll often say, and Moore’s recipe is hard to beat. He’ll continue as Miles Morales in 2022’s sequel to _Into the Spider-Verse_, drop music with guest superstars, and hopefully never lose sight of that 13 year-old kid in Atlanta who had to be pulled off the stage, because his heart was just too big.  * * * Photographer: [Alvin Kean Wong](https://www.instagram.com/alvinkeanwong/) Stylist: [Morgan Vickery](https://www.instagram.com/morganvickery/) Flaunt Film DP & Editor: [Nick Sgaglione](https://www.instagram.com/n_sgags/) Locations: [Village Revival Records](https://www.instagram.com/villagerevivalrecordsnyc/) and [Overthrow Boxing Club](https://www.instagram.com/overthrownewyork/)