Lamont Leak has spent his life surrounded by music.
On Detroit’s east side, he heard Donna Summer and Prince playing at his father’s house, R&B greats like Stephanie Mills and Angela Winbush at his mother’s and Motown classics from his uncle.
All of these influences helped shape Leak’s musical palette and developed his affinity for artistry, leading to jobs as a talent manager in college and eventually, a producer on the NBC singing competition show, “The Voice,” and to his latest chapter–co-owner of Rent Free Haus in Eastern Market.
“This is a place for those who love culture, Black music, who care about good coffee and community,” Leak said. “I would love for it to be…when you come to Detroit, you add this to your list.”
Located at 1347 E. Fisher Freeway, Leak describes his vision for the space as a coffee shop by day and listening bar at night. The business, co-owned by Everett Moore, opened last month, featuring Detroit artists DJ Jamea, DJ Sincerely and a listening event for Detroit native Sky Jetta in its inaugural weekend.
The cozy, intimate space consists of two sides–a bar area with a marble countertop and shelves stocked with Tito’s Vodka, Hennessey and Maker’s Mark; and an area with a mini DJ station and enough space for people to mingle and vibe along with the music. Vinyl records occupy both spaces of the cafe, with Leak showcasing albums from Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Luther Vandross and Sheefy McFly.
The coffee shop side of Rent Free is still in progress, with an opening date set for Oct. 20.
Rent Free is one of many projects for Leak. He’s spent the past four seasons as a casting producer for The Voice and has also been a producer for shows such as “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” and the Netflix music shows, “Building the Band” and “Hitmakers.”
One his first producing gigs was on the short-lived MTV show “Wonderland” in 2016, which was co-hosted by Detroit native Lizzo.
Leak said he was inspired to open Rent Free after seeing the success of some of his favorite coffee shops and community spaces in Detroit like Dose, Morningside Cafe and Moondog Cafe.
“I love what’s happening in this coffee world where there are these third spaces that are bringing people together and providing a space for people to share thoughts and creativity,” Leak said.
A city full of opportunity
Leak returned to Detroit in 2023 after being in Los Angeles for almost a decade. The cost of living was becoming more expensive in California and it was a way for him to be closer to the family he only saw a couple of times a year, he said.
Leak was also observing from afar all of the changes happening in Detroit, with new developments popping up downtown and in neighborhoods like East Village and West Village. He thought it was the right time to create the concept for Rent Free.
“You look at our grandparents, they moved to Detroit and Chicago and New York for better opportunities,” Leak said. “The opportunity is here.”
In 2024, Rent Free was awarded a $50,000 grant from Motor City Match, and has received some additional funding from the Detroit Development Fund, Invest Detroit and ProsperUs Detroit, Leak said. He declined to say how much those grants were.
“We started off with a smaller vision and it just grew, so we had to keep finding funding,” Leak said.
Leak first envisioned opening the business in East Village, but after those plans fell through, he began looking at Eastern Market. The owners of the Fisher Freeway building, Century Partners, saw the vision too, he said.
“It’s close to downtown, it’s an arts community,” Leak said of Eastern Market. “You have businesses like Midnight Temple, Detroit City Distillery, Marrow in the Market, to the legendary Cutter’s. Eastern Market has a lot of offerings that just make sense creatively.”
In addition to Moore, some of the people on the Rent Free team include general contractor Michael Reese, bar consultant Devin Arnold, sound designer Charles Murdoch and events manager Takeisha Pack.
Pack emailed Leak a couple of months ago about her interest in working at Rent Free, thinking she would become a host and pick up a shift here and there, she said. But Leak wanted Pack to have a bigger role in the business after seeing her resume. Pack has worked in Detroit’s hospitality industry for about 10 years, formerly serving as a general manager for Midtown restaurant Chartreuse and working at places like Grey Ghost and Marrow.
At Rent Free, Pack handles the booking for private events and said people are already showing interest.
“I’ve been in talks with Amber (Lewis) from Social N the City, she wants to have an event here,” Pack said. “So far, I’m just helping people and making sure that we’re able to provide the space and everything they need.”
While the space is a bar, the driving force is the music and that’s what Pack wants customers to get excited about.
“I’m excited for people to come in and have a different experience every time they come here,” she said. “This will be a good third space for folks when they’re getting off work or before they go to work.”
The road back to Detroit
Leak graduated from Cass Technical High School and moved to Nashville to attend HBCU Tennessee State University. He began producing talent shows on campus, which led to managing some of the artists.
“I was studying business management, so I knew entrepreneurship, I knew events,” Leak said. “It made me get more into learning about the music business and the industry.”
Leak moved to Atlanta and stayed down south for a couple of years, but realized if he wanted to have a career in the entertainment industry, he would have to move to Los Angeles, which he ultimately did in 2014.
“At some point, I got called for a PA (production assistant) job from a gig that I had done in Atlanta,” he said. “He hit me up to work at the (YouTube) Streamy Awards, and then it was the American Music Awards.”
Those opportunities eventually led Leak to becoming a casting producer on The Voice, where he’s responsible for booking the singers who appear on the show. That includes homegrown talent, such as Beth Griffith-Manley, who appeared on season 16 of The Voice in 2019. Leak also held auditions for the show at the Motown Museum in 2023.
Since the pandemic, Leak has mostly worked remotely, with a few in-person auditions in cities across the country. Having that flexibility was part of the reason why he moved back to Detroit.
Leak said The Voice has propelled his faith and showed him the value of being persistent. The show is like a metaphor for his life–even when you get rejected from a job opportunity, you have to get back up and try again.
“I’ve seen people who got rejected and then on their third, fourth, fifth try, they are top three on the show,” Leak said. “Imagine if they would have taken that rejection and said, ‘I’m not gonna do this.’ Then they would have never been able to see what’s on the other side of being persistent and continuing to get better at their craft.”
What’s next?
As Rent Free enters its first full month, Leak is focusing on building out programming for the listening bar. That includes Vinyl Nights on Wednesdays, a live music set called Haus Calls on Thursdays, showcasing local DJs on Rotation Fridays and more artists on Plastic Sofa Sundays.
Pack said she’s been enjoying working alongside Leak, noting the importance of working with Black ownership and someone who’s rooted in Detroit.
“Working in the hospitality industry, it’s predominantly white,” she said. “Watching Lamont and his co-owner Everett put all of this together with everything that they had is very inspiring. This is probably one of the best jobs I’ve ever had.”
Leak said he ultimately wants to create a place that’s beloved by Detroiters and even those outside of the city.
“I envision it being a staple for culture and music,” he said. “And I would love to see it get recognition outside of the city, so that at some point if we want to expand the brand, we can make this the flagship shop.”