Five Questions with Leondro

According to the official line, Leondro was born in Toronto on August 16, 1988. He was the youngest of 3 children, raised in social housing in West End Toronto by a single mother who worked 3 jobs to support her children.

When Leondro was around 5 years old, he received a gift from his mother that forever changed his life. She gave him a type of Karaoke machine, that had a microphone. He loved it and so started his musical career.

Leondro took solace in music.

As a teen, Leondro bounced between 13 different schools during his childhood. He was constantly in trouble, hanging on the streets with the wrong crowds. Although there was constant turmoil at school, Leondro took solace in music. In the late 90’s Baby and Cash Money music was making a presence in the music world. Leondro felt a connection with it and for the first time in his life, he felt that it was ok to be different and express yourself for who you are.

As things became more difficult for Leondro, he got himself in a bit of trouble with the law after his 19th birthday. He did not plan on his life going down that road and decided that he was going to make a difference in this world and not be the stereotypical “project” kid that ends up in jail. His mom meant too much to him as she constantly was working to give Leondro and his siblings the best that she could.

His music style changed from dark and angry to upbeat and inspirational.

Leondro is a true inspiration for people that may not have the story book life, but want to rise above the challenges life has put in front of them. His song “Super Big” is a tribute to his mother and the power of positive attitudes and the success that life can grant you if you “roll your sleeves up and get to it”

As You See Yourself, Who Is Leondro?

Leondro is a Toronto Hip Hop artist through and through. I’ve lived in Toronto for a large chunk of my life so that’s a really big influence on the music that I record. It’s such a vast and diverse city so the ways that I can find inspiration are almost limitless. Being able to rap and sing allows me to experiment with many different genres of music and utilize unique elements from each of them to create my own sound.

Tell Us About Your Current Project?

Right now I’m really working on writing and recording new music. As I mentioned, Toronto is such a huge influence for me that just being here in the city gives me a lot of inspiration for new material. I’m working towards releasing another EP but as a lead up, I’ll be dropping some new singles along the way. I’ve been playing around with my sound a lot so people are going to be hearing a new side to Leondro with a little bit of the old thrown in too.

What’s On Your Bucket List To Accomplish As An Entertainer?

I have two really big points that I want to check off my bucket list. The first is something that most artists aspire to accomplish which is a sold out arena tour. I get such great energy from my fans already so a worldwide or even country-wide sold-out arena tour would allow me to showcase my passion to a very large number of people and to feel the love and support from them as well. The second thing would be to create a song with Jay Z and Toni Braxton. Both of them are such different artists and performers but they always have been and always will be a huge inspiration to me from a business and music standpoint. I already have some song ideas in mind so I’m just waiting on that phone call.

Will You Be Finishing Out 2017 On The Road Or What’s On Your Horizon For 2018?

I’m always working on new music and new ways to show my art to my fans so that’s going to be the focus for the rest of 2017 and into 2018. I have some really great songs recorded that will be released soon so I can’t wait to go on the road to showcase them and to show even more people who Leondro is.

What’s Been Your Craziest “Where They Do That At?” Or Wtf Moment Thus Far In Your Career?

My craziest WTF moment happened last year when I was on tour. We had just had an amazing performance in Montreal Quebec and we were pulled over on the side of the road with our hazard lights on trying to figure out directions to get back to the hotel. While we were pulled over, we were approached by the Montreal Police and subsequently harassed. We were persecuted without cause and relentlessly badgered in hopes to get some sort of reaction from us but we chose to not entertain them. During the 10 minute drive back to the hotel, we were pulled over two more times for no reason and the same level of unprofessionalism continued. Even though it’s been months since this happened and we were fortunate that nothing escalated to dangerous levels, it’s just crazy to think that this kind of thing still happens. It’s crazy to me that just because of the color of my skin, some people have certain prejudices that they still hold decades later. And it’s crazy to think that this happens to so many individuals who have done nothing to deserve that kind of treatment; that stereotypes make them suspect and assumptions are automatically made. I truly cannot wait for the day that this foolishness stops and we put an end to treating people a certain way because of color of their skin, race, gender, sexuality and really any point of difference that makes us all unique and special.

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