Worcester’s Leon Legacy Sketches Biographical Tunes
Wednesday, April 03, 2013
Photo courtesy of Curwyn Henry
Worcester's very own resident rapper Leon Legacy writes lyrics and rhymes that tell a story, a story all his listeners can hopefully relate to in the end.
"I try to keep my music as real and honest as possible so if you listen to it it's almost like a biography. And seeing as there are so many people out there going through so many different things the hope is that somebody will find a song that they can identify with," says the hip hop artist.
He cites Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West, Common, and many other modern hip hop artists as influences, but he is not trying to imitate and certainly isn't in the industry just to get famous. There is in fact a very simple reason why he loves it.
"Making music is very therapeutic for me," he states. "It helps as a release to all the things I'm going through and experiencing, good and bad."
Moreover, it isn't just about one type of music. He experimented with many genres, including pop punk and even post hardcore, before settling on mainly hip hop. Even now, he doesn't like to label himself into a creative corner.
"I like to draw my ideas and inspiration from real life events that effect my own life, both directly and indirectly. A far as style goes I would consider myself a lyricist more than just a rapper because of the deep, meaningful lyrics I put into my songs. My process is pretty simple. I look for a beat from the producers I work with and try to find something that speaks to me and then I just write about whatever the beat draws out of me," the artist states of his writing method.
His love of music began to manifest inside him at a very young age. While growing up in Worcester, he tells of his father cutting his hair and popping in a VHS of Michael Jackson's "Moonwalker."
"In the introductory scene I saw him performing for massive crowds all over the world and I saw the effect his music had on people," he says of MJ's famous performance.
"They were screaming and crying and fainting from excitement and joy, and I remember turning around and looking at my dad and saying 'dad, this is what I want to do with my life.' And since then I wrote lyrics, freestyle rapped, and played several instruments including the saxophone, the bass and the guitar."
He joined his first rap group when he was 19 and the rest, as they say, is history.
His goal for the near future is lofty, but certainly attainable given the skills already exhibited by this talented musician.
"My biggest goal for the future is to be the first rap artist from Worcester to be signed onto a major label," he says
"This city has a lot of talent that goes unrecognized and I feel like we're just waiting on the first artist to make a major breakthrough to get the music industry to start paying us more attention."
Leon consistently performs with some of the best musical talent the city has to offer. This list includes, among others, Andre the Prophet, Danny Phantom, and Elijah Williamson. Venues he routinely plays at include Club Oasis, the Lucky Dog, and his favorite venue, The Raven.
Leon has already released a mix-tape. The Story of Kid Ikarus With Wax Wingz introduced Worcester's rap scene to his potential, and now the musician is looking to improve on his this debut outing. His next mix-tape, Polarity, is due out May 10th and promises to show a great amount of maturation in his sound. He is taking on a deeply personal topic, a brand new challenge that has only recently permeated his life.
"I found and solidified my sound as an artist and focused more on building solid songs that people can both relate to and enjoy. It also tells my story I from this past year being diagnosed with bipolar disorder and learning how to live with it," he remarks.
Struggle, especially in hip hop, is often the parent of creation. Leon Legacy hopes to show the truth of this statement with his new material, and given his track record chances are good that he'll succeed.
For more information on Leon Legacy and to hear his music please find him on Facebook or at datpiff.com.
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