there was a boy... a boy who JUST wanted to be. He grew up in an angry, cold environment... a strict environment... where in him a beast was born. VERY small at first...
He became talented at many things, most notably a dance... a dance called -- bboying. Since he was a boy that just wanted to be it was his destiny to beCOME great at it. As his passion and talent grew he STARTED TO express his abilities thru poetry and lyrics. HE RECITED THESE WORDS to the music of which he danced. He became notorious, and amazed many.
His actions were pure, humble, helpful even... however, he was met with opposition, doubt, and those who believed his talents were not worthy of notoriety. So, as THEY REBUKED HIM, THE BEAST STARTED TO TAKE OVER. He pleaded that they pay attention to how they conducted themselves or the beast within him would BE UNLEASHED. They ignored him, and he retreated to the darknesS... Watching, waiting, hungry. and one day... the beast came out.
"the 'B' IS FOR BASS, AND EAST REPRESENTS THE STYLE and FLAVe OF HIPHOP. SO, IT'S EAST COAST BEATS WITH SOME BASS TO LET YA SYSTEM KNOCK. IT ALSO STANDS FOR BBOY FROM THE EAST -- OR NORTHEAST RATHER. lastly -- it's beast, REPRESENTin' RAW FRUSTRATION and reflection, PURGED THRU LYRICS AND REALNESS." FEATURING some major cats you might've heard of...
DOWNLOAD SOME MORE VICIOUS BBOY FLAVE FROM leon WITH THE MIXTAPE, 'BREAKFAST'.
THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN THE PREVIOUS SLIDES ARE NOT TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY, AND ARE BIASED SOLELY TO LEON THE PROFESSIONAL AND HIS AFFILIATES. ALTHOUGH THEY ARE ARGUABLY ALL ACCURATE, THEY DO NOT NUMERICALLY REFLECT ACTUAL WEIGHT, SIZE, AND PERCENTAGE COMPARISONS FACTUALLY. BBOYS STILL RUN THE WORLD, HOWEVER. THANKS.
it's kinda funny how things fall into place. i started out as a dancer, who aspired to rocking floors and becoming a bboy... and now I focus solely on rockin' mics. it's always been something I've wanted to do. always been a passion... and always something i saw myself doin'.
i started with a strong passion for hiphop music and hiphop culture. growing up in OTTAWA, ONTARIO IN canada allowed me to have a real diverse hiphop experience. as I grew up listening to a mainly east coast influence -- from rakim to outkast -- i developed a love for the beats, lyrics, and raw sense of experession that hiphop was, and still is. i wanted to express myself as a representation of this culture, and BECAUSE I always lovED the dance I gravitateD towards that.
in order to be an expressive dancer you have to have musicality -- which is your movements expressing what the listener is hearin'. it wasn't soon after that i learned lyrics to every hiphop track that hit my ears. IT WAS THEN THAT I STARTED TO realize that bein' an emcee was the next art that i wanted to add onto my platform. i would practice new bboy moves, listen to funk, breaks, soul, and hiphop til i couldn't keep my eyes open. I WOULD THEN write lyrics to satisfy MY CREATIVITY, INCLUDING SCENARIOs AND WORDS THAT i learned along the way. then i'd wake up, and do it again. it became my energy, it became my breath, how i walked, my fashion, my talk, my behavior -- it became who i am.
i met some incredible people when i moved from canada to dallas in 1998. they encouraged me to show my talents to not only represent my culture and our crew, diversesoulz, but make a check from doin' what you love. like anyone true to the culture i resisted, but you can never stop a good thing they say. before long i was touring the country bboyin' and battlin' in different states. i performed all across the us, on tv, in commercials, on stages large and small, and all that. i harvested all these experiences and in the meantime kept manifesting the craft of writin' and recitin', showin' and provin'. if you love something you never let it go, and i love hiphop, love bboyin', and love emceein'.
now, it's time to show and prove again. show the world that bboy culture is alive and well. show 'EM that bboys are some of the most talented people in our communities, and in the world -- IN AND OUTSIDE OF THE DANCE. show kids a solid role model that isn't focused on monetary wealth, but spiritual wealth. show kids that bein' amazing and talented at what you love will get you the paycheck you deserve. show the world that bboys are the beginning and end to this culture. and show them that i'm the perfect representation of all that.
i am leon. leon the professional. and i'm gonna show you why bboys run the world.
l.
hiphop music is an immature music, for the most part. i don't mean that in a bad way -- it's just a fact. when i look at the age i was when hiphop was the shit to me, i was young, impressionable, and didn't have fully formed thoughts about life, in general. and as a youthful, unlearned child you find yourself bothered, angry, and full of angst about everyone and everything. it's a state of mind that we all hold on to.
here's the news flash -- it doesn't need to be like that anymore.
i made this mixtape for several reasons. i pride myself on lyricism and expressing a quality of this craft that should be respected by anyone who is a fan of hiphop music. in the recent years it seems like hiphop culture has taken a backseat to 'rap' music. on top of that, rap music has been dumbed down to the max -- so much so, that sayin' anything smart was passed over. even fair criticizm of low quality efforts by anyone who claimed bein' a 'rapper', was deemed hatin'... it was a real, real, real wack time. adding to that was my surroundings -- the dirty south. a place where lax is the norm, and where a lotta cats respect hustle, paper, and showin' out, rather than content and talent. and, so sparks my own battle with my own beasts...
i put these songs together as an exploitation of my own immaturity and how i need to grow. like i said, hiphop is an angry and unrespected music half of the time -- so i channeled my own personal anger and insecurities into hiphop cuts that influenced who i am. in an effort to grow and become a more sophisticated emcee, i had to purge a lot of the anger and negativity that i kept holding on to and kept manifesting. it's all about the music and growth, and that can't be lost movin' forward. it can't be clouded. it can't ruin the movement.
of late, lyricism has been comin' back and rap music has embraced it. it also has diversified itself to the point that everyone can get their fix. whether you want it dumb as rocks or sophisticated and fresh -- it's all there. but, the other elements aren't bein' represented that well. the way you know a rappers name, should be the same way you know a dj, a graffitti artist -- or a bboy. enter, leon.
and, now is the perfect time to shed the beast that lurks in all of us -- the manifested anger, frustration, and insecurity that they want us to hold on to. it's time to continue the climb on this escalator and bring forth the music, the dance, the art, the positive message, and the energy of a culture that's ironically still growing up.
