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00:00105.9 KSFM. It's your big homie Kimbrough here with you. Hey, I got my guy here, Joe Leone. You
00:06may not know the name, but you will know it now. What's up, bro? Not much. I'm happy to be here in
00:11Detroit. We appreciate having you. So let's get into it. Yeah. How would you describe your music
00:20for someone who's never heard of you before? R&B. Okay. Yeah. Soul music. Okay. I was doing
00:27heavy on the B. Yeah. Heavy on the blues part of that R&B. Man. The thing about R&B is
00:34that one thing I love about is the stories and how, like you said, the soul that comes
00:40with it. Yes. Now I was doing a little research on you. You have like a background in like
00:46gospel music. Like your father was a preacher? He still is. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Active preacher.
00:50Okay. Now how has that part, you know, influenced your music? Well, I mean, some of the best
00:58musicians alive are coming from gospel music. And some of the best singers, I mean, on the
01:05planet are in gospel music still. And all my favorite R&B people had like a background in
01:11that kind of an upbringing. I don't know. There's just a different type of delivery when you have
01:15that spirit-led kind of energy in your training for how you sing a song. Definitely. Yeah. So,
01:25you know, you're doing a tour right now, Calling All Lovers, October London, Roe James and Tamar
01:31Braxton. Yeah. Like, how did that come about? How did that happen? I mean, it's amazing. The timing
01:37of stuff is, it feels almost divine, but it was really just great teamwork. I'm signed to
01:45Eric Benet's label. Okay. JBR Creative Group, him and Allison Ball. Allison Ball has been,
01:51she was my manager for the last like 11 years. Okay. And then Eric came to her because she signed
01:57and developed him back in the day at Warner Brothers. Yeah. And so he came to her and he was
02:02like, hey, I have this label venture. I want to, I want to, you know, sign and develop real talent
02:08again. I want to be, you know, on the development side because he felt like it was missing. Yeah.
02:13Um, and she's, he said, I only trust you to run, run a company like this. And she said,
02:19perfect. I have our first artist. And so I've been signed to them for about two years now
02:24at that label with, with Allison for obviously a much longer time. Um, and then we met this
02:29awesome, uh, agency called Dash Media. Okay. And, um, they're the ones putting this tour
02:34on with death row and everything. And so I was like, Hey, I'm, you know, I'm my bread
02:40and butter is going to be live performance. That's, that's who I am. It's like music, music
02:44in the, in the flesh, in the room. Um, so we need an agent. And he was like, well, I have
02:50this tour opportunity. Um, you think he could do it? And just like that, they threw me, threw
02:56me on as a fast opening slot at the top. And it's been amazing ever since.
03:01That's what I was going to ask you, like, what was your reaction when you heard the
03:04news? Uh, words that I can't say on radio. That's for sure.
03:10Man. So what's it, what's it like? What's it like being on the tour with them?
03:14I mean, it's amazing. The, the way that this team has kind of taken me in and, um, just,
03:19you know, decided that they were going to be supportive is, has been, um, kind of mind
03:24blowing. Cause that's not always the case in, in the industry. Some, you know, some people
03:27go on tour for three months with a group of people they hate. Okay. And,
03:31um, this whole crew didn't know me and they just saw the performance and heard the music
03:36and chose to believe in it. And, um, so it's been, it's been a really, really unique experience.
03:43And also these are some like R and B goats. I mean, Tamar Braxton, Roe James, I've been
03:48listening to Roe James since I was in high school, man. And then, um, October had this enormous
03:53come up and, um, he's, he is unbelievable vocalist. Yes. So it's been, um, I'm learning. I mean,
04:01the rate you learn at a tour like this, like there's nothing like a room full of a thousand
04:05people giving you feedback. You learn what you should and shouldn't do real fast. Yeah.
04:10So it's been a learning experience, but overall it's just been amazing to meet new fans and
04:15get out there. That's dope, man. I can only imagine. So how do you prepare, you know, for opening up for
04:24a big act like this? Like how do you, what is, what is your mental like for that?
04:28Well, to me, the, the, the root of the show should always be the music. Okay. And as an opening act,
04:33I have a very tight set up top. So it was, how can I make the most musical impact in that,
04:40in that quick little 15, 20 minutes, whatever it is up top. And, um, so I prepared by just getting
04:48all my instruments, figuring out a way to show all my tricks as fast as I can in a show that makes
04:54sense and doesn't feel rushed. Definitely. Um, so that was kind of the prep for this, but I mean,
05:00I've been prepping for this, for, for this kind of opportunity my whole life. So there's nothing
05:05wrong with that. Yeah. So your music often explores themes of like love and relationships. What inspires
05:12you to write about these topics? I mean, uh, I think, I think the thing that is always going to
05:18connect the most in music is genuine human emotions. Right now we're in an era of, you know,
05:24popping it in the club and a lot of, there's a lot of the, the, the conversation is not so much
05:32about emotions as much as it is about an experience. Okay. And if you look back over a history of like
05:37the best songs, songs that have, you know, long lasting power, they're about relationship.
05:43They're about what we feel, authenticity, um, vulnerability. And so to me, that's always the
05:50most exciting, um, and inspiring thing to try and make music about. Definitely. And so you draw
05:59these from personal experiences, I'm sure. Personal experiences. I mean, like I'll write songs about
06:03a stranger I met if the interaction inspired, uh, a fantasy or like, uh, you know, a world I could
06:09live in or an emotion that maybe didn't, doesn't apply to like me and them directly, but it's
06:15something that I could turn into a story about, about us, about, you know, interactions with each
06:22other. Cool. So I was getting to one of your songs, Discipline. How was the, how was the collaborative
06:30effort with that? I know you work with a DJ camper and a Feli the voice on that one. Yes. Yeah. How
06:35did that go? Those are my big bros, man. Me and Feli is a combination that, um, has been, it's like
06:41it, it happened on its own. You know, we just, we just linked and immediately locked in. Um, Feli's
06:47one of the most talented songwriters alive right now. Definitely. Um, that dude is, that is a name
06:53that is, is going to go down in music history. I promise you that. That's facts. Um, it's, it's
06:59kind of amazing to watch him work. Like I am a songwriter. I'm a producer. I'm a musician. I'm a
07:04singer. I do all the things, but at this point in my career, it's been more beneficial to step into
07:10more of a curation role and kind of just be directing, uh, the talent that I have access to.
07:19Okay. Cause even if Feli and I wrote the same song, having Feli be, be a co-writer on it
07:24or be the lead writer on it that brings something else to the, to the music. You know what I
07:29mean? Having camper be the producer. I mean, he's another name that's going to go down in
07:34history as one of the greatest producers to me. Yeah. Um, and to a lot of people probably
07:40I'm definitely familiar, familiar with his work for sure. Right. Right. So collabing with
07:45those guys, even like I said, even if we ended up with the same song at the end, it doesn't
07:49do the same thing for, for what this music can reach as if I was writing with them. So
07:55with Feli, um, I kind of come in with concepts and the, and the tracks that I want them to
08:01go on. So like for discipline, for example, that was a conversation about, um, you know,
08:07having bad discipline. Yeah. Uh, when it comes to who you end up hooking up with or who you
08:13end up trying to date, you know, sometimes it's too close to home. Sometimes it's a friend's
08:17sister or, you know what I mean? We've all been in scenarios like this. Trust me. I have,
08:22and I have. Talk about it, Kim bro. Talk about it. No, we can't talk about it because I don't
08:30want nobody to key my car. Exactly. Exactly. Bad discipline. So, so that was kind of the conversation.
08:36And then I pronounced the word discipline with, um, a little different kind of a, a trick.
08:43You'll have to listen to the record in here. We can't play with it on radio. But, um, and
08:48Feli was like, that's the craziest thing I ever heard. You need to let me write that
08:51song. And then, so I, we went in with Camper. I found one of his beats. I was like, ah, this
08:57one got, this one has the right pocket, the right energy for a song like this. I definitely
09:01love the beat for sure. Yes. And, uh, yeah, the rest was, the rest was history. Wow.
09:06So you just dropped the new single. Where have you been? Yesterday. Yesterday. Oh, wait,
09:12it's today. No, today. We have one night. Yeah. Drop that midnight. Right. Man. I don't
09:16know where I am on tour. It's all just one big day with a couple of naps. No, for real
09:20because I didn't, I didn't, I do have a side job. So yeah, I didn't get off my other job
09:24until three o'clock this morning. So yeah, I don't know what today is either. I just know
09:27I'm here. It's the 23rd and I'm here and I'm happy to be here. Right. We appreciate you,
09:31man. So can you tell us, uh, more about the story behind that song? The where have you
09:38been? Yeah. Where have you been is, um, it's more, more on the bluesy side of my R and B
09:44sound. And, um, that one is just about, you know, finding, I haven't found this yet, but
09:52it's, like I said, I write from any perspective. We'll, we'll talk about things from any kind
09:57of any side of the fence. Um, it's about finding that love or that partnership that
10:03feels so perfect and so amazing. You're almost pissed off that you wasted time doing other
10:09stuff. Yeah. And, um, it's like, I wish I, I wish I fell in love in 99. Like, I wish I
10:14found you when we were kids. So I never even thought about someone else. Man. I, um, always
10:20tell people, cause I have, uh, uh, a love for like West coast music, like just, just
10:27rap and everything. And I always say it, like, I think in another life I was born in
10:32like, like the late 80s, like early eighties and were like raised on the West coast. Like
10:37just, that's just my love for the music over there, man. Like I just love the sound. Yeah.
10:42And West coast definitely has its own, uh, its own vibe going for real. I mean, between the
10:48R and B side, the rap side, like it's definitely moving. So now what are your goals for your,
10:57your music career? I mean, you're, you're open up, you know, for October, London, everything.
11:01Where do you see yourself like next what? Five years or so next five years. I feel like I'm
11:06on a date right now. So where do you see yourself in five years? Like, dang, uh, uh, you know,
11:12we get married. I don't know if it goes well, right?
11:18Nah, I mean, it's tough. It's tough to kind of predict where you could be. You can have
11:26dreams and goals and things you're pushing towards. But, um, this, this career is truly
11:31up to the audience. A lot of it is, um, you know, you can throw as much money as you want
11:38at bad music. It's not going to stay for five years. Um, it'll pop, it'll, it'll be on the
11:45charts. It'll be on whatever you paid for. Um, but it's tough to kind of predict. So as far as
11:51the trajectory has been going for me, it's been better than what I could have anticipated. Like
11:56these opportunities are, are amazing. And, uh, the response from the fans has been overwhelming.
12:01Definitely. They got me on all, I was just on my way here looking at all the playlists
12:05that Pandora and Tidal and, um, Spotify, they're just picking it up. They're picking up the music
12:11and put me on the cover for today. It was crazy. Um, so as far as where I, I could see myself
12:18definitely headlining. Okay. Uh, hopefully venues just like this, hopefully a tour just
12:23like the one I'm on, but it's, it's not October nights. It's, uh, Leone nights or something
12:28like that. You know, you never know because like, and it's funny, like, you know, you
12:32mentioned like, you know, the venue, see the thing about the venue as you're at tonight,
12:37the Aretha Shane park, however you want to call it, it's an iconic, iconic Detroit staple.
12:43I mean, I didn't get to check much of it. We just pulled up and I changed in the bus and
12:46came here. But, um, the, even like the, the waterfront property is crazy. The boats could
12:53pull up from behind you and watch the show. It's amazing.
12:56Right. You're going to love it tonight. Other than the outside part, everything else looks
13:00awesome. But even like the outside part is just the way the sound just bounces off, you
13:07know, of the top and everything like that. I've never done an amphitheater. Okay. So
13:11this is my first outside venue of this size other than like singing in some choirs and BGVs
13:16at the Hollywood Bowl type. I think, I think you're going to love it. I think so too. I really
13:21do. And especially with this being the 40th anniversary of the Aretha.
13:26Really?
13:26Yeah. This is the 40th anniversary.
13:28Yeah. You guys are kicking off the 40th anniversary.
13:31That's amazing.
13:32Yeah. So.
13:33How exciting.
13:34Man. I think I'll be there.
13:36Iconic. You better be. I hope so.
13:38I will be there. I will be there.
13:39You got to hear these records live.
13:41I do. I love, that's one thing I love about live music. So are there anyone, is there
13:48anyone, you know, you would want to collaborate with in the future?
13:52So many. I mean, my favorite part of music is the collaboration. I've been making music
13:57with just my brain for a long time. So working with new people, it's, it's, you get new ideas,
14:03you get new lyrics, melodies, chords. It's so exciting. I'm working on a collab right now
14:09that I can't talk about.
14:11Okay.
14:12It's very exciting though.
14:13Okay.
14:14Some really cool stuff. But as far as, I would, I would shout out, you shout out Coco
14:19Jones. That would be an amazing collab.
14:21Yeah.
14:22The R&B girls are killing it right now. The girls got it on lock.
14:26Always. Always for sure.
14:28We got some new, some new dudes coming out. Jay Brown.
14:31He's from Detroit.
14:33Yeah.
14:33He's from Detroit.
14:34Jay Brown. John Brown. Yes.
14:36I didn't know that.
14:36Yes. I remember. So before I got into radio,
14:39I used to promote parties and one of the first parties I ever promoted was John Brown.
14:46Wow.
14:47I can't think of the name of the single, but it was like way back when I'm talking like,
14:51you know, his song, uh, true love. That's out.
14:53True love is we're playing that right now.
14:55I wrote that.
14:56Get out of here.
14:57All those BTVs are me.
14:59Get out of here.
15:00Swear to God.
15:00Eight years ago out, out in Philly with, um, Carvin Higgins. He's a legendary, uh,
15:05neo soul songwriter, producer, Carvin and Ivan did all the music soul childs. Um, you know,
15:11like love and music. I just want to sing all that stuff. They did stuff with Jill Scott. Um,
15:16Roots, D'Angelo, that whole touch of jazz, neo soul movement out of North Philly was,
15:21was, um, Carvin, Carvin and Ivan were a huge part of that writing.
15:26Get out of here. My mind is blown.
15:28Yeah.
15:29Eight years ago. I was like 21 when we did that record.
15:32Man, my mind is blown. Cause I like, every time that song comes on, on air, like, like
15:39we hear music all the time, like I just have to like sit there. I'll just let it like play
15:44out. You know what I'm saying? Like usually I'll just like, like I said, like we're in
15:48the studio, like we're working on other stuff, right? Like in between songs, but like I'll
15:52actually sit there.
15:52I've seen you guys are, are basically music producers in your own right. I've seen how you
15:57guys whip these audios up in between, in between calls and interviews and stuff. It's pretty
16:01amazing. It's a, it's an art. It is a craft. It's a skillset for sure.
16:07It's definitely an art. And I try not to let the pressure, uh, get like show on my face
16:13because it's a lot where you have to chop down and three minute phone call in the commercial
16:18break in a commercial break. I've seen it. Yeah. Yeah. So it's, um, you guys are impressive
16:23with that, but yeah, that's a, that's a record we wrote about eight years ago and it's amazing
16:28how good music can be timeless. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Like just last forever.
16:34And Jay Brown sang his face off on that record. So it's in great hands. We're actually number
16:40six on the R and B charts for billboard right now. It's fun because I've been, I've been
16:45neck and neck with Eric Benet who I'm signed to for six, seventh, eighth on that chart.
16:51And we just jumped over him and I was like,
16:53when you talk to Eric, please give him a shout out for me. Um, I was watching his, um,
17:01front porch, the front porch, killed it, dude, it was fire. And I, this, you know, that's the,
17:08the, the part of the, about music that I love like that, that raw, just out there,
17:15like just innovative way of getting your music out there. Yeah. You know what I'm saying?
17:21These platforms are amazing. These, uh, colors on the, on the radar, front porch. Um, I just
17:28collabed with one called block work TV. Okay. Out of Atlanta and New York. Um, I think that's
17:34coming out. They said it takes about two weeks and I did it. Atlanta was like a week ago, I think.
17:40Okay. So should be dropping any, any time. Okay. I'm definitely looking forward to that.
17:44We did discipline. Okay. So you just did the one song or? Yeah, just the one. Okay. I thought
17:50they had like, we'll have you like, no, do like multiple songs. Like it depends on the platform.
17:54So that, that, uh, front porch one, I think they do a set on the radar colors and block work and the
18:01other, other pages like this usually just do like a, a single. Okay. That's cool. Yeah. So I guess,
18:09well, one of my other questions, my personal question, I would say, what's one thing you've
18:14learned about yourself, um, or the music industry while being on this tour? Wow.
18:22Those are separate questions, myself and the music industry. Yeah. Or myself within the music
18:26industry. Yourself within the music industry on the tour. Yeah. You know, I've, I've, I mean,
18:34this is something I've known, but it's just kind of, let's say being, been reiterated through this
18:39experience on tour. Cause I've been doing music for a long time. I'm from Los Angeles. I always
18:45tell people I'm, I'm Bane. I was born in the darkness. I've been doing it for a long time.
18:50So there was a certain level of, um, gratitude for the opportunity that when I see people don't
18:59have that, it leads to a very jaded mindset and a very like fickle, just, you know, I don't know.
19:08It just, when people operate within this industry without gratitude for the fact that we're just
19:13making art. Like I worked construction. I've dug holes in the Los Angeles sun for summers. You know
19:20what I mean? That's hard work. Um, I won't get into the details of how hard that, that is, but anybody
19:28out there that's done manual labor knows I'm still forklift certified. But so when you, when you don't
19:36have that understanding of like, of, of the working world and like what it takes to make ends meet
19:43doing jobs like that, I think people can get a little bit, um, removed from reality when they
19:51spend too much time in this industry mindset. So for me, it's just been a matter of holding on to
19:57that, that gratitude mindset that I wake up with every day. And, uh, it's really, that's my religion
20:03is just gratitude and grace. Um, cause you know, we're all just people trying to make ends meet
20:09at the end of the day. Everybody's just trying to create the best product they can, the best show,
20:14the best record, whatever it might be. And we're all genuinely lucky to be doing this as a career.
20:20So to me that I think the most important thing I've been, uh, you know, just reminded of on this tour
20:26is operate from that space and all the difficulties, the shows being moved, the interviews being canceled,
20:33the, all the, you know, the chaos that comes with it is something that I should be grateful is my
20:39problem. Definitely. Cause I'm a firm believer in, um, you know, everything happens for a reason
20:46and whether we know it or not, you know what I'm saying? And you can only control what you can't
20:53control yourself. Truly. Yeah. And sometimes you can't even do that. You know what I'm saying?
20:58The only thing you could try to control is your response and your, your management of it. Yep.
21:04Definitely. So I feel that, I feel that for sure, man. So tonight calling our lovers tour.
21:13Yep. And you're, what time, what time do you go on? I'm the first act. First act.
21:17Show starts at seven 30. Okay. So we should probably have you, I start at seven 30. You
21:24start at seven 30 at seven 30. Okay. So I mean, doors are probably at seven. Yep. Seven or maybe
21:31six 30. I don't sound like six 30. Okay. Cause like I say, I know this is the first show of the
21:37season. I know that line is going to be long down at water, man. It's going to be crazy. It's
21:42going to be a good night, man. Oh yeah. We're ready. The show is amazing between me,
21:46road. Tamar in October. You are in for a night of some, some amazing, amazing music. The bands
21:52are killing. The music is all good. The artists are cool people. So it's, it's a show you want
21:59to make it to, if you can. Oh no, we're going to make it to it. We're going to make it to
22:02it. Joe Leone, man. I appreciate you stopping by, bro. Oh, I'm so grateful to be here.
22:07Appreciate you. Thank you, sir.