Leroy is his own biggest critic, and it means no one can stop or bring him down

By: Rowan Flood

Initially sitting hood up and face down, Leroy Escobar was mesmerizingly quick to jump into action.

As we began to talk about music, he spoke with swift hand gestures, illuminated eyes and invigorating energy. His phone and earbuds lay beside him, proof that he had just been listening to something, and sure enough, partway through our conversation, he was playing me a song to help explain himself.

Escobar holds a deep passion for music and the musical community and takes his role within it seriously. His latest EP, Destiny Bond, uses the unique style of Spanglish— a combination of Spanish and English. Escobar can effortlessly switch between the two languages, allowing his music to “give people more flavours.” As a first-generation Canadian with a Latin American background, Spanglish is a way of recognizing, preserving and showcasing his roots.

Now that he’s finished school, a recent X University graduate, he plans on dropping more music and has another single coming on April 29. Escobar holds himself and his music to high standards, wanting to create authentic material that impacts his audience in a meaningful way. Focusing and pursuing music full-on is already underway for this talented yet humble musician when we spoke.

Can you walk me through from where you first started your musical journey to where you are today?

It was really early, it was super early. I always loved music, ever since I was a kid. When I really fell in love with music was when I first listened to hip-hop. The two biggest influences at that time were Kanye West and Nas. That was when I was maybe 4 or 5. When I first listened to Kanye West, I was like ‘wow, this is what I want to do.’ From there it stemmed into lots of different things. I started writing raps in like, first and second grade. Then what started happening was I got a thirst or a hunger for performing. I really started to enjoy the act of performing.

Where did you get that first taste of performing? Was there a certain moment?

I really can’t think of one, but my parents always used to tell me that ‘when you were small, you weren't scared to dance in front of people, you weren't scared to sing in front of people.’ I just loved what I was doing so much that I didn’t care about sharing it with other people. As I grew up I realized that when I’m on stage, when I’m performing, I feel like I’m in my element. I feel like that's where I belong. Seeing salsa jazz bands play, I would watch in awe when I was younger. Maybe it's my Cuban side, that has that flame to perform and give people a good time. That's ultimately what I love to do when it comes to performing.

What does music mean to you, personally? How is it significant?

It sounds cliche to say, but music has always been part of my life and it's gotten me through hard times, where maybe I didn't have someone to talk to. I didn't have someone there, but I had my favourite artist. It's like a catharsis. The good thing about music is that there is music built for every moment. There was a time when I was listening to binaural beats and things like that to help me sleep. There is music for every moment, every situation. It speaks to the human experience. We’re relating to each other. For me, it's been healing and I want to give that to other people. It's kind of like paying it forward.

Speaking of your music, what do you hope people get from listening to your music?

Lately, especially with my last EP, a lot of it has been in the first person. The reason is that I want people to sing it as if it was themselves. What's important to me is that everything that I write, everything I create is with the idea in mind that people will be repeating my lyrics, with the idea that people are going to sing along. I want to make sure that the things that they're saying are ultimately pushing them in the right direction. I talk a lot about embracing who you are, fulfilling your dreams and chasing the things you feel that you’re made for. For me, it took me a long time to realize that music is what I want to do in my life and I shouldn’t take shit from anybody that tells me otherwise. I feel like that's something that everybody needs, regardless of what it is that you’re doing.

Do you remember when you first felt 100 per cent certain that music is what you wanted to do?

I think definitely, I can remember this one time I went to this Cuban cultural event and there was a salsa band playing and they were just ripping it, they were just so amazing. I loved seeing how much fun they were having. Everyone was feeding off the energy and I loved that. I felt like I could be that. I wanted to be a source of joy for people. In that moment when I was there, it felt radiant. I remember smiling looking at them and I was like you know what, one day I’m going to do that. I’m going to be on stage and people are going to be enjoying it and having a good time.

Where do you see or hope music takes you? What’s your dream?

My ultimate dream, if I’m being honest with you, is I want to build a studio for myself. Where I can bring in talent, I can scout talent, I can help people like me currently get up off their feet and have a door open to the industry. I also really want to open a studio in Cuba. It's a lot harder for artists there to break out. But there's a huge pool of talent that's completely untapped. I feel like I can help bridge that gap, I’m in a very unique situation. I am Canadian but I’m also Cuban. Because of the political climate in Cuba, it's not easy for people to break out of there. Ultimately, my dream is to open doors for people. I want to support myself, but I want to be able to feed others too. I don’t really have aspirations of superstardom. I do dream of performing in stadiums, I would love that, but fame is not something I’m chasing. I want to impact people's lives and make good music. The focus has to be on the music.

When making music do you have a creative process you could walk me through?

I used to work really different, I’ve tweaked my workflow and soon I’m going to change it again. Different workflows suit different styles. I would listen to beats and write, on my phone, on the train, I would just be writing. Every word was super meticulous. I thought very deeply about content, I took my time writing. Whereas now, I’m incorporating more melodic aspects. Lyrics are still very important to me, but I’ve pivoted more to focus on melodies, flow and rhythm. I don't write like before, now I’m in the studio and I’m like ‘play me beats.’ I’ll eventually land on one and as I’m hearing it, I’m thinking about how I want to sound on it — not necessarily what I’m going to say. I think of the flow. I do a one-take recording. It's pretty funny if you were to sit in, it's just mumbling. I don't say anything, but I’m making sure the flow and the melody is on point. Then I tell them to play it back and I write words over it. It's like a blueprint.

Why is the focus more on sound now?

The easy answer is just because that's what people like. I feel like real hip-hop is not as pure as it once was. I’m not a purist in a sense where I think that everything that's new is bad because it's not what was there before. I can see the evolution. With artists like Travis and Kanye, they taught me that sound matters, how you sound matters. Rap is so about what you’re saying, it's so about the poetry. It's kind of a balance ‘cause when you prioritize melody, you can sacrifice some of the lyrical grit you get from original hip-hop music, but you can still convey really powerful messages with melodies and I think that's what I’m trying to work on.

So what's next for you with music?

I have big plans this year, this year is going to be really busy. I’m dropping singles every month for the rest of the year. I’m going to have a couple music videos coming out and performances. That's what I want to focus on a lot. I’ve been getting opportunities now to perform at people's events. Mostly what I’ve been doing is going to open mics, I meet other artists doing the same type of thing, potential collaborators. Putting my music in front of new ears.

What motivates you to keep pursuing music?

Money to me is a bonus. I want to support myself, but I’ve accepted that it's not going to come until the work is there first. The motivation is getting people to connect. It's the affirmation of ‘this is good music to people.’ Making good music, making good art that's going to live longer than me.

What do you think makes music timeless?

I don't think there's a set criteria, but ultimately it's the audience who is the one to decide. There is a saying ‘you can't call anything a classic unless it's been at least ten years.’ It speaks to how it can really captivate the true experience of whatever the goal of the song is. There's a lot of disposable music, for lack of a better word, that gets circulated. The reason why it's disposable, is because it deals with themes that are disposable. Themes of partying, themes of drinking, sex, whatever. It's not until that gets presented in a unique way or your concept is dealing with something that resonates with people so deeply.

What are some themes you’ve dealt with that aren't disposable?

If I’m going to be 100 per cent honest, I don't think I’ve made a timeless record yet. I don't think I’ve been close. But it's there, the seed is there and it's growing. It just takes time. I definitely try to do themes that are like that, but I need to articulate it more. The one track I’ll say that is the closest is called ”Light the Way,” off my EP. The reason why, is I feel that it's really honest. I talk about what it's like to feel the odds are against you, but you’re still determined to make it. I feel like… I don't know, you can probably tell I overanalyze myself a lot. Can I play it? Yeah, I’ll play it for you.

Yes, please.

In the pre-chorus, it says, ‘I remember times I was in the dark so I gave myself to the light.’ What I’m saying is there was a time in my life where I didn't feel I was worthy. When I’m saying I see the light, I’m saying I see the potential. I’m seeing what it could really be. It's showing me there is a path, there is a way for you here but you can’t be swerving off the path, you got to stick to this. It's taking that leap of faith, this is me. The light for me symbolizes greatness, it symbolizes what's the right thing to do. In this song, it's like ‘light the way for me, cause I’m about it, go ahead.’