To support EnterWILD’s worldview, Leone pulls from genres like hip-hop, jazz, and indie rock, but also draws from cultures and places you wouldn’t expect. The song “Across the Earth,” for example, samples Bulgarian folk choirs, while “Monster” samples Tuvan throat singing. (We had to look that up. Tuvan throat singing is a type of overtone singing that originates in Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, Tuva, and Siberia.) “War,” a lead single from the album, even features the University of Illinois Fighting Illini drumline.
Leone uses his songs as a platform to piece the world together for his listeners, to reach kids like him from small towns in America, but also kids from all walks of life. “I like to just understand where those styles of music come from and the energy and ideas that they represent so I can also represent those ideas in the things that I make,” he says.
His hard work is finally paying off. After performing a few intimate shows at SXSW in Austin, Texas, All Def Digital and the Fader asked him to play a show in Los Angeles with Travi$ Scott. His success is continuing to snowball: He’s playing his first Chicago headliner at Schubas on July 2nd, with a host of up-and-coming rappers and musicians, like Monster Mike, Smino, Kweku Collins, and GDNA. Leone’s aim is to bring the world to his audience on stage, too.
“I just try and experience as much as possible because I think that’s what makes the best music and that’s what makes life the most enjoyable… I don’t have the money to go everywhere but I can take you everywhere regardless.”