Upclose with LEO37
Canadian-Chinese hip-hop artist LEO37 is hitting Hong Kong again, despite a slightly messy gig last year.
HK Magazine: Why the name “LEO37”?
LEO: When you write it all in capitals, you can flip it around and it still says the same thing. I stumbled upon it one day because the last 3 numbers on my bank card are 037. I figure it’s a neat reflection of the way that no matter what direction I might be in, or however you might try to flip me, I’m just gonna keep doing my own thing, you’ll end up with a LEO37 product.
HK: What was your last gig in Hong Kong like?
LEO: It was a weird situation. The place we played in turned out to be an old-style pub for people who like to cover the Beach Boys and the Everly Brothers – no diss on either of those guys, it’s just not what we do. There were only two mics, and the PA was so old they didn’t even have an input/output. We basically had to play the CD off a portable DVD player and had to mic the portable speakers and hook those into the crappy loudspeakers while we rapped a capella to virtually no people. We ran around and jumped on tables, which didn’t really fit the vibe and ended up scaring all but two people away.
HK: You grew up playing jazz. How does that work its way into your current music?
LEO: I grew up playing drums and trumpet, and I’m still in a jazz combo called “The Worst Pop Band Ever,” an outfit out of Toronto with some of Canada’s heaviest players – I’m the weakest link in it, as a turntablist. As for LEO37, all the music on my recordings is still composed by either myself or co-composed with my brothers.
HK: What do you generally rap about?
LEO: I hate this question. I try to be honest with my music. I deal with day to day issues, stuff like not being able to make your rent, having a fight with your girlfriend, or being a foreigner in an odd country. It’s stuff that pertains to me. I don’t want to sound self-absorbed or narcissistic, although maybe I am.
HK: Unlike a lot of hip-hop, your stuff seems more geared towards putting a smile on people’s faces. Fair to say?
LEO: My second album, “Summer,” kinda got pocketed into that happy-fun rapper category like De La Soul’s first album, mostly because of the reggae influence. Actually, I think a lot of the lyrics on “Summer” aren’t as happy as the music is, but they definitely disguise and camouflage themselves within it. So I can understand why people might assume that, but I can tell you that the stuff before and definitely the stuff now is a far departure from “happy rapper.”