Charting New Paths: An Interview with Oxford Rapper Leonidas

Leonidas, an Oxford-based recording artist, has made waves with his unique storytelling and soulful music. His new EP, Grown Apart, marks the first volume in a series, with Grown Up Art set to follow soon. This latest work extends the themes explored in his 2023 EP, Pray, Manifest, Breathe, which earned him a spot on the BBC Introducing Stage at Truck Festival and a performance at Maida Vale Studios for the BBC 1Xtra Rap Cypher.

Starting his journey in the music industry in 2008, Leonidas gained recognition with his 2018 single "Strange Things Part 1" and continued to receive support during the global pandemic. His response to the George Floyd tragedy and involvement with the BBC Berkshire Opinionated Panel highlighted his dedication to storytelling, earning him awards for his Black History Month short documentary.

In this interview, we delve into Leonidas's journey, his inspirations, and the creative process behind *Grown Apart*. Join us as we explore the evolving artistry of a rapper who continues to captivate audiences with his powerful lyrics and authentic sound.

1. Your new EP, "Grown Apart," is the first volume in a series, with "Grown Up Art" coming soon. Can you elaborate on the concept behind this series and how it extends from your previous EP "Pray, Manifest, Breathe"?

Grown Apart and Grown Up Art has been a concept I’ve had for a while, although originally it was just going to be Grown Up Art the Album. However, I felt with my current position as an independent artist and how people consume music these days, the project might not have the push I feel it deserved. 

Releasing the project as two EPs allows me to analyse the reach of the first project and then readjust the second to hopefully gain traction on both EPs later down the line. 

Grown Apart discusses how Leonidas has Grown Apart from 5 different scenarios captured in the the 5 songs:

1. As an artist - I believe my abilities, songwriting, lyricism and storytelling has gotten better

2. From other artists - I think I am starting to grow apart from the typical ambitions of the average artist in the UK, music is something close to my heart and has been a crutch throughout my life. I’ve even grown apart from my own shallow ambitions as a much younger artist.

3. Myself as an artist and as a civilian - I talk about how I’ve grown in both the musical and professional working environments and am starting to understand how to navigate situations a lot more thoroughly to achieve my goals; despite the setbacks and pitfalls along the way. 

4. My faith - from time to time I find myself growing apart from sanity, and feel how mental health affects me quite heavily. I use spiritual faith to ground me when times get tough - in my hardest moments I find I’ve sometimes drifted away from my faith and need to find life balance again.

5. Old acquaintances - growing apart from old friendships and toxic scenarios has been tough but rewarding. This has allowed me as an artist, and as a human to grow and develop. 

PRAY, MANIFEST, BREATHE was my first EP release and is itself a mantra which really describes how I was able to find life balance and handle adversity. 

The project discusses, faith, self-believe, manifestation and mental health. Ultimately, Grown Apart allowed me to extend some of those concepts and dig a lot deeper into the mind of Leonidas (and hopefully did so for the listeners too haha)

2. The track "The Stereo's Typical" addresses your growing disillusionment with the repetitive themes in mainstream music. How do you strive to differentiate your music and maintain authenticity in your storytelling?

I feel like for me I’ve had to eat a lot of humble pie with music. I think being from somewhere like Oxfordshire, which isn’t particularly known for its diversity in culture and especially Rap music; it’s been extremely tough to build up some traction.

I found in some of my earlier music I was using inspiration from popular music (of that time) in a literal sense and tried to recreate my spin on particular songs to hopefully catch some of the wave; unfortunately I didn’t find it worked out too well every time.

I took a sabbatical from music during the lockdown and it gave me the time to work on me and discover who the hell I was! Haha! 

It was like finding my voice all over again, but this time I was going to be unapologetically me! 

I think in this day and age, a lot of artists are forcing an image of themselves to fit a narrative in order to gain popularity and it feels like the term “Real Rap” is purely a sound or a “type beat”.

I would say what I’m putting out now is REAL RAP in its purest form, for the simple fact I am only talking about real situations that are happening in and around my life. I spent a lot of time listening to artists like Mike Skinner (The Streets), JME, Potter Payper, 50 Cent, and found that these artists were on completely different spectrums in terms of the subject matter and stories being told in their music; however their music is purely authentic to their lifestyle and actual experiences. 

From these artists I was able to see how a story could be told at any scale and create an impact, something as simple as not being able to get a job due to prejudice, ethnicity, and other external factors in Oxford and then being able to make that concept hit as hard as 50 Cent being shot 9 times is an art in itself haha. 

3. In "Insidious," you discuss the battle between faith and mental health. How has this personal struggle influenced your music and lyrical content, and what message do you hope to convey to listeners experiencing similar challenges?

I hope with my music and my message I will be able to break some ice to normalise (even more so) having these conversations around mental health and also support people in finding alternative options than creativity crushing prescription drugs; my vice has been faith.

I used to be someone who didn’t believe mental health, anxieties, depression, PTSD existed unless you were somebody who was detained in a mental health hospital. As a result I found that a lot of the people around me were ignorant to the fact, which made it extremely difficult to share, open up and articulate the issues I was going through. 

I felt like music at the time was my diary and I just made my diary rhyme. Insidious was written at the height of an episode and I was struggling to cope with life - at the time I reached out to professionals to support me and found that due to other issues I had, I wasn’t actually supposed to be prescribed with mental health drugs as this could further impact me in a different way haha sooo I had to find an outlet to release all of this built up tension, which in the song I am referring to it as some form of evil entity or demon within me. 

Knowing what all of this feels like, it hurts my heart to think of others who are dealing with such issues (or worse) without a voice, an outlet, without support, without people to share with or any practical vice to overcome. I really hope I am able to shine a light on the subject and help guide people through their journey with mental health, to hopefully find their light at the other end of the tunnel.

4. You've mentioned that "Certain Man" reflects on friendships that have soured due to differing views on your path to success. How do you navigate these personal challenges while staying true to your artistic vision and goals?

Maaan people BEEN hating! Hahaha! Nah, it’s a tough one because I’ve spent a lot of time supporting and trying to uplift people and Oxfords music scene by trying to build a community so that we have a foundation here and I feel as though it very really gets reciprocated. 

I find that the people I’d really hoped to be there for me, to pick me up when I’m at my lowest, or about to quit music, and tell me “KEEP GOING” but I’ve found some people ( I didn’t expect) have suggested to give up on my dreams and others have found comfort in my misery, and I’m REALLY NOT HERE FOR ANY OF THAT! Haha. 

My independent label and tagline in music is No Sympathy for Winners - because people want to see someone who looks like they’re doing too well, lose. 

It’s funny I did a test one day on Instagram, I posted something that went wrong with my day in like a cryptic message and then I posted a milestone of something I managed to achieve in music (much more positive), and more people popped up about the misfortunate situation either looking for more information about the thing that went wrong (being nosey) or casually popped up with laughing faces hahaha, so that’s why I keep my circle to a small triangle haha.

Certain Man is a funny one because it discusses about a thousand different people and scenarios of “friends” (frienemies) who have found comfort in my misfortune and have let me down. So I thought why not poke fun at it aaaand why not put it on an Afroswing riddim hahaha. 

5. Your journey in the music industry has been marked by significant achievements, including performing at Truck Festival and Maida Vale Studios. Looking back, what moments stand out as pivotal in your growth as an artist, and what can fans expect from you in the future?

Maaaan! For me I think the two mentioned were big moments for me but essentially have caused me the most anxiety. I find I now have set a bar for myself and anything that isn’t this or better feels like underachieving, which can be tough, especially during this promo run for Grown Apart. It has been painful with no Festivals, my show for Oxford United got cancelled and the usual BBC Introducing love has been far and few. But it’s cool for me I’m taking this all as a lesson, that “nothing is promised to anyone” so I’m Gucci. 

I feel like I’ve brushed shoulders with a successful music career so many times that it inspires and kills me at the same time! It’s like SURELY SOMETHING IS GONNA GIVE SOON! 

It has been amazing receiving film awards for a short documentary I released back in 2020 during the height of the pandemic, after the late George Floyd. It was nice to raise awareness and be a spokesperson for Oxford around Black History Month. 

I think I dropped (Grown Apart) a little late this year but I’m gonna drop again in the following few months with Grown Up Art, I’m about 2/3 through the writing process and I can honestly say this is the best writing I’ve ever done but you can expect something a lot different than usual Leonidas rappity-rap hahaha. I’ve really let my heart guide this project and I hope people will receive it the way it’s intended. 

Hopefully, if these videographers pull their thumbs out, I can get some visuals down but I’m really working on something that deserves to cover all its bases and reach the success intended for this project.

Oh yeah, and I’m gonna be in touch with some artists in the meantime, I’ve got another little something for the fans. But I won’t say too much. Artists get ya pens ready! 

Big up yaselves for interviewing me. I really appreciate the love and support! 

I’ve been Leonidas,

No Sympathy for Winners