Today we’d like to introduce you to Mario De Leon.
Hi Mario, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born in a little city called Apodaca in Monterrey, Mexico. I moved up to Texas with my mom a little bit after turning ten. Honestly, the only reason I’m here is truly because of my mother; without her, I don’t think I’d be where I am right now. She funded my clarinet classes back in middle school when she really didn’t have the money to do so but somehow always found a way. That’s where my love and passion for music started, I wasn’t the best, but I knew that I was hooked. I didn’t play in high school mostly because of my bad grades, but shortly after graduation, I bought my first Midi keyboard after saving up from my crappy little job and immediately fell in love with the production side of things. I always freestyle rapped with my friends in school, just like every other kid probably does, but none of my friends really took it seriously. I was the only one that kind of really ran with it; I’m still obsessed with music to this day.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Honestly, No. I always say you either have to be stupid or have a huge ego to want to be an artist; I think I humbly lie somewhere in the middle. A lot of times, It’s discouraging, though; it’s tough to get people to give you a chance, let alone get them to share your music. The biggest struggle is gaining the listener’s trust; once you get it though, It’s a beautiful thing.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m an artist, but I produce a lot of my own music. I used to say I was a producer, but to be honest, I think a producer is an artist and should be treated as such. I want to say I specialize in songwriting; it’s one of the things I pride myself on. I find a lot of inspiration in artists like James Blake, King Krule, and Puma Blue; their songwriting is otherworldly. I write with the intent to be quotable, to put it simply. But currently, I’m most proud of opening up for Xavier Wulf last year; that show was absolutely insane; the energy was crazy; I had never experienced anything like that before. I’ve also opened up for legends like Z-Ro, Mike Jones, and Trae the Truth, those were pretty incredible; I’m pretty proud of those moments right there. What sets me apart from others is my versatility. I think also being a producer kind of helps me unlock new ideas to blend genres together and kind of just do whatever I want to do without feeling like I don’t know how to or feeling like I have to wait on someone.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
To be honest, I’ve always kind of been the same; I was a pretty smart kid; I was really into soccer, playing it and watching it. A lot of my childhood memories are from when I lived in Mexico, so I feel like my experience is a bit unique. I remember having an obsession with taking toys apart and putting them back together when I was like 7 or 8. I had my own little screwdriver and everything; my mom hated it though because I would break a lot of stuff, but I also learned to fix a lot of stuff. I was a very curious kid and still am.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/bigmarstribe
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bigmxrs/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BigMarsTribe
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/bigmxrs
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCttv9ooFRmQmus1CEIjly-A
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/txtriberecords
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0NwiMXNQjRrRnHjaKEkrju?si=7Fjht-VlSMux9P0IKaKItg
Image Credits
Alexis Buell-Banfield
Adrian Valenzuela
Sergio Perez
