*October 19, 2018 is the day that love became available to you, you and you! Leon Timbo released his 2 volume new album, Invitation to Love, for the world to experience love and praise. If you haven’t heard of Leon, he is a multi-talented mix of r&b, funk, soul, gospel and dance who has been widely regarded as the protégé of legends like Tyrese Gibson, Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds and counts Bill Withers, James Taylor, Andre Crouch and Donny Hathaway among his influences and mentors.
Invitation to Love is Leon’s passion project which evolved into an ode to classic R&B where, in his words, love was about romance and friendship, in conjunction with the Invitation to Praise that came about by assembling a group of individuals that he mentors, to give thanks and praise to all that we are given and can be thankful for at any given time, but especially when at a time of loss; Leon’s pastor father recently passed and he is not only in his time of grieving, but also dealing with the divorce of his parents’ 36 year marriage collapse. What is love and how does it evolve over time?
Leon shows that love can be many things. He finds his mentees from all across the country as he has travelled for years and has come across talent, full of potential, but lacking the means, platform and resources to thrive, takes them under his wing and tries to level the playing field, so that they can truly aim to reach their full potentials without having to take any of the liabilities that come exposing your gift to the world and then chasing a creative lifestyle. Leon, in Invitation to Praise, has not only created the album, but he is also a producer, creator and creative writer on the project. But, why? Just to give back and know that he had a hand in seeing these new and up and coming artists grow, thrive and having a hand in giving back and reaching up.
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Love to Leon was inspired by his grandparents. Willie and Virginia began a relationship that was unconventional. It was supposed to be just a one night stand. What causes two people to nourish and develop something that perhaps should have been inconsequential, into something that you invest your life into? That fascinated Leon. It made him want to know what love is and how you water it, when is it too much, when does it hurt and when is it supposed to hurt? They became the example of love and it trickled down to his parents, but that divorce after so many years, fractured the belief in what love is, and more importantly, what love isn’t.
How do two pastors get divorced? When does love dial in and when does it dial out and what role does faith play into the equation? What is love? Love is water. Love is the purest sense of who we are in connection. It can easily be diluted and/or contaminated. But, even in its contamination, there is some substance of it there and that’s why we are still deceived by it. It’s love but it hurts. It’s love but it’s broken. It can be poisonous if it is contaminated the wrong way. Love and water are synonymous. Too much of it can take it out, not having a balance and it can take you out. Love is, nourishment. Love is satisfaction, but at the same time, it costs some discipline to maintain.
Love is patient. Love is long suffering. Love forgives. Love remembers, sometimes all we need to do is remember when things were the purest. Love does that. Love gives you permission to do that, to see that. Completing this album, took years because there were some experiences that took time to grow, to finish because it took time to develop as a man, as a being, as a person who loves, to see what that would look like. The album creatively, took a month to complete; but writing the album and articulating it, the processes, took years. Just like love, it can take a moment to fall, but a longer time to be and stay in love.
Leon invests in his music. His music demands an investment, by introspectively, pushing you to give the results that you hear about.
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