Check Out Lee Mo’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lee Mo.

Hi Lee, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My story started in Baltimore, Maryland, where I was born and raised. Due to my birth mother’s drug use, I was put into foster care as a newborn baby, and that sole event changed the entire trajectory of my life. I was adopted at 15 months old, after a short stint in a neglectful foster home. I clung to music as an infant. My big brother says he put his headphones on my little baby ears, and that is the earliest knowledge of my introduction to music. It became my passion and my saving grace as I maneuvered the world in search of my true identity. From church to school to home, performance was embedded into my regular life. While I was building my singing abilities publicly, I was building my musicianship privately. The piano and electric keyboard was my closest friend from an early age, and I began to develop an emotional connection with the music I was creating intuitively. As I progressed in academics, my music skills progressed as well, and I was recognized as early as 5th grade with standing ovations for my solos in school plays and programs. In high school, I deepened my love for music, playing trumpet in the marching band and singing in the choir for all 4 years. Both band and choir were highly demanding, and that prepared me for a life of touring and performing. In college, I studied Vocal Jazz Performance at Temple University, and there I sharpened my skills as an improviser, arranger, music director, and songwriter. Throughout all of my musical studies and experiences, my path was being shaped step-by-step, many times by faith.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My road has not been the smoothest. As mentioned, my upbringing in foster care and as an adoptee posed many life challenges for me. I had to redefine my identity, acknowledge my traumas, and still see a better future beyond my circumstances and surroundings. School gave me the information, tools, and exposure to alternatives to a different life outside of what I could immediately see. I had to step out into the world and leave my home at 17, not knowing what was in front of me. But I was determined to get all that life has for me. I had to build a new community of support to get to the next level of my life, and many of those same people are still by my side today.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Above all, I specialize in resonance. That’s “the quality in a sound of being deep, full, and reverberating.” I bring resonance to my sound and to my music. It reverberates from a real place within, and because I’ve sat with my pain and my emotions, I can fuse that into healing music for myself and others. I sing from a pure place, and I do not hold back. My practice and honing of my craft enables me to reach a deeper place emotionally and spiritually with my audience, and the feeling felt is undeniable. Technically, I possess a wide vocal range, and I employ the low, middle, and high ends of my voice to express my musicality and interpretation. I also have a keen ear, and I can harmonize and blend with any group of singers or musicians I am blessed to collaborate with. My creative edge allows endless ideas for improvisation and arrangements, and I believe that is why I’m held in a certain regard among my peers.
Some artists I’ve worked with/for:
Vertical Current
Eric Roberson
Doja Cat
Cory Henry
Snoh Aalegra
Bobby Brown
Lizzo
Bruno Mars
6LACK
Childish Gambino
London On Da Track

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
I would love to acknowledge my friend Christopher Michael Stevens, trumpet player and bandleader for Vertical Current. He pushed me at Temple University to audition for the jazz program, and he brought me in and made me a member of his own band. His support to this day has really helped me and shaped me as a person and a musician. I would also like to mention Joanna Pascale, who mentored me at Temple. Many of our lessons included life advice and interpreting the lyrics, which meant getting real and facing the music. Mike Boone, whose zany approach to music resonated with me more than he’d ever know, showed me that it was okay to be “weird.” The connection with the music was transcendental, and sometimes called for spontaneity and big “BOOMs.” Linda Hall, Terrence Gallop, and James Childs, my high school directors, caught me at the perfect time and instilled in me discipline, which I still pull from today. Jonathan Wallace and Joy Lucas, some of my earliest musical influences, demonstrated passion and devotion to the *source* of the gift, and I would be remiss to ever forget. I would also like to shoutout Steve Epting, who put me right into the fold of work since I’ve moved to LA. He is an amazing vocal contractor and arranger, and I am so appreciative of his believing in me and extending many many opportunities my way, showing that integrity and generosity are indeed characteristics of true leaders, even in “Hollywood.”

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.leemomusic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/musica_leemo/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeeMoMusic/
• Twitter: https://x.com/Musica_LeeMo
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LeeMoMusic
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/lee-mo

Image Credits
Greg Noire – Doja Cat photos
Yonnie Simon – Up close solo photo
James Cortes for Vrs Muz Media – Cory Henry photo