Don Leisure

Welsh/Indian hip-hop beatmaker Don Leisure has a globalist approach to his music; by crate-digging whenever he can, he's able to collate records from around the world and lift samples as he sees fit. Years of collecting snippets paid off for the release of his debut full-length, 2017's Shaboo, which displayed dynamism and eclecticism in dedication to his late uncle Nassar "Shaboo" Bharwani. Don Leisure had been producing records for several years before adopting the pseudonym -- originally as drum and bass producer Jamal -- before teaming up with Earl Jeffers to become Darkhouse Family. Deciding he wanted to make purist instrumental hip-hop, he concocted Don Leisure, using the alias to create a record in memory of his uncle, the man who inspired Leisure to make music by telling him that it was in his blood. Moved by his uncle's passion and belief, Leisure obtained early music production software and started making beats. Years later, he released Shaboo and dedicated it to Bharwani, inspired by his journey from Kenya to London, his roles in Bollywood cinema, and the personal impact he had on his life. ~ Liam Martin