MEET THE FOUNDER & CEO
Leo Williams is a highly accomplished American entrepreneur and record executive, best known as the founder and CEO of Lepo Entertainment. He is a retired United States postal service worker. His music career began in 1994 & 1996, in Memphis, Tennessee, as a one-man street team. Thanks to his impressive skills and unwavering drive, Leo quickly became a sought-after promoter, landing gigs with some of the most prestigious record companies in the world, as well as a few independent labels.
It was in the year 1994 that Mr. Williams met Rusty Batts, owner of Free-Toes Studio in Memphis. Leo got his first-hand look into the makings of a sound recording, and there was a spark of interest for him. He instantly knew what the music production process was for him; he had found his niche. While working at Free-Toes Studio, he connected with some of Memphis’ well-known rappers like Three-six-Mafia, Kingpin Skinny Pimp, Playa Fly, and DJ. Squeaky and Al Capone, to name a few.
During this time, Rusty, who Leo had met back in 1994, had started an R&B duo named Arele which consisted of Johnny Hardaway and Jerroll Christopher, and rapper, Silky-T. Rusty wanted someone to take over the manager role for the acts and asked Leo if he would be up for the task, and without hesitation, Leo accepted the position.
In 1999, Leo met artists, Ronreco “Lil Shank” Smith and Debright “Lil Chrome” Parnell while out promoting Tru Game Records, recording artist Big Bear. Leo was driving their promotional van in North Memphis in the Scutterfield community when he spotted Ronreco “Lil Shank” Smith and Debright “Lil Chrome” Parnell (aka) Baby Gangstas. The duo on the spot rapped for Leo, and he signed them to a management contract almost instantly. After hearing them rap and their youthful appearance, Leo stated, he felt they had major potential; with just a little polishing, they could be the next MJG and Eightball that come out of Memphis.
In 2000, Leo successfully got both rappers signed to LootChaser Records. While on the label, Lil Shank and Chrome were featured artists on most of the label’s recordings.
In the same year, under Mr.Williams’s leadership and guidance, the Baby Gangstas duo released their very own debut album titled “Daily Living.”
In 2001, the duo elected to part ways with the Record label to start new adventures.
In 2002, Mr.Williams independently began the Lepo Entertainment brand releasing projects under his own record label company.
In 2003, things shifted unfavorably for the company, Lil Shank, unfortunately, was arrested and sentenced to prison. Despite the major setback, Mr. Williams remained determined to keep going. He pivoted and tapped into another spectrum of music, Gospel, which became the perfect power move for his company.
In 2005, Leo embarked on the Gospel journey of music and discovered artist Marius Scott, a well-talented singer from Memphis. It was during this time Leo discovered his talent for writing. As a result, most of Marius’s album was written by Leo himself. In January 2006, Marius’s album was released featuring several songs written by Leo, such as “Turn It Over To The Lord,” “Changed Me,” “Forget Me Lord,” and “Grace and Mercy.”
In 2007, Leo released another recording in another genre of music; this time, he turned his attention to R&B; he partnered with his good friend Frankie Patrick (aka) Frankie DeCarlos, CEO of Chispa Music Group. Together they released his album titled “Human Man,” which did exceptionally well.
In 2012, his youngest brother, Avery Clark, and some of his friends would persuade Leo into taken them under his wings and help them release an album. Avery and his friends, known as “Nun Fiction,” released their first and only single titled “Booty Twitch” in October 2012. Unfortunately, the group decided to part ways.
It was at this junction Leo started to have doubts about his place in the music industry. So, as a result, he turned his attention to his love of tournament bass fishing and training beagles to hunt rabbits.
After a long break from the Music business, Leo realized that a lot had changed in so many ways. Now, all the music had to be downloaded or streamed, versus purchasing a CD. Everything was now online. It was completely different from how he was used to doing things.
It would be in January 2015 that life would come back full circle for Leo. Lil Shank was released from prison and felt he had some unfinished business in the rap game that he wanted to get back to, and Leo was just as eager to help him get his project off the ground as he was back then when he met Lil Shank for the first time back in 1999.
In June 2021, Leo retired from his Postal Service job after 31 years of service. Now that he was retired, he knew he would have the time and freedom to be able to go all in with his business and let nothing stand in his way. He connected back with his long-time friend, Chris Hines, owner of Same Circle Entertainment, and they partnered together to help Lil Shank have one more shot at bringing his dream to fruition.
In July 2021, Leo started back to doing what he does best, and as a result, he has helped Lil Shank go on to successfully put together his newly released album, titled “Still Relevant,” which is due to come out in spring 2023. It’s never about how you start, but it’s always about how you finish.