Leon Mobley, percussionist for Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals, has made his mark in the music and performance industry for many years.

At the tender age of seven, Leon studied under the tutelage of Babatunde Olatunji, world renowned Nigerian master drummer. By age ten, Leon was a cast member on the Emmy award winning PBS t.v. program entitled ZOOM. He got the opportunity to perform with Duke Ellington and for Coretta Scott King at this age as well. He also performed with Boston’s Dancing in the Street for many years growing up in Boston.
Leon went on to study music and education at UMass Boston before moving to California where he started his dance company Djembe West African Drummers and Dancers, which has been featured on the t.v. shows Northern Exposure, A Different World, and the movie Poetic Justice with Janet Jackson and Tupac Shakur. He also began his own musical group Leon Mobley and Da Lion which went on to produce six cds and has had countless performances throughout the United States.
Leon was selected to be “Art Envoy” by the U.S. State department, under President Barack Obama, which sponsored the Innovative MIMA programs, where he traveled abroad doing workshops, recordings, and performances throughout Africa and South America.
He has had his own REMO signature series Djembe drum for over twenty years, selling millions around the world.
Throughout his career, he has recorded and performed with many notable artists, to include Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Mick Jagger, Madonna, Damian and Stephen Marley, the Temptations, Dave Matthews, Joss Stone, and Stevie Wonder just to name a few.