Quinton Aaron: Lead with Love

Photography by Caitlin Tabilog

A combination of unkindness and love turned a young Quinton Aaron toward stage and screen, but it was love that won in the end, and love that’s infused now, in everything this inspirational artist creates.  

“As a kid, movies and music were my escape. Whatever I watched I wanted to be,” or heard, he adds, inspired by music as well. “My mom would sing, and I loved the music she played. I’d imitate what I was hearing.” Aaron’s emotional escape became an ultimate escape from a broken self-image, due to childhood bullying, when he realized he had a gift and a voice – one of impact and an actual voice for singing, for which he began to gain recognition at a young age. 

“I’ve always been a singer but not a songwriter. This [single] is the first thing I ever wrote,” Aaron says recalling the night during Hurricane Ida when he was stuck in a Texas hotel room and lost contact with his brother in after the storm took out power in Louisiana. “God has always moved in my life through storms, real or just personal ones,” and this was both. “I began writing down what came to mind and heart and called my buddy Greg [Barnhill] and said, ‘I have these lyrics for a song and I need you to make sense of it.’”  

More than sense, the message is powerful and delivery smooth with old school and neo-soul influences interwoven in his sound. ‘Lead with Love’ is more than a single, it’s Aaron’s life motto and mission. “Hate is far too viral. There’s a huge shortage of love and I want to do my part to infuse as much of it into the world as I can by way of song. We’re inspired by what we see and what we hear so if I was going to get into music, I wanted to do it in a way that would #MakeLoveViral.” 

“The whole point of leading a life of love is to be that example that shows people there’s a better way. Mom told me when I was young, ‘you’re going to be taller than people because God made you to stand out so that people look up to you. Make sure that you present yourself how you want to be perceived because people are watching even when you don’t know they are.’” 

Aaron’s mother would pass just four months before he began shooting the film that put him on the map, but her message shines through in his projects. “Watching that movie impact people and help so many find a sense of purpose and self-worth was a motivating tool for me – a reason and drive to keep looking for projects that motivate and inspire. I feel like God gave me the opportunity to do that movie, not to become a star and make money and forget who you are in the process, but to do what’s going to have the most impactful motivation to others.”  

It’s how he picks his projects – including a new song coming in the new year and working toward producing his first film from his recently launched production company Nomadic Leo Entertainment. “We have things in our heart we desire to do and if the timing is right, when God says do it, he’ll give you the platform to do it in the biggest possible way that’s impactful not just to us but to others who you can help.” 

One can hope these are just the first few notes in a symphony of a career from an artist who chooses to “Lead with Love,” leaving people and the world around him better than he found it.

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