Leroy Smokes front-men B Rukus and Buss One, totally different in form and race, seem to play off of each other like brothers. The band is made up of keyboardist Friendly Fred, trumpeter "Highstyle" Kyle, guitarist Jesse Lee, bassist Darek "Hashbrown" Stephens, and drummer Nic Woods.

Smokes was established in the late '90s as a hip-hop/funk jam-band, the Leroy Smokes released two independent albums, each one different in style and band lineup. Their second and more prominent album, The Plot Thickens, was released in 2002. The band played local and regional shows to support it and became popular locally for being an energetic and fun live show. Their newest release Love, Hustle, Theater is the culmination of three years of drive and creativity loaded into one musical Midwest Hip-Hop love story.