{"id":365166,"date":"2025-11-08T18:59:13","date_gmt":"2025-11-08T18:59:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/365166\/"},"modified":"2025-11-08T18:59:13","modified_gmt":"2025-11-08T18:59:13","slug":"how-leon-thomas-mutt-made-him-a-top-dog-in-rb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/365166\/","title":{"rendered":"How Leon Thomas’ ‘Mutt’ Made Him A Top Dog In R&B"},"content":{"rendered":"

Leon Thomas, whose sophomore album \u201cMutt\u201d was one of the biggest R&B projects of 2024, just nabbed six Grammy nominations, the third-most nods for any artist for the 2026 ceremony. HuffPost republished this December 2024 profile of the singer-songwriter.<\/p>\n

At the end of the summer 2024, Leon Thomas realized he had a minor dilemma on his hands. After months of writing, recording and fine-tuning his lofty sophomore album, \u201cMutt<\/a>,\u201d the singer-producer was finally ready to unveil what he\u2019d cooked up in the studio.<\/p>\n

But he had only a month to promote it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t have a lot of time,\u201d Thomas, 32, told HuffPost.<\/p>\n

With the clock ticking, Thomas came up with a simple yet effective solution to spread the word about \u201cMutt\u201d: He released the album\u2019s titular track as its lead single, so anyone who heard it would know where to find more.<\/p>\n

It was a \u201csmart marketing play,\u201d he said. \u201cIt just happened to be a song that people really resonated with, as well.\u201d <\/p>\n

People also resonated with the rest of \u201cMutt,\u201d after the album arrived in late September 2024. Upon release, the loosely curated LP \u2014 which featured collaborations with Wale, Ty Dolla $ign, Freddie Gibbs, Masego and more \u2014 shot to the top of Apple Music\u2019s R&B albums chart<\/a> and became an almost immediate hit with fans. Within weeks, fans dubbed it one of, if not the, best R&B projects of the year.<\/p>\n

That success is something Thomas wasn\u2019t expecting. But it feels par for the course, considering the upward trajectory he\u2019s been on the past couple of years.<\/p>\n

After his 2010s acting stint on Nickelodeon\u2019s teen smash \u201cVictorious,\u201d Thomas began making a name for himself in the music industry as a promising young hip-hop and R&B producer. He earned co-signs from legends and collaborators like Kenny \u201cBabyface\u201d Edmonds and Ty Dolla $ign (whose Motown imprint, EZMNY Records, Thomas is signed to); produced for the likes of Drake, Kanye West, Ariana Grande and SZA (whose hit, \u201cSnooze\u201d earned him a Grammy as a songwriter in 2024); and released his long-awaited 2023 debut album, \u201cElectric Dusk.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cMutt,\u201d however, is the opus that\u2019s brought on a new wave of success for the solo artist, and it\u2019s slowly but surely turning him into a bona fide star.<\/p>\n

Releasing his second studio album during such a hectic year in music<\/a> was no easy feat for Thomas. \u201cMutt,\u201d a contemporary project filled with rock, jazz and neo-soul influences, was risky enough for a singer still finding his place in R&B. And dropping a record the same year that music\u2019s biggest stars unleashed some of their most defining work to date \u2014 Beyonce\u2019s \u201cCowboy Carter,\u201d Taylor Swift\u2019s \u201cThe Tortured Poets Department\u201d \u2014 <\/strong>presented an even bigger challenge. <\/p>\n

\u201cI was nervous when we dropped [\u2018Mutt\u2019] because, first off, a lot of the music wasn\u2019t necessarily TikTok-coded,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cSome of the [songs] were pretty long and it was kind of fighting against the microwave generation culture of music that we\u2019re in. But I knew for a fact that there were gonna be millions of people with my same taste buds, and I was hoping that the marketing would help find them.\u201d<\/p>\n

And it did. Just as Thomas hoped, his new music broke through the mainstream industry noise, and \u201cit feels amazing.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cMutt,\u201d much like Thomas\u2019 previous offerings, is a testament to his life\u2019s journey and how he\u2019s constantly growing and evolving. His only goal with the album was to continue to share his story in hopes that it connects with listeners. To him, everything achieved afterward is simply a bonus.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just happy to be here, to be honest with you,\u201d he said. For once, \u201cit\u2019s nice to be invited to the party.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"LeonLeon Thomas performs onstage during his sold-out 2024 “Mutt” tour.<\/p>\n

Thomas phoned in for our early December 2024 Zoom call during a quick trip to Miami\u2019s annual Art Basel event, where he had just performed. He was one week removed from the conclusion of his sold-out \u201cMutt\u201d tour and still reveling in the experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s kind of like a new world for me because the first tour I ever went on, I was about 19 years old, and I was an opener,\u201d the singer-songwriter recalled. \u201cThis was my first headlining tour that was this long, and there were so many creative aspects that had to come from my brain to put this show together. So it was a real experience of world-building, and I\u2019m just glad we could give my fans a great experience. People have really shown a lot of love to what we created.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among those saluting Thomas\u2019 work are some of his album partners, Wale, Gibbs and Ty Dolla $ign, who popped out<\/a> to perform their collabs with the singer at his final November 2024 show in Los Angeles. <\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t have to ask them to come up and perform. They wanted to support me, and that\u2019s a big thing,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cThis industry can be filled with a lot of fake love, and I\u2019m just really blessed to have friends who are unbelievably talented, who care about my journey and who want to support and show the world that I have something to give this industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a mission Thomas has taken to heart since he embarked on his musical career. The Brooklyn native was by raised a vocalist mom, an opera-singing grandfather and a stepfather who played guitar for blues legend B.B. King.<\/p>\n

At a very early age, Thomas, a former Broadway performer, was surrounded by the music of old-school R&B, soul, rock and funk artists \u2014 from Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder to Prince and D\u2019Angelo \u2014 all of whom would inspire his solo pursuits. But breaking into R&B, after his pop-centric days on \u201cVictorious,\u201d posed more obstacles than Thomas anticipated.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was horrible,\u201d Thomas remembered. \u201cWhen I first started producing, I was going under my name, and people were Googling me and being like, \u2018Nah.\u2019 So I changed [it].\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when he became half of a now-Grammy-nominated production duo with songwriter Khris Riddick-Tynes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe called it The Rascals so I could hide behind the music we were making,\u201d Thomas continued. \u201cEven when I dropped [my first project,] \u2018Genesis,\u2019 I knew some people would\u2019ve seen me from Nickelodeon, so I didn\u2019t even put my face on the cover so that they could just actually listen to the music.\u201d <\/p>\n

It took a while for Thomas to get comfortable being a solo music act, but another acting role helped the former child star embrace this new chapter. He had a brief recurring part on Issa Rae\u2019s \u201cInsecure,\u201d playing one of her romantic flings, Eddie, aka \u201cNeighbor Bae.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was my first time that I had a sex scene with Issa Rae, and I was going viral, and the girls were showing love. It felt like, alright, we have finally graduated from that one thing \u2014 from the Nickelodeon phase \u2014 and I started feeling more comfortable being a little bit more outside,\u201d Thomas said. <\/p>\n

Still, it\u2019d be a few more years before the singer\u2019s internal confidence matched his career\u2019s progress. \u201cI\u2019m still doing that work now,\u201d Thomas added, but he\u2019s beginning to see his investment pay off with the success of \u201cMutt.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"InIn conversation, Thomas recalls how he brainstormed the concept behind his “Mutt” album.<\/p>\n

The story behind \u201cMutt\u201d is a peculiar yet oddly relatable one. It begins with Thomas\u2019 dog, a German Shepherd and Husky mix named Terry. The dog was \u201ca product of my last real long-term relationship,\u201d the singer noted \u2014 also a prime source of inspiration for his most recent projects.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dog is a trip,\u201d Thomas laughed. \u201cHe\u2019s a good guy, but he\u2019s definitely mischievous, and I was inspired by how he has great intentions but sometimes may do the wrong thing.\u201d <\/p>\n

That observation became the concept for \u201cMutt,\u201d which, at its core, is a record about Thomas\u2019 outlook on dating and how it\u2019s shifted since his last breakup. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really just a metaphor for control in relationships,\u201d he explained of the album\u2019s theme and title. \u201cI think there are a lot of women out there who date high-powered men, and they spend most of their time just trying to get their significant other to \u2018sit down.\u2019 I thought that was a cool way to explain some of what I was going through \u2014 \u2019cause trying to journey into my evolution into, hopefully, finding my long-term partner, I\u2019m still figuring it out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMutt\u201d is a survey of where Thomas is at in life right now, both musically and personally. It\u2019s part of an accidental series chronicling different phases of his adult love life.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at my last three projects, it\u2019s kind of like a trilogy,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cYou go through \u2018Genesis,\u2019 which is a young man finding himself and just a super gentleman. Then you go through \u2018Electric Dusk\u2019; I\u2019m a little broody, I\u2019m going through it, and then I fall in love and go through a crazy breakup. \u2018Mutt\u2019 is the aftermath of that, thinking you found your person and then having to build from scratch again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having \u201cLucid Dreams,\u201d about an ex, wondering about the \u201cFar-Fetched\u201d notion of love and marriage, putting \u201cFeelings on Silent\u201d just to turn around and say \u201cAnswer Your Phone\u201d \u2014 Thomas\u2019 14-track album is a candid portrait every ex or current lover can relate to. <\/p>\n

\u201cI definitely wanted [\u2018Mutt\u2019] to be the soundtrack to not just the lows, but also the highs that we go through trying to find your person in this time period,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n

He used his new LP to push his artistry even further, too, experimenting with a soundscape that blends his R&B roots with jazz and rock influences \u2014 acts like Miles Davis, Art Blakey, the Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m constantly searching for new ingredients, new chemicals to put together to make something special,\u201d the self-described \u201cmusical scientist\u201d said. <\/p>\n

Though many fans now regard Thomas as one of modern R&B\u2019s latest ambassadors, the singer doesn\u2019t want his musical strides to stop there. He has dreams of stretching the genre to new heights.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited that people are still associating and vibing out with what I\u2019m cooking up because it is experimental in certain respects,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cI\u2019m a big fan of R&B from all generations, and I just hope that whatever I\u2019m cooking up next can still be revered as an evolution of what was done before.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ThomasThomas dishes on his upcoming career plans, from a forthcoming deluxe version of “Mutt” to international tour aspirations.<\/p>\n

Thomas is always in the lab cooking. Now that the hitmaker\u2019s latest album \u2014 which received six Grammy nominations on Friday \u2014 has had a chance to sit with fans for a bit, he\u2019s gearing up for his next phase, which includes dropping a reloaded version of \u201cMutt.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI really want to drop a deluxe that helps breathe new life into some of these other songs,\u201d Thomas said, adding that some will be remixes with yet-to-be-named collaborators. \u201cI\u2019m definitely looking to do that pretty soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

The multihyphenate is also working on his next body of work, where he\u2019ll be \u201cgoing back to writing how I started in the beginning: on the acoustic guitar and piano.\u201d He\u2019s remaining tight-lipped on other details, but said the project will feature \u201cgood songs that can live with the accompaniment of one instrument, then we\u2019ll build the worlds around [them].\u201d <\/p>\n

In the meantime, Thomas hopes to strengthen his burgeoning fanbase with another tour, this time overseas. \u201cI want to break ground in Europe, the Asian countries, all throughout South America,\u201d he said. \u201cI gotta hit the road and promote as much as possible to get to where I\u2019m trying to go. I just really want to touch the ground and do whatever I have to do to help support that. But I know [the fans] are out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since entering his 30s, Thomas has done some soul-searching about his future and where he\u2019s headed next. On the music side, he\u2019s building out his tour plans and drawing up plays for his next releases; that\u2019s where he\u2019s \u201csuper focused\u201d right now. But he said he\u2019s also trying to put \u201csome more pots on the stove,\u201d from merch and real estate to maybe even acting again.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all about the script,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cIt\u2019s all about time and preparation. Acting, to me, is an important part of my journey, and I work hard at what I do. I\u2019m not going to give myself the title of a perfectionist, but I\u2019m obsessive over the things I love, and my creativity is really important to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

TruthHas NoBias<\/p>\n

Your SupportFuelsOur Mission<\/p>\n

Your SupportFuelsOur Mission<\/p>\n

We Won\u2019t Back Down<\/p>\n

As more major networks align with those in power, the space for fearless journalism is shrinking. By becoming a member, you support a newsroom that asks the tough questions, no matter who\u2019s in charge.<\/p>\n

We remain committed to providing you with the unflinching, fact-based journalism everyone deserves.<\/p>\n

Thank you again for your support along the way. We\u2019re truly grateful for readers like you! Your initial support helped get us here and bolstered our newsroom, which kept us strong during uncertain times. Now as we continue, we need your help more than ever. We hope you will join us once again<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We remain committed to providing you with the unflinching, fact-based journalism everyone deserves.<\/p>\n

Thank you again for your support along the way. We\u2019re truly grateful for readers like you! Your initial support helped get us here and bolstered our newsroom, which kept us strong during uncertain times. Now as we continue, we need your help more than ever. We hope you will join us once again<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Support HuffPost<\/a><\/p>\n

Already a member? Log in to hide these messages.<\/a><\/p>\n

If Thomas\u2019 career thus far has taught him anything, it\u2019s that playing the long game can yield rewards. That\u2019s why trusting the process has become his guiding principle \u2014 it made \u201cMutt\u201d a hit and will be key to propelling him to the next level.<\/p>\n

\u201cPatience is a virtue, and I always heard [that] statement,\u201d the singer said. \u201cBut when I had to wait this long to get to where I am now, I see how God had a master plan.\u201d<\/p>\n