\u201cI feel like this is a byproduct of me finally having a machine that works,\u201d Thomas says about his team. He signed to EZMNY<\/a>, a record label co-founded by Grammy-nominated artist Ty Dolla $ign and A&R executive Shawn Barron, in 2021. He takes an audible breath before continuing, \u201cNot to sound cocky or anything, but I just always felt in my heart of hearts that once people could finally hear what I had to offer, it would be a different story. I\u2019m glad that God gave me the foresight to see that.\u201d<\/p>\n He has good reason to be feeling himself these days. \u201cMutt,\u201d his breakout 2024 single, quietly simmered for months before it was pushed into ubiquity. The track\u2019s metaphorical meaning \u2014 comparing his own flawed behavior in relationships to a \u201cmutt\u201d or a dog with good intentions \u2014 along with a sensual bassline and knocking drums eventually became a sleeper hit. It also became a favorite for Tems<\/a>, SZA, Keke Palmer and Issa Rae<\/a>, who shouted out the song in interviews.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s how the rest of my life has worked: I\u2019ve seen something in my head, I\u2019ve seen a version of myself that\u2019s not there yet and then you work hard to get there,\u201d said Leon Thomas.<\/p>\n (Jason Armond\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n By early this year, the song, which is the title track from his sophomore album, had cracked the Hot 100 Billboard charts, recently climbing to No. 1 on Billboard\u2019s radio songs chart<\/a>, earning double platinum status. <\/p>\n The success of the album and the deluxe edition that followed launched Thomas into a whirlwind of promo: radio and podcast stops, interviews galore and after-party appearances. Meanwhile, he\u2019s still made time to make records with other artists like Wale<\/a>, Disclosure<\/a>, Odeal<\/a> and Sasha Keable<\/a>. He kicked off his \u201cMutts Don\u2019t Heel\u201d tour<\/a> in October, and this year alone, he\u2019s had more than 70 performances, including the Hollywood Bowl with Inglewood-born singer SiR<\/a>, \u201cJimmy Kimmel Live<\/a>\u201d and the BET Awards<\/a> (where he won best new artist). Earlier this year, Thomas stopped by NPR\u2019s Tiny Desk<\/a>, a live set that has more than 4 million views and has since been turned into an EP<\/a>. (His Tiny Desk performance also received a Grammy nod for best R&B performance.) <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been nonstop like something great happening every single week,\u201d says Barron, co-founder of EZMNY.<\/p>\n Long before fans were belting out the lyrics \u201cI\u2019m a doggggg \/ I\u2019m a mutt,\u201d Thomas was getting his first taste of what it takes to be a musician from his family. Thomas\u2019 late grandfather, John Anthony, was an opera singer who starred in the 1976 Broadway production of \u201cPorgy & Bess.\u201d His mother \u2014 a singer \u2014 and his stepfather \u2014 who played guitar for B.B. King \u2014 were part of New York\u2019s Black Rock Coalition and \u201cdidn\u2019t believe in babysitters,\u201d says the Brooklyn native who now resides in L.A. He has fond memories of doing his homework while his parents were performing and hopping on stage at times to hit a dance move for a packed crowd.<\/p>\n At just 10 years old, Thomas booked the role of Young Simba on Broadway after a family friend encouraged him to audition. He went on to star in more productions, including \u201cCaroline, or Change\u201d and \u201cThe Color Purple,\u201d before booking his first film, \u201cAugust Rush\u201d (starring late actor Robin Williams), which required him to learn to play the guitar. As a result, he began writing his own songs, one of which impressed his parents so much that they booked studio time and a session bass player to help him to lay down the track. \u201cIt definitely influenced my perspective on if I could actually make professional music or not,\u201d recalls Thomas, who plays five instruments, including drums (his first love), guitar, bass, piano and saxophone.<\/p>\n \u201cNot to sound cocky or anything, but I just always felt in my heart of hearts that once people could finally hear what I had to offer, it would be a different story. I\u2019m glad that God gave me the foresight to see that,\u201d said Leon Thomas. <\/p>\n (Jason Armond\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n By age 13, Thomas had signed a development deal with Nickelodeon that came with a Columbia Records recording contract. After appearing in various shows like \u201cThe Backyardigans\u201d and \u201ciCarly,\u201d he snagged the role of Andr\u00e9 Harris, a high-school-age singer and multi-instrumentalist, on the tween sitcom \u201cVictorious\u201d alongside star-in-the-making Grande.<\/p>\n When the show ended in 2013, Thomas began working with one of modern music\u2019s most decorated architects, Babyface, who introduced him to producer and songwriter Khris Riddick-Tynes. Together, Thomas and Riddick-Tynes formed the Rascals and began producing records like Rick Ross\u2019 \u201cGold Roses\u201d featuring Drake (which received a Grammy nomination), \u201cI\u2019d Rather Be Broke\u201d by Toni Braxton and SZA\u2019s \u201cSnooze,\u201d which won best R&B song at the Grammys in 2024.<\/p>\n Still, pivoting from wholesome Nickelodeon star to a grown R&B artist didn\u2019t happen overnight. \u201cThe biggest thing for me was just taking time away from the artistry in order to really allow people to celebrate the brand that I had built, but give me room to build something else,\u201d he says. \u201cSpace and time can be a tough thing because you\u2019re gonna have to reintroduce yourself even though you did a lot of work in the beginning to build what you had before, but I think it\u2019s beautiful to kind of build a brand from scratch.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s one of the reasons why the cover of his reintroduction project, \u201cGenesis,\u201d features a distorted forest instead of his face. \u201cI didn\u2019t want them to connect with what I was saying, what I was talking about, the feelings [and] the sounds,\u201d he says. With every release, he\u2019s slowly revealed more of himself.<\/p>\n Onstage, Thomas channels the intensity of some of his musical heroes \u2014 James Brown, Prince, Jimi Hendrix and D\u2019Angelo. His music may sit comfortably under the R&B umbrella, but he bends and flips genres with ease, especially rock and funk. In TikTok recaps from his current tour, he can be seen ripping on the bass and guitar, whipping his body into turns and effortlessly hitting vocal runs, which fans have attempted to imitate. With him, you never have to question if the mic is on.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes I go see R&B artists live and it\u2019s very chill,\u201d he says, but \u201cthe school I come from is competitive.\u201d He recalls stories that his stepfather has told him about performing at the Village Underground in New York when he was coming up. \u201cThey used to do something called cutting heads, so the first guy would go do his solo, then the guy who came out on the second set had to go even further. He\u2019s playing with his teeth, he\u2019s spinning, he\u2019s on the floor, he\u2019s wildin\u2019,\u201d Thomas says excitedly.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I\u2019m in that school of thinking when I hit a stage and for this tour where I get to curate things and really put it together like I want to, there\u2019s gotta be that energy of cutting heads,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n Just days before launching his 27-city tour, Thomas released a cinematic trailer featuring Rae<\/a> \u2014 who played his neighbor and hookup buddy on \u201cInsecure\u201d \u2014 to introduce his latest project, \u201cPholks.\u201d The seven-track release, created in collaboration with musicians Rob \u201cFreaky Rob\u201d Gueringer and David Phelps, a.k.a. \u201cD. Phelps\u201d (who also worked on \u201cMutt\u201d), is an homage to the funk, rock and soul artists who\u2019ve inspired him. Led by the singles \u201cJust How You Are<\/a>\u201d and \u201cMy Muse<\/a>,\u201d which could trigger a \u201cSoul Train\u201d line at any moment, the project feels warm and nostalgic, yet anchored in forward-thinking production and playful storytelling that helps push it into the future. <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1766066596_520_hqdefault.jpg\")
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