Leon Thomas recently dyed the tips of his signature locs dark green. His new hair color, a stark contrast to the vibrant red he's been sporting for the past four years, is the first thing that stands out about him when he walks into the Los Angeles Times building on an unseasonably rainy October day.
When asked about his hair, which peeks out from under a black beret-style hat, a wide smile spreads across his face.
“I had a vision,” the 32-year-old singer says, leaning in. “In [this] vision, he had more tattoos, a six pack and he had green dreadlocks. And I said, 'You know what? Let's work on it.'” He's been training more consistently and has his eyes on a couple of tattoo artists in Los Angeles and Europe, but the new hair started it all.
“That's how it's worked the rest of my life: I've seen something in my head, I've seen a version of myself that's not there yet and then you work hard to get there.”
This instinct has guided Thomas throughout his 20+ year career in the entertainment industry and has cleared the way for him to emerge as a leading force in modern R&B music. After years of dedicating his skill to performing, writing and producing chart-topping hits for artists like Drake, Ariana Grande and SZA (he won his first Grammy for his album “Snooze”), for the first time Thomas is nominated for six Grammy nominations including album of the year and best new artist for his own work.
“I feel like this is a consequence of finally having a working machine,” Thomas says of his equipment. He signed to EZMNY, a record label co-founded by Grammy-nominated artist Ty Dolla $ign and A&R executive Shawn Barron, in 2021. He takes a deep breath before continuing: “I don't want to sound arrogant or anything, but I always felt in my heart that once people were finally able to hear what I had to offer, it would be a different story. I'm glad God gave me the foresight to see that.”
He has good reason to feel like himself these days. “Mutt,” their 2024 hit single, simmered quietly for months before reaching ubiquity. The song's metaphorical meaning (comparing his own flawed behavior in relationships to a well-meaning “mutt” or dog) along with a sultry bass line and drum beats eventually became a sleeper hit. It also became a favorite for Topics, SZA, Keke Palmer and Issa Raewho shouted the song in interviews.
“That's how it's worked the rest of my life: I've seen something in my head, I've seen a version of myself that's not there yet and then you work hard to get there,” Leon Thomas said.
(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
Earlier this year, the song, which is the title track of their second album, had entered Billboard's Hot 100 charts, recently rising to No. 1 on Billboard Radio Songs chartobtaining double platinum status.
The success of the album and the deluxe edition that followed launched Thomas into a whirlwind of promotions: radio and podcast stops, copious interviews, and after-party appearances. Meanwhile, he has still made time to record albums with other artists such as Wale, Disclosure, Odal and Sasha Keable. He tore off his “Stray Dogs Don't Move” Tour In October, and this year alone, he has had more than 70 performances, including the Hollywood Bowl with Inglewood-born singer SiR.Jimmy Kimmel live”and the BET Awards (where he won the award for best new artist). Earlier this year, Thomas stopped by NPR's little deska live set that has over 4 million views and has since become a PE. (Her performance of Tiny Desk also received a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Performance.)
“It's been non-stop, like something great happens every week,” says Barron, co-founder of EZMNY.
Long before fans were singing the lyrics “I'm a doggggg / I'm a mutt,” Thomas was getting his first taste of what it takes to be a musician in his family. Thomas' late grandfather, John Anthony, was an opera singer who starred in the 1976 Broadway production of “Porgy & Bess.” His mother, a singer, and stepfather, who played guitar for BB King, were part of New York's Black Rock Coalition and “didn't believe in babysitters,” says the Brooklyn native who now resides in Los Angeles. She has fond memories of doing her homework while her parents performed, sometimes going on stage to perform a dance move to a packed crowd.
At just 10 years old, Thomas landed the role of young Simba on Broadway after a family friend encouraged him to audition. He went on to star in more productions, including “Caroline, or Change” and “The Color Purple,” before booking his first film, “August Rush” (starring the 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 bassist to help him record the track. “It definitely influenced my perspective on whether I could really make professional music or not,” recalls Thomas, who plays five instruments, including drums (his first love), guitar, bass, piano and saxophone.
“I don't want to sound arrogant or anything, but I always felt in my heart that once people finally got to hear what I had to offer, it would be a different story. I'm glad God gave me the foresight to see that,” Leon Thomas said.
(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
By age 13, Thomas had signed a development deal with Nickelodeon that included a recording contract with Columbia Records. After appearing on several shows like “The Backyardigans” and “iCarly,” he landed the role of André Harris, a high school singer and multi-instrumentalist, on the teen sitcom “Victorious” alongside budding star Grande.
When the show ended in 2013, Thomas began working with one of modern music's 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 such as Rick Ross' “Gold Roses” featuring Drake (which received a Grammy nomination), Toni Braxton's “I'd Rather Be Broke,” and SZA's “Snooze,” which won Best R&B Song at the 2024 Grammys.
Still, going from healthy Nickelodeon star to adult R&B artist didn't happen overnight. “The most important thing for me was to take time away from art to allow people to really celebrate the brand I had built, but give myself space to build something else,” he says. “Space and time can be difficult because you will have to reintroduce yourself even though you worked hard in the beginning to build what you had before, but I think it's beautiful to build a brand from scratch.”
That's one of the reasons why the cover of his reintroduction project, “Genesis,” features a distorted forest instead of his face. “I didn't want them to connect with what I was saying, what I was talking about, the feelings [and] sounds,” he says. With each release, he slowly reveals more of himself.
On stage, Thomas channels the intensity of some of his musical heroes: James Brown, Prince, Jimi Hendrix and D'Angelo. His music can sit comfortably under the R&B umbrella, but he bends and switches genres with ease, especially rock and funk. In TikTok recaps of his current tour, he can be seen playing bass and guitar, spinning his body, and executing effortless vocal runs, which fans have attempted to imitate. With it, you'll never have to wonder if the microphone is on.
“Sometimes I go see R&B artists live and it's very chill,” he says, but “the school I come from is competitive.” He remembers stories his stepfather told him about performing at New York's Village Underground when he was young. “They used to do something called chopping heads, so the first player would do his solo, then whoever came out in the second set had to go even further. He plays with his teeth, he spins, he's on the floor, he goes crazy,” Thomas says excitedly.
“So I'm in that school of thought when I go on stage and for this tour where I can curate things and really put them together the way I want, there has to be that head-cutting energy,” he adds.
Just days before launching his 27-city tour, Thomas released a cinematic trailer featuring rae – who played his neighbor and hangout partner in “Insecure” – to present his latest project, “Pholks.” The seven-track release, created in collaboration with musicians Rob “Freaky Rob” Gueringer and David Phelps, aka “D. Phelps” (who also worked on “Mutt”), is a tribute to the funk, rock and soul artists who inspired him. Led by singles”just the way you are” and “my muse,” which could trigger a “Soul Train” line at any moment, the project feels warm and nostalgic, but anchored by forward-thinking production and fun storytelling that helps propel it into the future.
In April, Ty Dolla $ign invited Thomas to perform during his Coachella headlining performance, a moment that was a no-brainer for Ty, who recently called out Thomas “the new king” of R&B.
“I just can't believe I was the one who could do this,” Ty says of working with the singer.
“Sometimes I go see R&B artists live and it's very chill,” Leon Thomas said, but “the school I come from is competitive.”
(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
Amid this busy season, Thomas has been more intentional about maintaining his mental health. “I'm doing a lot of meditations to connect,” she says, noting that family and her close circle of friends have been an essential support system. “I’ve been learning a little more about the Bible.”
He also finds stability by revisiting the wisdom inherited from his late grandfather, who passed away last year, and reflecting on his “why”: returning a classic, musician-centered energy to R&B and encouraging young artists to learn an instrument.
“When a little kid sees me playing guitar on the Grammy stage or if they see me playing drums on Instagram, I want them to ask their mom for a guitar or some drum lessons,” he says. With the rise of AI, he says live music performance may become less common. “I hope we can inspire a revolution of intelligence, of people making music intelligently and starting from a historical point of view.”
Thomas will close out his whirlwind year with two shows at the Wiltern on December 22 and 23 before embarking on the European leg of his tour in March and heading to Australia in June. In the meantime, he tries to avoid thinking about the Grammys in February, even though everyone, including me, makes it impossible for him not to.
Whether he walks away with a golden gramophone or not, Thomas has already created a body of work that has revitalized not only R&B but music in general, and he plans to continue pushing himself creatively. He has always known what he is capable of and the career he is destined to have because that is how he imagined it. It is the world that has had to catch up.
