Leon Thomas

Leon Thomas crafts hypnotic, forward-leaning progressive R&B on his own while serving as a versatile studio partner who has collected a Grammy. Early on, the expressive vocalist, composer, beatmaker, and multi-instrumentalist trained as a child performer across Broadway stages and Hollywood sets. Appearing on Nickelodeon’s Victorious opened the door to his initial official releases and songwriting placements on Ariana Grande’s blockbuster first album. Between 2012 and 2018 he issued three mixtapes and one EP on Rostrum Records, solidifying his solo identity even as he logged sessions alongside Toni Braxton and Babyface, Kehlani, and Post Malone. A Grammy nomination arrived for his co-writing work on Rick Ross’ “Gold Roses,” after which he took home the Best R&B Song trophy for SZA’s number-two pop single “Snooze,” timing that coincided with the arrival of Electric Dusk (2023) and the earthier, guitar-driven MUTT (2024). Both projects appeared on Ty Dolla $ign’s EZMNY label.

Born in Brooklyn to parents active in the Black Rock Coalition, Thomas secured his breakthrough part at age ten, portraying Young Simba in the Broadway staging of The Lion King. Three years afterward he entered an extended relationship with Nickelodeon, which cast him on The Backyardigans, iCarly, and, most visibly, Victorious. He contributed songs and vocals to the show’s soundtrack projects, then dropped his debut mixtape, Metro Hearts, on Rostrum in 2012. His profile rose sharply the next year when he helped shape Yours Truly, Ariana Grande’s platinum-certified debut as a fellow cast member. Working inside the songwriting-and-production pair known as the Rascals, Thomas supplied four tracks alongside R&B stalwarts Babyface and Antonio Dixon. That connection yielded a placement on Toni Braxton and Babyface’s Love, Marriage & Divorce, a Grammy-winning set released only a month after Rostrum put out Thomas’ follow-up mixtape, V1bes.

Acting jobs continued throughout this period, eventually leading to studio work with Zendaya, Post Malone, and Kehlani. The 2016 mixtape Before the Beginning preceded the more fully realized 2018 EP Genesis. In the interval between those releases he took a recurring part on Insecure. During 2021 Thomas wrote and produced multiple cuts on Drake’s worldwide chart-topping Certified Lover Boy. He joined Ty Dolla $ign’s Motown imprint EZMNY Records in 2022—the same year he co-wrote SZA’s Grammy-winning ballad “Snooze”—and issued the Benny the Butcher-assisted single “X-Rated,” then “Love Jones” featuring Ty. Two further singles, “Breaking Point” and “Crash and Burn,” preceded the August 2023 release of his first proper album, Electric Dusk. Guest spots on projects ranging from Yussef Dayes’ Black Classical Music to Kanye West and Ty’s Vultures 1 and Vultures 2 came before the September 2024 drop of Thomas’ second LP, MUTT. Alongside the gliding funk of the title track—later remixed with a Freddie Gibbs verse—the set included another joint effort with Ty plus appearances from Baby Rose, Wale, and Masego.