How Leon Thomas Pushed Himself As A Musician While Acting
Leon Thomas represents a modern explosion of multi-hyphenate artists who excel at many disciplines. Now, he’s on his way to R&B superstardom. The New York native has enjoyed an extensive career in both Hollywood and Broadway going as far back as a child starring in Lion King’s acclaimed theatrical adaptation alongside later appearances on various Nickelodeon series ranging from Victorious to iCarly. More recently, many might remember Thomas from his recurring role on HBO’s Issa Rae vehicle Insecure or the 2017 Kathryn Bigelow-directed film Detroit.
Meanwhile, his reach in music as a singer/songwriter has become even larger over the past decade. Working behind the scenes has allowed Thomas to Ariana Grande, Toni Braxton, Rick Ross, Drake and Kehlani among others. Just last year, he collaborated on several tracks that made up GIVĒON’s Give or Take project alongside the SZA SOS album cut “Snooze.” Between serving as one-half of the production duo The Rascals, with Khristopher Riddick-Tynes and being mentored by Babyface, Thomas has been groomed for serious music industry notoriety.
“I remember those moments where I started really feeling like this was a real thing,” he explained. “I think up until I started doing a lot of the songs with Ariana, it kind of felt like something that was just really fun to do. It was just a really great way to occupy my time when I wasn't auditioning or filming. But once we got that number one with Ariana on our first album, it felt like, okay, yeah.”
While Thomas was landing credits on chart-topping projects and Grammy-winning albums, he also set the stage for his own solo recording career. Releasing various mixtapes starting with 2012’s Metro Hearts, his last project would be the 2018 EP Genesis. According to Thomas, the project featuring buzzworthy singles like “Beg” alongside “PLW” became a real indication for his fans that solo artistry was becoming a real thing.
“I think prior to that, it was just more so me dropping mixtapes and continuing to chase my songwriting production career and also my acting career at that time,” Thomas said. “When Genesis came out, I think people were finally able to really hear me and see the evolution of what I was doing musically. That’s when I was kind of beginning to use more complex production techniques and was really heavily involved with just the entire sound of a body of work.”
Taking a break from releasing solo music, Thomas re-emerged last year as one of the first artists from Ty Dolla $ign’s new Motown imprint EZMNY. Some of those singles include “Breaking Point” and “Love Jones” featuring his label boss. Now, a once creative relationship with Dolla $ign has grown into something more. Thomas spent time at Rostrum and Columbia Records before putting out indie material.
“I’ve been dealing with a label boss who understands what it’s like to be an artist, grow, evolve and build a brand,” explained Thomas. “Having somebody that I can just hit up and ask those tough questions has been really amazing. He’s a big bro to me right now. I’m really looking forward to continuing to build and to grow with his company.”
For 2023, he’s dropped the heartbreak anthem “Crash & Burn” which has him pouring his heart out over a failed relationship. The song lyrics provide a thin line between vulnerability outside of anger with lines like “Why couldn't you just take your blessings and go? /
Why'd you made me have to leave you alone?” and “Ironic how you the bad vibes and you sage, huh?” Written alongside songwriter Bizzy Crook, he wanted to come from a real experience.
“I really respect having somebody that I can collaborate with in that way to help tell my story,” said Thomas. “I think music is therapy for me. There’s definitely times when I’m really just putting it all on paper and doing my best to really evoke that emotion on the mic.”
“Crash & Burn” will be featured on his upcoming major label debut Electric Dusk. Inspired by the popular drive-in theater in Glendale, California, Thomas wants the album to tell stories that are cinematic in nature. During the early recording moments of the album, he would play movies on a large screen with subtitles which served as a large inspiration.
“I feel like telling these stories is a movie in itself,” explained Thomas. “These are just different scenes from my life. It’s kind of a deep concept but I think once you hear what I’m talking about, you’ll know it's genuine.”
Despite the gains made as a recording artist and songwriter, Thomas hasn’t forgotten about acting either. He’s just working toward finding roles that give him an opportunity to brand himself properly. However, Thomas isn’t being too picky.
“I really just started getting back to auditioning probably about three months ago,” Thomas said. “This album has definitely taken a lot of heavy lifting and I’ve been very focused on making sure that I’m giving everything I can to my partners over at Motown and partners around me internally with my team.”
