Leon Thomas Brings His R&B Crooning & Hit Song ‘Mutt’ To NPR’s Tiny Desk

Source: NPR / NPR

Leon Thomas got his start as a Disney kid and eventually a role on Insecure, but now he’s taking his musical talent to new heights.

With a few mixtapes under his belt, fans really began to take notice when he was credited with helping SZA develop her 2022 hit, ‘Snooze’ and also on Drake‘s Certified Lover Boy‘s sleepy track with Lil Durk and Giveon, ‘In The Bible.’

And now, with the release of his Mutt album being hailed as one of the best and most refreshing R&B projects of 2024, he graced the famous cubicle known as NPR’s Tiny Desk, much to NPR’s surprise, as the Washington, DC, area was facing a brutal snowstorm.

With a guitar strapped around his chest, he launched into compact 20-minute live performances with newer cuts like ‘Vibes Don’t Lie,’ ‘Yes It Is,’ and some sleepers from his 2023 Electric Dusk project like ‘Breaking Point’ and ‘Treasure In The Hills.’

But nestled between those tracks was the title track ‘Mutt,’ which solidified its status when it entered the Billboard Hot 100, where he croons about his rolling stone lifestyle.

In December, he spoke to the Huffington Post about the project he spent much of 2024 pouring over between lyrics and recording. He finally released it in September with guest spots from Ty Dolla $ign, Masego, Wale, and a Mutt remix verse from Freddie Gibbs.

Despite the album getting the stamp of approval now, Thomas was initially apprehensive about the record’s response.

“I was nervous when we dropped [‘Mutt’] because, first off, a lot of the music wasn’t necessarily TikTok-coded,” Thomas said. “Some of the [songs] were pretty long and it was kind of fighting against the microwave generation culture of music that we’re 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.”

He added, “I’m just happy to be here, to be honest with you. It’s nice to be invited to the party.”

Check out Thomas’ Tiny Desk below, and if you haven’t already, add the Mutt album to your rotation.