Leon Thomas Is The “New King” Of R&B, Ty Dolla Sign Says

Key Takeaways:

• Ty Dolla Sign praised Leon Thomas in a Billboard interview, calling him the “new king” of R&B and highlighting his artistry.
• Thomas’ behind-the-scenes work includes writing and producing hits like SZA’s “Snooze” and Drake’s “Love All.”
• With his album ‘MUTT’ and his “Mutts Don’t Heel Tour,” Thomas is stepping into the spotlight as a solo R&B force.

Leon Thomas is the “new king of this s**t,” according to Ty Dolla Sign. On Wednesday (July 16), in an interview published by Billboard, the West Coast powerhouse made sure to give his “FAR FETCHED” collaborator his flowers while he’s still here to appreciate them.

“He’s the easiest artist I’ve worked with — ever in life,” Ty Dolla Sign said of Thomas, who’s signed to his EZMNY imprint. He told the publication, “He’s the new example of what an artist should be, in my eyes.” Outside of their artist-label relationship, Thomas previously contributed quite a bit to Ty Dolla Sign and Kanye West’s VULTURES installments, particularly songs like “BURN,” “SLIDE” and “FOREVER ROLLING.”

There really isn’t much Thomas can’t do, music-wise. On top of being the incredibly talented singer that he is, the “YES IT IS” artist can produce, write and even play instruments. According to REVOLT, he’s worked on records like SZA’s “Snooze,” Drake’s “Love All” and Ella Mai’s “Not Another Love Song,” among plenty of others.

Elsewhere in the conversation, Ty Dolla Sign hilariously recalled Thomas pulling up a “f**king PowerPoint” during a label meeting they had with Capitol and Motown Records for MUTT. “This man pulls out his laptop and asks for it to be hooked up to the TV so we can talk about what’s going to happen with this new album,” the “Or Nah” hitmaker said.

According to him, Thomas came prepared: “These are the colors I want to use. This is the stage. These are videos, and the people I want to work with for the videos. And these are the people who I want to style me. And this is the work.” To be fair — and Ty Dolla Sign likely agrees — MUTT was a great LP with an even better rollout. Every detail, from its cover art to collaborations with Masego, Wale and more, served a clear vision.

Both Thomas and Ty Dolla Sign have busy years ahead of them. The “Mutts Don’t Heel Tour” is slated to begin in August, while TYCOON, the “Paranoid” singer’s forthcoming album, is set to arrive before the end of this year. Hopefully, fans get another collaboration between the two once it arrives.