Breaking Down Leon Thomas ‘ MUTT Deluxe: HEEL – Is It Good?

MUTT is the most underrated Male R&B album in the last 5 years. Leon Thomas to most is known as that guy on Nickelodeon from “Victorious”. So to hear that Leon Thomas is a Grammy-winning songwriter and producer surprised me. He has written and produced for Ariana Grande, Rick Ross, SZA, Drake and many others. Here’s why MUTT is a breathe of fresh air when it comes to R&B.

MUTT released on September 27th, 2024. I wasn’t familiar with Leon Thomas and his work until he stopped by the Joe Budden Podcast. I got to learn a lot about him as an artist and person. After hearing what I heard I thought I’d give him a listen. First thing I realized immediately that this R&B was different than the field. Self titled track “MUTT”, “Safe Place” and “Far Fetched” just jumped out to your ears.

The production is VERY Hip-Hop in the best way possible. He has a Conductor beat on here! The best way to classify his music is a “vibe”. He also gave a ballad on the album with “Answer Your Phone”. Leon trying to bring begging back with that one. Telling a girl I know I messed up but answer the phone. I won’t tell you which playlist to put it on but it deserves to be on one. A lot of the beats pre-deluxe have a feel as if a rapper is needed. So ask and you shall receive. “Feelings on Silent” has Wale who these days is being very under appreciated. I hope they continue to do more work together in the future. He ends the album with “MUTT (Remix)”. This features Freddie Gibbs and he elevated on it. Beginning to end this album exceeded any expectation I thought I had for Leon and this album. As Shaq would say “I wasn’t familiar with your game”.

That’s not all. Leon dropped the Deluxe “HEEL” on May 30th, 2025. This addition to the album was much needed. It has deeper R&B roots to me. Has 9 tracks and 5 features. “MUTT” got another remix with Chris Brown and you can’t really go wrong with that. Big Sean really stood out on the Deluxe. “Party Favors” Leon and Big Sean created a really good song which I would say should’ve been on the original album sonically. Sean also hopped on the remix of “Vibes Don’t Lie”. On “Not Fair” Leon is showing you he can do true R&B songs with heartbreaks, hooks and range.

Overall MUTT as well as the Deluxe was a breathe of fresh air. Honestly, I don’t know if he will ever be able to top this album. It’s too early to say that it is a classic but it’s trending that way for me. Listening to his music you can tell he has studied some of the greats before him. An obvious influence for his music is Frank Ocean. I don’t think you can get through the album without hearing Frank. At the end of the day Leon is giving you lyricism, vocal range and layered songs. If this album isn’t in your phone you better add it to your library.

Rating: 9.2/10

An obvious influence for his music is Frank Ocean. I don’t think you can get through the album without hearing Frank. Once you get past that Leon is giving you lyricism, vocal range and layered songs. If this album isn’t in your phone you better add it to your library.