Leon Thomas Cracks Up After Ty Dolla Sign Crowns Him 'New R&B King'

Leon Thomas needs a crown, robe and a royal scepter for the bang-up job he's doing in the R&B world -- words from his EZMNY label boss Ty Dolla $ign he's gotta live up to now!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Leon outside of producer Jae Murphy's single release party to celebrate the new bop "Stop Cryin'" and got his reaction to his whirlwind past 365 days ... even getting a cosign from rapper Siya in real-time!!!

Leon's blossomed into quite the draw since winning a Grammy with SZA for "Snooze" last year ... his signature hit "Mutt" has taken a life of its own with a Platinum plaque, remixes with Chris Brown and Freddie Gibbs.

The success of the song has spiraled into an MTV VMA nomination -- in light of BET shuttering several of its award shows.

Go figure, Leon tells us his craziest moment so far is winning "Best New Artist" at the BET Awards earlier this year -- but still has some big tings popping.

His "Mutts Don't Heel" tour will be blazing through the U.S. and overseas throughout 2026, his new "Lovers and Friends" collab with YG is climbing the charts -- and he just may appear in the "Victorious" spinoff series on Nickelodeon!!! 👀

Leon famously starred as "Andre Harris" on the Dan Schneider-created hit show for 4 seasons, and he sort of lets the cat out of the bag that he could reprise his role, this time as a teacher!!!