Leon Thomas was chilling with his dog Terry while watching the “Elvis” biopic in 2022 when the idea for his breakthrough solo single, “Mutt,” came to him. “[The film] talked about the hound dog, and I was like, man, I want to be on some Black Elvis shit — but find my own way to make it happen,” he recalls.

The 32-year-old Brooklyn native had only recently moved into the foreground as a solo musician, having previously gained fame as a child star on Nickelodeon’s “Victorious” and a hit songwriter for SZA (he was a Variety Hitmaker in 2023 for his work on her smash “Snooze”), Ariana Grande and others. He’d released mixtapes and EPs here and there, but signing with Ty Dolla $ign’s EZMNY Records as its flagship artist in 2022 opened the lane to release his debut album, “Electric Dusk,” and

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