The Voice Of The South: TA Thomas is Bringing Southern Soul Back To R&B

Our YAMS Magazine Soul Issue cover star TA Thomas details how being from Mississippi has shaped his music.

Jul 10, 2025

There’s a certain kind of quiet that exists in the countryside; the kind you can’t find in the city. It’s the hum of cicadas, the rustle of trees, the slow and steady rhythm of life moving on its own time. That’s where TA Thomas feels most at home. And that’s exactly where we met him for YAMS Magazine’s Soul Issue cover shoot: under the hot Georgia sun on a 95°F day, surrounded by green fields, dirt roads, and the same Southern roots that shaped his sound.

Raised in the heart of the Mississippi Delta, TA Thomas grew up in a region where the blues was born, where gospel filled pews, and where storytelling wasn’t just tradition: it was survival. Now, TA is introducing a new generation of R&B fans to a sound he calls “Southern Soul” – and he’s making sure you feel every note of it.

“Church was the foundation,” he tells me, sitting under a tall tree during our photoshoot. “That’s where it all started for me. Playing the piano in church, hearing my sister sing on Sundays… it lit something in me.”

Raised in the small town of Hollandale, Mississippi, TA grew up a minister’s kid. In the Bible Belt, music wasn’t just a hobby for him: it was a calling. From youth choirs to living room duets, his earliest performances were raw, unfiltered, and soaked in soul. Just as they are today.

If his voice feels familiar, it might be because you’ve heard it before. As a former member of the group Next Town Down, TA introduced his vocals to the world with viral covers, songs like the group’s “Easy” featuring 6LACK, and even with work with Mariah Carey.

However, as a solo artist, he’s diving deeper into his roots, his upbringing, and the sounds that have shaped his story. His 2023 solo project ‘Caught Between 2 Worlds’ was a welcome introduction to our ears. With songs like “June 15th” and “Sensation”, I knew right away that TA was the future of R&B and one of the most talented vocalists in the game today.

It’s been somewhat rare in male R&B in the past decade to get vocalists that sing with urgency and strength and yearning that we grew up loving from the Joe’s and Tyrese’s and Tank’s of the world. TA is cut from that cloth.

TA’s latest EP, titled Southern Soul, is a love letter to his upbringing. Built from the ground up using live instrumentation – Hammond B3 organs, Rhodes pianos, live drums – it captures the warmth and grit of Sam Cooke and Donny Hathaway. It’s not overly polished. It has grit and meaning to it.

“Southern Soul is what I grew up on. It’s like if your favorite R&B song got sung in church. It’s gospel. It’s blues. It’s country. It’s soul. It’s real life.”

“This one was different,” he says. “It’s raw. It's real. I wanted people to hear where I’m from. You’ll hear the quartet influence. You'll hear the church. You’ll feel the Delta.”

He’s not wrong. His single “Preach” taps directly into that gospel-blues intersection with its churchy chords, sermon-like vocals, and soul-stirring urgency. The track plays like both a plea and a praise, calling out to a lover (or maybe to something higher). It’s Southern Soul in its purest form: spiritual and sensual.

Songs like “Girl of Mine” (his favorite on the project, and produced by Camper) showcase his vocal control and emotional storytelling, while still keeping that hand-clapping, “Sunday mornings at church with grandma” edge. It’s soulful, but it’s also deeply southern, in the way it takes its time and honors tradition.

“My favorite thing about being from the South is how we commune. It’s not about doing an activity for us. It’s about gathering around, eating, and shooting the shit. We don’t need roller coasters or swimming pools. We just need the sun and some beer…and we good! That’s the South.”

It’s that very spirit – easy, warm, inviting – that makes TA’s presence feel so essential to today’s R&B. This summer, TA is on his first solo tour as an opener for Grammy Award-winning star Coco Jones and her ‘Why Not More?’ Tour. He’s using this moment to introduce fans to a sound that’s both nostalgic and next-gen, and to learn consistency and work ethic from one of today’s top R&B acts.

“This tour has been surreal,” he says. “First night of tour, I dropped the project, and to be out there singing these songs…especially back down South, seeing my people come out…it just hits different.”

“I want people to feel something when they hear my music. Cry, reflect, remember. Whatever it is, I just want you to leave with a feeling. That’s what music is supposed to do.”

He cites influences like Johnnie Taylor, Tank, Joe, Sam Cooke, Brandy, and Kim Burrell, but also makes clear that his lineage goes deeper. In a powerful off-the-cuff reflection, he names Clarksdale – “the top of the Delta” – as one of the most historically rich musical regions in America.

“There’s only one other place outside of LA that has a Grammy Museum, and it’s Clarksdale, Mississippi,” he says proudly. “This is the home of the blues. BB King. Muddy Waters. Howlin’ Wolf. Sam Cooke. David Ruffin. Brandy Norwood...TA Thomas! It’s all connected.”

And he’s right. TA isn’t just building a career; he’s extending a legacy. A legacy rooted in Black Southern culture, raw soul, and relatable storytelling.

“Southern Soul, baby,” he says with a smile. “That’s what I do. That’s what I’m here for.”

With the Southern Soul EP, TA Thomas is doing more than reviving a sound. He’s reintroducing the South to the center of R&B – and reminding us all why it never left.