Dywane Eric Thomas Jr. (born August 6, 1990), professionally known as MonoNeon, is an American bassist, experimental musician, singer and songwriter from Memphis, Tennessee, raised in Orange Mound."MONONEON". www.weareunapologetic.com His work spans multiple experimental projects and collaborations, including with American musician Prince. MonoNeon was the last bassist Prince hired before his death in 2016."Interview with Bassist MonoNeon, One of the Last People to Play with Prince". blog.kexp.org"New Power Generation-Mono Neon (Bass)". newpowergeneration.net He has since become known for his harmonized viral videos, and his compositions and playing style that utilize microtonality."I can't get enough of this weird trend where people make music out of other people talking". January 3, 2018. mashable.com MonoNeon has worked, performed and recorded with Pete Rock, Bon Iver, Ne-Yo, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Zedd, Mavis Staples, Jacob Collier, John Scofield and George Clinton. MonoNeon has also produced original music featuring Katt Williams."MonoNeon Drops Funky Anthem with Katt Williams, Lil' Mo & James Fauntleroy". November 13, 2025. bassmagazine.com In 2021, MonoNeon won his first Grammy for his contribution on Nas album King's Disease as the bassist and additional producer on the song "All Bad" (credited as "MnoNeon").“MonoNeon Quilted Stereo”. guitarworld.com
Early life Thomas was raised in a musical family, the son of a bass guitarist, Dywane Thomas, played with The Bar-Kays, Pops Staples, Denise LaSalle, J. Blackfoot, and Zucchero."MonoNeon Vision". memphisflyer.com"Mononeon Interview". thrashermagazine.com MonoNeon's grandfather was jazz pianist, Charles Thomas, played with Ron Carter, Billy Higgins, etc."Generation Jams: The Enduring Legacy of Memphis’ Great Musical Families". August 25, 2021. memphisflyer.com He began playing bass at the age of four years old, independent of formal lessons (self-taught), playing in church and practicing in his grandma's living room."Dywane "MonoNeon" Thomas Jr." genzbenz.com When he was about 11 or 12 years old, he performed with Bar-Kays, playing bass guitar. Larry Dodson would call Thomas on stage to play a bass solo with the band.
At 16 years old, MonoNeon played bass in church under the mentorship of gospel singer Shea Norman.“Shea Norman introducing a young MonoNeon at church..”. youtube.com"Daily Inspiration: Meet MonoNeon".https://memphisvoyager.com
During his brief stay at Berklee College of Music MonoNeon studied microtonality and performed with David Fiuczynski."Between Two Notes DANCE TO MONONEON’S MICROTONAL MUSIC AT THE FAIR".eugeneweekly.com
Career In 2009, Thomas was featured on the GospelChops Bass Sessionz Vol.1 project with Andrew Gouche, Hadrien Feraud, Damian Erskine, Janek Gwizdala, Anthony Nembhard, and Robert "Bubby" Lewis.
In 2010, Thomas played bass on the Libra Scale album by Grammy Award-winning artist Ne-Yo, and the album Directions by Forest Won with Georgia Anne Muldrow."Forest Won – Directions by Forest Won (Vinyl, LP) at Discogs" discogs.com Thomas was featured in the article, "Bass to the Future", in issue 52 of the UK Bass Guitar magazine.
In 2012, MonoNeon joined David Fiuczynski and Planet Microjam. Also in 2012, he released his solo avant-garde album, Down-to-Earth Art as MonoNeon.Kevin Johnson (June 17, 2012). "Dywane “MonoNeon” Thomas Jr. Releases Down-to-Earth Art" Notreble.com
In early 2013, Thomas released an album called Southern Visionary under the pseudonym MonoNeon. This album features several microtonal musicians.Kevin Johnson (January 9, 2013). "MonoNeon Releases “Southern Visionary” Notreble.comMeredith McLean (March 26, 2013). "Album Review: MonoNeon – Southern Visionary (2013 LP)" theaureview.com He also released an album entitled Uncle Curtis Answered The Lobster Telephone."HYBRIDA. radio show – playlist 94° puntata" hybridaspace.org"Uncle Curtis Answered the Lobster Telephone by Mononeon" cdbaby.com
MonoNeon teamed up with producer Kriswontwo to release an EP called, WEON."MonoNeon and Kriswontwo Release “WEON” notreble.com."Crazy week, 3 new releases" kriswontwo.com"Bassist MonoNeon Latest EP WEON with Producer Kriswontwo" bassmusicianmagazine.com"Kriswontwo x MonoNeon: WEON" djkoolemdee.blogspot.com
July 2014, MonoNeon made his debut performance as the bassist for Screaming Headless Torsos at Jalisco Jazz Festival in Mexico."Review: Mexico's Jalisco Jazz Festival A July 4th weekend of Latin-infused cosmopolitanism" jazztimes.com
In 2015, MonoNeon began playing bass with Prince and his protégé, Judith Hill. Some of the live shows have been at Paisley Park."Prince serenades Madonna at late-night Paisley Park gig". madonnaunderground.com"Prince throws 3-hour concert/party for champion Lynx at Paisley Park". startribune.com"Judith Hill - Back In Time (Behind-The-Scenes at Paisley Park)". youtube.com On 11 January 2016, Tidal released the track Ruff Enuff by MonoNeon, only four and a half days after its initial recording. The instrumental track features Prince as producer and on keyboards. The following day, the track was replaced with a vocal version with lead vocals on vocoder by Adrian Crutchfield.“Purple Pick of the Week: “RUFF ENUFF”. tidal.com When Prince wasn't playing his solo piano shows, he was breaking in a new band at Paisley Park with MonoNeon as his new bassist."Hiding in plain sight – why I spent a lifetime chasing Prince". telegraph.co.uk"Prince throwing a pair of pajama parties Friday and Saturday at Paisley Park" Startribune.com
In 2017, MonoNeon joined Miles Electric Band, a group led by Miles Davis nephew Vince Wilburn Jr. (drummer) and keyboardist Robert Irving III.“The Players”.mileselectricband.com He performed at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with Kat Graham.“Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade”.katgraham.com
In 2018, MonoNeon performed at the Billboard Music Awards and on The Ellen DeGeneres Show with Zedd and Maren Morris.“Zedd And Maren Morris Book MonoNeon…”.site.jammcard.com
On July 7, 2018, MonoNeon played a show with Joe Russo and Eric Krasno billed as (nO*sO*nO*). While the three musicians have played together on many occasions in various other supergroup formations, this marked the first performance as a dedicated trio under this moniker. For most of the two-set performance, surprise guest keyboardist Peter Levin (Gregg Allman Band) played on several numbers. Relying heavily on improvisation, (nO*sO*nO*) dug deep into the funk, jazz, and psychedelic rock catalogs. Covers of Jimi Hendrix's “Manic Depression”, The Beatles‘ “Get Back”, Billy Cobham's “Stratus”, and John Scofield's “Hottentot”, appeared throughout the free-flowing jams and captivated the audience with their supersonic chemistry.
In 2021, MonoNeon teamed up with Davy Nathan and released "Supermane", a full-length album featuring 8 tracks. The track "Done with the B-S", a duet with MonoNeon and Ledisi was featured in Rolling Stone magazine. The album was produced, written and recorded by MonoNeon and Davy Nathan in Nathan's home studio in Los Angeles. They describe the album as a step outside of the vocal comfort zone of MonoNeon.
MonoNeon was nominated for a Grammy in 2021 for his bass work on Jacob Collier’s album Djesse Vol. 3, on the song "In My Bones". Djesse Vol. 3 was nominated for Album of the Year.“MonoNeon Receives Grammy Nominations For Nas’ ‘King’s Disease’ and Jacob Collier’s ‘Djesse Vol. 3’”. bassmagazine.com
For the 65th Grammys MonoNeon was Grammy nominated for his work on Cory Henry's album, "Operation Funk" (Best Progressive R&B Album nomination). MonoNeon is one of the writers, guitarist and bassist on the songs "Ecstasy" and "The Line"."MonoNeon Receives Grammy Nomination for His Work on Cory Henry's 'Operation Funk'". bassmagazine.com
For 68th Grammys MonoNeon was nominated for his bass work on Eric Gales' album "A Tribute to LJK" (nominated for Best Contemporary Blues Album)."MonoNeon Earns Grammy Nomination for Work on Eric Gales’ ‘A Tribute to LJK’". bassmagazine.com
In 2024, he performed at the Black Music Honors award show in a tribute to Bootsy Collins.“Black Music Honors”.gospelmusic.org
MonoNeon has produced music for comedian Katt Williams featuring Katt rapping, including two tracks that blend psychedelic funk, hip-hop and R&B influences. “God Reason” features George Clinton and James Fauntleroy and “You Can Be A Winner” features Lil Mo and Fauntleroy. Katt came to Memphis, TN to record at Court Square Recordings."MONONEON, GEORGE CLINTON, KATT WILLIAMS & JAMES FAUNTLEROY RELEASE NEW SINGLE “GOD REASON”". February 23, 2025. www.gratefulweb.com"MonoNeon Drops “God Reason” – A Deep Dive into Life with Katt Williams, George Clinton & James Fauntleroy" notreble.com
Musical style While Thomas is right-handed, he plays left-handed on an upside down right-handed bass guitar, which allows him to use heavy string bending on the upper strings, inspired by Albert King as a kid.“Five Questions with Mononeon”. wearememphis.com Thomas' slapping style/technique is unique because he is executing everything upside-down, while traditionally using the thumb for slaps and fingers for pops. In a free/improvisational setting, listeners may hear the use of Indian melodic inflections and ornaments in Thomas' playing, including the use of gamakas. Another trademark is his use of randomness and mistakes in performance, taking unintentional ideas made in error, and spontaneously turning them into usable or intentional material."MonoNeon on Embracing Mistakes | Questlove Show". youtube.com"Interview with Bassist MonoNeon, One of the Last People to Play with Prince". kexp.org
MonoNeon's overall playing style on bass can be described as "funky with unusual characteristics". His sound is a combination of bold use of dissonance, playing a few cents off from 12-tone equal temperament (microtones) and unpredictable phrasing. Marcus Miller, among others, has praised his unique playing style. His musical background is heavily influenced by Southern soul, blues and funk. In a Bass Player magazine interview, Miller mentioned Thomas as one of several "young bad cats" he has met on the scene.
Experimental works
Thomas' experimental approach has been compared to the 20th century composer John Cage. The idea of conceptual art plays a role in his musical sensibilities, as reflected in his early 2011 recordings. Thomas began developing an idea of bass accompanying improvisations with an AM/FM radio. The improvisations/compositions are based on radio art, some of which can be heard on his album entitled Introspection of PolyNeon. The "Polyneon" concept is something Thomas created through introspection and when he stopped thinking about the goal of becoming or being a great musician.Corey Brown (November 21, 2011). "Top Ten: The Jeroen Paul Thesseling Interview, Playing As One, the Best Bass Cover Tunes, Plus the Top Bass Videos". Notreble.com
Thomas is notable for his "readymade bass", inspired by his love for Dadaism and other avant garde art movements. The primary characteristics of the "readymade bass" is the ordinary sock covering the entire headstock and the name “MonoNeon” on the body of his bass. The use of colorful duct tape and other mundane items upon his basses has become a defining visual style for Thomas.Kevin Johnson (November 18, 2011). "New School: Dywane “MonoNeon” Thomas". Notreble.comKilian Duarte (March 1, 2012). "Interview with Dywane ‘Mononeon’ Thomas Jr by Kilian Duarte". bassmusicianmagazine.com
A microtonal bass built for MonoNeon by Tim Cloonan of CallowHill Guitars. The bass is built to play quarter tones.Kevin Johnson (May 8, 2014) "MonoNeon's Microtonal Bass". notreble.com
Microtonal-Southern Soul concept