[2] Thomas began his career in the early 1970s as a guitarist in the Cameroonian band Tigres Noires.
[3] He started his musical career in 1968 when he joined The Black Tigers, led by the blind musician, Andre Marie Tala.
During this period Tala developed his tchamassi rhythm, a modern music style based on Bamileke folklore.
[1] Makassi is the name of Thomas' music style, a type of uptempo makossa blended with a touch of Andre Marie Tala's tchamassi and other bamileke influences.
Together with the "African Typic Collection", two tracks off Makassi Plus was released in 1987 on a compilation album by the British Earthworks record label.
[citation needed] From the early 1990s, Thomas changed his focus from recording his material to promoting and guiding new talented Cameroonian singers and musicians.