Thundercat’s music education and evolution, from 1. Messing with his dad’s Billy Cobham records with his brother Ronald → 2. Growing up with two musician parents, and going to gigs with his dad → 3. Befriending Kamasi Washington and their teacher Reggie Andrews taking them under his wing → 4. Forming the Young Jazz Giants and gigging all over town, including at Laker games → 5. Joining a boy band and touring Europe as a teenager → 6. Playing in Suicidal Tendencies and learning how to be tough on stage → 7. Being encouraged to make his own records by his friend Flying Lotus
Thundercat (Stephen Bruner) is a multiple Grammy Award-winning bassist, vocalist, producer, and composer from Los Angeles. His most recent album, It Is What It Is, released in the spring of 2020, won Best Progressive R&B Album at the 63rd Grammy Awards and features musical contributions from Ty Dolla $ign, Childish Gambino, Lil B, Kamasi Washington, Steve Lacy, Steve Arrington, BADBADNOTGOOD, Louis Cole, Pedro Martins, and Zack Fox. Thundercat produced the record with his longtime partner Flying Lotus. That album followed Bruner’s game-changing third album, Drunk (2017), which completed his transition from virtuoso bassist to bona fide star and cemented his reputation as a unique voice that transcends genre. Previous releases include The Golden Age of Apocalypse (2011) and Apocalypse (2013), followed by EP The Beyond / Where The Giants Roam featuring the modern classic “Them Changes.” He was later “at the creative epicenter” (per Rolling Stone) of the 21st century’s most influential hip-hop album, Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly, which earned him a Grammy for his collaboration on the track “These Walls.” He has continued to collaborate with Lamar, in addition to recent collaborations with Silk Sonic (Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak), Haim, H.E.R., and Kaytranada, as well as contributing bass and vocals for “Black Gold,” the theme song of Netflix’s anime series Yasuke (scored by Flying Lotus), and an original song for the final season and soundtrack of HBO’s Insecure. In addition to music, Thundercat recently made his acting debut with a recurring role as The Modifier in the Star Wars series The Book of Boba Fett, appeared as the face of recent fashion/brand campaigns with Kerwin Frost x Beats and Salehe Bembury x New Balance, and was a guest at Paris Fashion Week and other events from Spanish luxury designer Loewe. The name Thundercat refers to the cartoon he’s loved since childhood and an extension of his wide-eyed, vibrant, often superhuman approach to his craft.
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