Photo: FifthLegend from Eagan, Minnesota, United States of America, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Thundercat

Thundercat is the name Stephen Bruner gives his music, and it suits him: nimble, a little strange, and quick in every direction. A bassist from Los Angeles, he grew up playing everything from punk (he spent years in Suicidal Tendencies) to the jazz and R&B that anchor his own records, and his six-string bass work ended up woven through Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly and much of Flying Lotus's world. On his own albums he pairs that virtuosity with soft, airy vocals and a sense of humour that keeps the sadness from getting too comfortable.

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Drunk (2017). It is the album where his playing, his jokes, and his heartache all land at once. "Them Changes" is his best-known song, and "Show You the Way" brings in Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins for a smooth yacht-soul duet that only he could pull off.

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Biography

Stephen Lee Bruner (born October 19, 1984), better known by his stage name Thundercat, is an American musician, singer, record producer, songwriter, and bassist from Los Angeles, California. First coming to prominence as a member of heavy metal band Suicidal Tendencies, he returned to his musical roots, placing a strong focus on funk, soul, progressive R&B, psychedelia and jazz-fusion. He has since released five solo studio albums and is noted for his work with producer Flying Lotus and his appearances on Kendrick Lamar's 2015 album To Pimp a Butterfly. In 2016, Thundercat won a Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Performance for his work on the track "These Walls" from To Pimp a Butterfly. In 2020, Thundercat released his fourth studio album, It Is What It Is, which earned him a Grammy Award for Best Progressive R&B Album. Rolling Stone has ranked him as one of the greatest bass players of all time.

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