The many moods of Thundercat

BASS TO THE FUTURE

- Sanjoy Narayan

At 41, Thundercat is one of those musicians whose name, or rather whose work, we encounter more often than we realise.

Stephen Lee Bruner, to use his given name, isa bassist, producer, composer and sessions musician from Los Angeles whose prolific collaborations can be hard to keep track of. One may come across him on Kendrick Lamar’s landmark To Pimp a Butterfly (2015), one of the defining albums of the last decade. Or stumble upon his bass line on the title track of Gorillaz’s 2023 album, Cracker Island. Or encounter him on several tracks by Kamasi Washington, the modern master of jazz, on the aptly named album Epic (2015).

He has recordings with rappers Snoop Dogg, the late Mac Miller, Tyler the Creator.

But it is Thundercat’s solo albums that are the real showcase of his virtuosity. Six years after his last LP, It Is What It Is— an album that carried the grief of losing his close friend Mac Miller —he released a fifth studio record, Distracted, this month.