Thundercat

Born Stephen Bruner in Los Angeles on October 19, 1984, Thundercat is a bassist, singer, composer and producer of soul, jazz and funk. From 2002 to 2011, he was bassist for the band Suicidal Tendencies, before pursuing a solo career littered with numerous collaborations, notably as producer for Flying Lotus. In 2011, he unveiled an eclectic debut album, The Golden Age of Apocalypse (2011), followed two years later by Apocalypse (2013). His appearance on the track "These Walls", taken from Kendrick Lamar's flagship opus, To Pimp a Butterfly (2015), earned him a Grammy Award for Best Sung Performance. The same year saw the release of his mini-album The Beyond/Where the Giants Roam, followed in 2017 by the album Drunk, featuring collaborations by Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins, Kendrick Lamar, Pharrell Williams and Wiz Khalifa. The following year, Thundercat set about recording its fourth album, It Is What It Is, with sessions featuring guitarist Steve Lacy (The Internet), drummer Steve Arrington, Childish Gambino, rappers Ty Dolla Sign and Lil B, and Brazilian Pedro Martins. Produced by Steven Ellison aka Flying Lotus, the melancholy-tinged album, released in 2020, is shot through with memories of his friend the rapper Mac Miller, who died two years earlier. Thundercat continued with the singles "Satellite" for the Insecure series (2021) and a cover of Steve Miller's "Fly Like an Eagle" for the film Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022), followed by collaborations with Tame Impala on "No More Lies" (2023), Justice on "The End" (2024) and Remi Wolf on "Children of the Baked Potato " (2025). Returning to solo work with "Upside Down (Candy Crush)", he released his fifth opus Distracted in 2026, featuring "I Did This to Myself" with Flying Lotus and Lil Yachty, "Funny Friends" with A$AP Rocky and "ThunderWave" with WILLOW.