American singer Thundercat (real name Stephen Lee Bruner)’s fourth album “It Is What It Is” won the Grammy Awards for Best Progressive R&B Album.
The album features the singles Black Qualls, Dragonball Durag, Fair Chance and the viral hit Funny Thing.
Joined by a stellar cast of musical friends – Ty Dolla $ign, Childish Gambino, Lil B, Kamasi Washington, Steve Lacy, Steve Arrington, BADBADNOTGOOD, Louis Cole, Pedro Martins and Zack Fox – the record was produced by Thundercat and his longtime partner Flying Lotus who was GRAMMY-nominated in “Producer of the Year, Non-Classical” for his work on the album.
The win has an important significance because the silly, sentimental and serious album is also dedicated to his close friend Mac Millet who tragically passed away in 2018.
“This album is about love, loss, life and the ups and downs that come with that,” Bruner says. “It’s a bit tongue-in-cheek, but at different points in life you come across places that you don’t necessarily understand... some things just aren’t meant to be understood.”
With his worldwide tour cut short by the global pandemic in April 2020, Bruner still managed to play a special drive-in show at the Rose Bowl in LA with Hannibal Buress in October last year and he casually brought out Ariana Grande to duet on his hit “Them Changes” at the virtual Adult Swim Festival 2020.
His latest musical collaborations were with Ty Dolla $ign, Anderson .Paak and Kanye West on “Track 6” from Ty Dolla $ign’s 2020 album and most recently featured on HAIM’s expanded ‘Women in Music Pt III’ album on the track “3am” (2021).
The name Thundercat is a reference to the cartoon he’s loved since childhood and an extension of his wide-eyed, vibrant, often superhuman approach to his craft. In 2020 things came full circle when Bruner voiced a character (and penned a song) named “Grune the Destroyer” in Cartoon Network’s Thundercats Roar animated series.
Listen to the Grammy-winning album 'It Is What It Is' here: thundercat.lnk.to/it-is-what-it-isPR
