In recent years, Thundercat, aka Stephen Bruner, has completed his transition from virtuoso bassist to bonafide star and cemented his reputation as a wholly unique voice, transcending genre. His 2020 album “It Is What It Is” won Best Progressive R&B Album at the 63rd GRAMMY Awards and featured Ty Dolla $ign, Childish Gambino, Steve Lacy, Lil B, Kamasi Washington, 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.
Since then, Bruner has continued his global expansion. He joined Steve Lacy live onstage at the 65th Annual GRAMMY Awards to perform the hit single “Bad Habit, and completed several tours spanning 5 continents that included stops at Glastonbury, Paris Fashion Week, Summer Sonic (Japan), Newport Jazz Fest and Red Rocks Amphitheatre to name a few. He also released the highly acclaimed single “No More Lies” with Tame Impala and co-wrote and featured on the track “The End” from French duo Justice’s latest album.
Other highlights include his vocals and bass heavily featuring on Gorillaz #1 Alternative single “Cracker Island.” He also joined Red Hot Chilli Peppers as support on their North American and EU stadium tour. Bruner has been featured in recent collaborations with everyone from Silk Sonic (Bruno Mars & Anderson Paak.) to Kaytranada, Smino to Big Sean, Channel Tres to Victoria Monet, and more.
Outside of music, Thundercat is celebrated for his inimitable style, and has made many connections in the fashion world over the last several years. He has appeared as the face of recent fashion/brand campaigns for Kerwin Frost, Salahe Bembury and Kenny Beats, as well as attending Paris Fashion Week and other events as a guest of Spanish luxury designer LOEWE. He most recently did an exclusive Spring/Summer ’24 line with Dover Street Market London around his KOKO residency, which included a pop-up in-store performance, and was covered by Hypebeast, Highsnobiety, Dazed, Line of Best Fit, PAPER and many other outlets.
Thundercat made his acting debut with a recurring role in Star Wars “The Book of Boba Fett” on Disney+. He also covered “Fly Like An Eagle” for the “Minions: The Rise of Gru” OST executive produced by Jack Antonooff. Other film and TV work has included collaborating with Flying Lotus on the original score for “Yasuke” on Netflix, as well as an episode of Emmy & Golden Globe-winning series “Atlanta” created by Donald Glover.
Live highlights include duetting with Ariana Grande at Adult Swim Festival 2020, a sold-out week-long residency at London’s KOKO, and a sold-out Greek Theater show in LA that featured appearances by Childish Gambino, Steve Lacy, Suicidal Tendencies, Tame Impala, and more. An appearance at the Nile Rodgers curated Meltdown Festival held at the Southbank Centre, London (2019); and previous festival highlights for Thundercat include Glastonbury, Coachella, Sónar, Fuji Rock, Newport Jazz Festival, Primavera Sound and Governors Ball. In 2019, Thundercat was invited by legendary jazz institution Blue Note in New York to play a 14-show residency over the space of 6 days.
In 2015 he was “at the creative epicenter” of the 21st century’s most influential hip-hop album Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp A Butterfly”, and he won a GRAMMY for his collaboration on the track ‘These Walls’.
Bruner found his instrument at the age of 4. That made him a late-bloomer in the house of Ronald Bruner, Sr., who drummed with the Temptations, among others. His first bass was a black Harmony, and he practiced to the Ninja Turtles soundtrack until pops played him Jaco Pastorius. He joined thrash legends Suicidal Tendencies as a teenager and has spent road and studio time with everyone from Stanley Clarke and Herbie Hancock to Leon Ware, N.E.R.D., Travis Scott, HAIM, Silk Sonic (Bruno Mars & Anderson .Paak), Kaytranada, Stevie Wonder and Erykah Badu.
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.
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