Thundercat Artistfacts

October 19, 1984
Thundercat is the stage name of Stephen Lee Bruner, born in Los Angeles. His father, Thomas Bruner, is a jazz drummer, and his brothers Ronald Bruner Jr. and Travis Bruner are also professional musicians.
He is a virtuoso bassist who came to widespread attention through his work with Kendrick Lamar, appearing on good kid, m.A.A.d city (2012) and To Pimp a Butterfly (2015), the latter of which won the Grammy for Album of the Year.
Thundercat's career path is remarkably eclectic. He has collaborated with artists as diverse as Ariana Grande - performing his hit "Them Changes" with her at the 2020 Adult Swim Festival - and jazz legend Herbie Hancock, who played keyboards on his 2015 track "Lone Wolf and Cub." His early years were just as varied: he was a member of the early-2000s boy band No Curfew (which saw brief success in Germany) and served as the bassist for thrash metal icons Suicidal Tendencies alongside his brother, Ronald Bruner Jr., between 2002 and 2011. Reflecting on his boy band days, he told The Guardian, "I'm a working-class musician, man, and that was what it meant for me at the age of 14."
One of his closest musical allies is producer Flying Lotus (real name Steven Ellison), a childhood friend who signed him to his Brainfeeder label and has produced much of his solo output.
Outside of music, Thundercat cites one of his proudest moments as appearing in the Star Wars TV series The Book of Boba Fett, where he has a cameo as a character with a robotic hand. He joked that it's something he can always bring up in an argument every time somebody gets too high and mighty: "Hey, you can't talk to me like that, I was in Star Wars!"

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