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Feb 17, 2020 Thundercat By Christopher Roberts Photography by Parker Day

Thundercat (aka Stephen Lee Bruner) is releasing a new album, It Is What It Is, on April 3 via Brainfeeder. Now he has shared another song from it, “Dragonball Durag,” which is inspired by the Japanese anime series Dragon Ball Z. Listen below, followed by Thundercat’s upcoming tour dates.

Bruner had this to say about Dragon Ball Z in a press release: “I have a Dragon Ball tattoo… it runs everything. There is a saying that Dragon Ball is life.”

As for the “Durag” aspect of the song’s title, Bruner says: “There are two types of people in the world, the guy with the durag and the guy who doesn’t know what a durag is. The durag is a superpower, to turn your swag on… it does something, it changes you. If you have one in the wardrobe, think about wearing it tonight, and it may pop off because you never know what’s going to happen.”

Previously Thundercat shared the album’s first single, “Black Qualls,” which features Steve Lacy of The Internet and funk icon Steve Arrington. “Black Qualls” was one of our Songs of the Week. It Is What It Is also features Ty Dolla $ign, Childish Gambino, Lil B, Kamasi Washington, BADBADNOTGOOD, Louis Cole, Zack Fox, and Flying Lotus (who executive produced the album with Thundercat).

Bruner had this to say about It Is What It Is in a press release: “This album is about love, loss, life and the ups and downs that come with that. 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.”

Thundercat Tour Dates:

North America:

2/28 Vancouver, BC - Vogue Theatre - SOLD OUT
2/29 Portland, OR - PDX Jazz Festival - SOLD OUT
3/1 Seattle, WA - Showbox SoDo *
3/3 Arcata, CA - Van Duzer Theatre *
3/4 Chico, CA - Senator Theatre *
3/6 Oakland, CA - Fox Theater *
3/7 Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern *
3/8 Santa Ana, CA - The Observatory North Park *
3/10 Phoenix, AZ - The Van Buren *
3/12 Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre *
3/13 Omaha, NE - Slowdown *
3/14 Minneapolis, MN - The Fillmore *
3/15 Chicago, IL - Riviera Theatre *
3/17 Detroit, MI - Majestic Theatre ○
3/18 Toronto, ON - Queen Elizabeth Theatre ○
3/19 Montreal, QC - Corona Theatre ○
3/21 Boston, MA - House of Blues ○
3/22 Philadelphia, PA - The Fillmore ○
3/24 New York, NY - Webster Hall - SOLD OUT ○
3/25 New York, NY - Webster Hall - SOLD OUT ○
3/28 Silver Spring, MD - The Fillmore Silver Spring ○
3/29 Knoxville, TN - Big Ears Festival ○
3/31 Nashville, TN - Marathon Music Works ○
4/1 Asheville, NC - The Orange Peel ○
4/2 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse ○

* = Support from Guapdad 4000
○ = Support from Teejayx6

Europe:

4/9 London, UK - Roundhouse
4/11 Manchester, UK - Academy
4/14 Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso
4/15 Paris, FR - Elysée Montmartre
4/17 Berlin, DE - Astra

Japan:

4/21 Osaka, JP - Big Cat
4/22 Nagoya, JP - Club Quattro
4/23 Ebisu, JP - Yebisu Garden Hall

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