“It’s got this Pink Floyd-ish tone that’s really open. I used it with Michael McDonald at the Hollywood Bowl”: Created by the Ibanez Custom Shop in L.A., Thundercat’s double-neck bass guitar has a 6-string on top and an 8-string on the bottom

Singer/bassist Thundercat performs at the 65th edition of the Newport Jazz Festival in Newport, Rhode Island, August 2, 2019. .

Stephen Bruner isn’t just a bass player – he’s a whole way of approaching life, built on a philosophy somehow espoused in the TV cartoon whose name he has adopted.

Having spent his teens and 20s playing bass with Snoop Dogg, Erykah Badu, and Suicidal Tendencies, Thundercat's breakout moment came via an appearance on Flying Lotus’ 2010 masterpiece, Cosmogramma.