Thundercat: It Is What It Is (clear vinyl) [BRAINFEEDER]

Why you'll love it

This Brainfeeder pressing comes on clear vinyl. It Is What It Is won the Grammy for Best Progressive R&B Album and scored 84 on Metacritic.

This edition

• Clear vinyl
• Numbered
• Stereo mix

About the album

Stephen Bruner has always been funny on record, which is exactly why the tender moments here land so hard. He and Flying Lotus executive produced the album, and Thundercat dedicated it to his close friend and collaborator Mac Miller; the title track carries a sample of Miller's voice. The jokes, the space travel and the bass runs are all still present and correct, sitting right beside the heartache.

"Black Qualls" teams him with Steve Lacy, Childish Gambino and '80s funk hero Steve Arrington, and NME reckoned it a contender for the best song of 2020. "King of the Hill" first turned up on the label's Brainfeeder X compilation, "Unrequited Love" featured in an episode of the anime Carole & Tuesday, and "Fair Chance" and "Innerstellar Love" came out as singles. Louis Cole, Ty Dolla Sign, Lil B, Kamasi Washington, Zack Fox and Toronto's own BadBadNotGood all drop by.

The Independent heard it moving past the grief of Drunk into deeper contemplation, and Exclaim! called it exactly the record the world needed. It also contains a song called "Dragonball Durag," a phrase we never expected to type into a product description, and now cannot stop saying.

Also at Kops: more Thundercat on vinyl · browse Hip Hop / R&B

Tracklist

Listen

On Brainfeeder (cat# BF100X), the 2020 album.