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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tDallas has a special place in Thundercat’s heart. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tDallas has a special place in Thundercat’s heart. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Neil Krug<\/p>\n
On a Wednesday night this past August, people lined up for blocks outside of ShyBoy in Downtown Dallas. Waiting for them at the bottom of the listening lounge\u2019s underground stairs was Erykah Badu just days before the release of her highly-anticipated record, \u201cBefore the World Blows,\u201d<\/a> a joint project with The Alchemist. Unbeknownst to them, Thundercat, who is featured on the album\u2019s \u201cThey Ain\u2019t You\u201d cut, was also waiting for them in ShyBoy. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cShyBoy was awesome,\u201d Thundercat tells the Observer. \u201cI really, really enjoyed that. I enjoyed the whole experience. I\u2019m so happy about Erykah\u2019s album. I got a chance to hear it during the process, and I was so excited for the world to hear this album. It\u2019s definitive Erykah. It\u2019s so beautiful. And with Alchemist, they are literally the perfect rhyme and the perfect beat. That\u2019s what that moment is.\u201d<\/p>\n Los Angeles-born-and-bred Thundercat, whose real name is Stephen Bruner, has a soft spot for Dallas. He has frequently performed at Badu\u2019s birthday concerts in Deep Ellum and has worked with several Dallas producers and artists, including DOMi and JD Beck<\/a>. Now, he is set to return to Dallas on Sunday, Nov. 8<\/a> at The Bomb Factory for a stop on his ongoing Distracted AF Tour.<\/p>\n Sign up for the Music newsletter to get the latest stories delivered to your inbox<\/p>\n THANK YOU!<\/p>\n You’re all set.<\/p>\n CLOSE\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Long before Bruner began releasing music as Thundercat, he met Badu through the musical trio, The Sa-Ra Creative Partners, when he was a teenager. The connection was instant, and Bruner often credits her for helping him find his footing as an artist. In the years leading up to Thundercat\u2019s proper debut, Bruner would collaborate with Badu as an instrumentalist. He played bass on several of her late 2000s tracks, including \u201cThe Cell\u201d and \u201cWindow Seat.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cErykah knows exactly what to do with me,\u201d Bruner says. \u201cThe creation of each song is such a snapshot of us in life. I have these moments that are like core memories of life, and even lyrically hearing that, from the part where I\u2019ve watched it morph and change in all kinds of ways throughout the years, to where this moment is, Erykah has just always known exactly what she\u2019s wanted to hear from me.\u201d<\/p>\n Bruner\u2019s latest album, \u201cDistracted,\u201d which dropped in April, is his most introspective to date. Balancing the woes of grief and anxiety with his signature brand of lighthearted humor and tongue-in-cheek one-liners, Bruner took his time making this album. It also marks his longest gap between albums, following 2020\u2019s \u201cIt Is What It Is.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve kind of never been able to finish things,\u201d says Bruner. \u201cIt\u2019s always kind of this weird place where I\u2019m just kind of constantly creating. And in this moment, whenever an album has been finished for me, I can step back and I can see a little bit clearer what that time was for me. I think honestly, this moment, the step back and being able to see whatever this is, it\u2019s like \u2018Okay, wow, this is what my last few years have been.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Though Bruner\u2019s musical resume spans nearly three decades, he is still an eager student of the game. He is constantly digging through the crates, discovering fresh new sounds. Currently on rotation are Chicago musician Ian Crumley and \u201cOh Yeah\u201d by Steve Lacy \u2014 Bruner\u2019s close friend and frequent collaborator.<\/p>\n And while his own hits might not be radio dominant in the traditional sense, even casual listeners will recognize his signature instrumental grooves and breezy, high-range vocals. The \u201cI just wanna party with you\u201d refrain from Bruner\u2019s song \u201cFunny Thing\u201d went viral during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic during the throes of social distancing. \u201cDragonball Durag\u201d is likely in heavy rotation at your favorite local coffee shop. And of course, everyone and their mother can recognize that funky bass line in the intro of 2015\u2019s \u201cThem Changes.\u201d<\/p>\n