BIOGRAPHY
Stephen Lee Bruner, known as Thundercat, was born October 19, 1984, in Los Angeles into a musical family: his father Ronald Bruner Sr. drummed for Diana Ross and the Temptations, and his brother Ronald Jr. is a Grammy-winning drummer. As a teenager he played in the band No Curfew before joining skate-punk pioneers Suicidal Tendencies, replacing Robert Trujillo when he left for Metallica. Through the 2000s he became a sought-after bassist for Erykah Badu, Flying Lotus, and Sa-Ra, and earned his first Grammy for his vocal work on Kendrick Lamar's 'These Walls.' His solo run includes The Golden Age of Apocalypse (2011), Apocalypse (2013), Drunk (2017, Grammy-nominated for Best Jazz Instrumental Album), It Is What It Is (2020, winner of Best Progressive R&B Album), and Distracted (2026).