Thundercat – "Dragonball Durag"

Last month, Thundercat returned with news a new album called It Is What It Is, his followup to 2017’s Drunk. The announcement came with a lead single, “Black Qualls.” (It was a promising initial preview, ranking amongst our favorite songs that week.) Today, the man otherwise known as Stephen Lee Bruner is back with a new called “Dragonball Durag.”

The first part the song’s name comes from Bruner’s love the Dragon Ball franchise. “I have a Dragon Ball tattoo… it runs everything,” he said in a press release. “There is a saying that ‘Dragon Ball is life.’” He continued, talking about durags: “There are two types 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 f because you never know what’s going to happen.”

Not that Bruner needs to evoke the mystical characters Dragon Ball or a superhero costume change by way a durag to activate his own powers, but it seems to help. “Dragonball Durag” is the kind liquid funk Thundercat excels at, with calling cards like that muscular-yet-psychedelic bass-playing and a sticky groove. Check it out below.

It Is What It Is is out 4/3 on Brainfeeder. Pre-order it here.