Thundercat – “Black Qualls” (Feat. Steve Lacy & Steve Arrington)
Parker Day
Thundercat always stays busy, but the Los Angeles bass wizard hasn’t released an album of his own since 2017’s Drunk. Fortunately, that’s about to change. In April, Thundercat is coming back with a new album called It Is What It Is, executive produced by Flying Lotus and featuring a crew of collaborators including Ty Dolla $ign, Childish Gambino, Lil B, Kamasi Washington, BADBADNOTGOOD, Louis Cole, and Zack Fox. And today, he’s sharing one of its songs.
“Black Qualls” finds Thundercat teaming up with one his heroes in funk icon Steve Arrington, who Thundercat has been a fan of since he was a teenager, and the Internet’s Steve Lacy, who Thundercat says is “the physical incarnate of the Ohio Players in one person — he genuinely is a funky ass dude.” (The album version of the song also features Childish Gambino.) Listen to “Black Qualls” and check out the details of It Is What It Is below.
TRACKLIST:
01 “Lost In Space / Great Scott / 22-26″
02 “Innerstellar Love”
03 “I Love Louis Cole (Feat. Louis Cole)
04 “Black Qualls” (Feat. Steve Lacy, Steve Arrington, & Childish Gambino)
05 “Miguel’s Happy Dance”
06 “How Sway “
07 “Funny Thing”
08 “Overseas” (Feat. Zack Fox)
09 “Dragonball Durag”
10 “How I Feel”
11 “King Of The Hill “
12 “Unrequited Love”
13 “Fair Chance” (Feat. Ty Dolla $ign & Lil B)
14 “Existential Dread”
15 “It Is What It Is”
TOUR DATES:
02/28 Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre
02/29 Portland, OR @ PDX Jazz Festival
03/02 Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo
03/03 Arcata, CA @ Van Duzer Theatre
03/04 Chico, CA @ Senator Theatre
03/06 Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
03/07 Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern
03/08 Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory North Park
03/10 Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
03/12 Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
03/13 Omaha, NE @ Slowdown
03/14 Minneapolis, MN @ The Fillmore
03/15 Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre
03/17 Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre
03/18 Toronto, ON @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre
03/19 Montreal, QC @ Corona Theatre
03/21 Boston, MA @ House of Blues
03/22 Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore
03/24 New York, NY @ Webster Hall
03/28 Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore Silver Spring
03/29 Knoxville, TN @ Big Ears Festival
03/31 Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works
04/01 Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
04/02 Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
09/04 London, UK @ Roundhouse
11/04 Manchester, UK @ Academy
14/04 Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
15/04 Paris, FR @ Elysée Montmartre
17/04 Berlin, DE @ Astra
It Is What It Is is out 4/3 on Brainfeeder. Pre-order it here.
