WTF with Marc Maron Podcast - Episode 1190 - Thundercat

Episode Date: January 7, 2021

Thundercat thinks bass players run the world and not just because he's a great one. The multi-talented singer-songwriter talks with Marc about growing up with music all around him, learning at the feet of his brother and his friends Kamasi Washington and Cameron Graves, and finding his own sound on the bass. They also talk about his work with Kendrick Lamar on To Pimp A Butterfly and Thundercat describes the three areas around which he has structured his life: music, Marvel and anime. Sign up here for WTF+ to get the full show archives and weekly bonus material! https://plus.acast.com/s/wtf-with-marc-maron-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Be honest. When was the last time you thought about your current business insurance policy? If your existing business insurance policy is renewing on autopilot each year without checking out Zensurance, you're probably spending more than you need. That's why you need to switch to low-cost coverage from Zensurance before your policy renews this year. Zensurance does all the heavy lifting to find a policy, covering only what you need, and policies start at only $19 per month. So if your policy is renewing soon, go to Zensurance and fill out a quote. Zensurance, mind your business.

Hi, it's Terry O'Reilly, host of Under the Influence. Recently, we created an episode on cannabis marketing. With cannabis legalization, it's a brand new challenging marketing category. And I want to let you know we've produced a special bonus podcast episode where I talk to an actual cannabis producer. I wanted to know how a producer becomes licensed, how a cannabis company competes with big corporations, how a cannabis company markets its products in such a highly regulated category, and what the term dignified consumption actually means. I think you'll find the answers interesting and surprising. Hear it now on Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly. This bonus episode is brought to you by the Ontario Cannabis Store

and ACAS Creative. Lock the gates! All right, let's do this. How are you, what the fuckers? What the fuck buddies? What the fuck nicks? What's happening? We all know what's happening. I'm Mark Maron is my podcast wtf welcome to it that was my citizens app oh i guess the world

is ending is it did you guys get that on yours it just came up world is ending nowhere to go nowhere to hide uh huh i guess that's that's it i knew i would be notified on my citizens app so the king chaos pig provoked and gave orders for an insurrection, a coup, to a hodgepodge bunch of radicalized hate nerds and gamers, gun dorks, bullshit zealots, cosplayers of the fascist ilk oh yes and christians this is where it was going this was the parade he always wanted

it's ongoing as i'm doing this because you know i do this the day before who the fuck knows what happened overnight i'm recording this day before who the fuck knows what happened overnight i'm recording this late afternoon on wednesday i'm not a news operation i can't wait till tomorrow but it's pretty clear what's happened and it's pretty clear you know that we have a fairly large contingent of anti-American fascistic people in this country who are politically naive and utterly misinformed and excited to believe whatever bullshit honors their self-victimized state. But I mean, there's no, I mean, I can't, what am I going to sit here and there? I don't have any explanations. I knew this motherfucker wouldn't leave.

I knew he wouldn't leave easily. And I knew that he would break the fucking country and the world before he left. I'm not saying that's good to know that. I've just been talking about it for months. But I got no explanation. All the explanations are out there. This was going to happen this is a hodgepodge but not without momentum fascistic movement within our country

with a lot of followers and with a leader our soon-to-be former president and they're willing to take instructions to overthrow the capital of the United States by the president, who will soon be no longer president, but still the leader of an American fascist movement. That's what's happening. There's no other way to look at it. But the radicalization of the army of unfuckable hate nerds, the gamers, the disenfranchised young men mostly has been ongoing. Militia groups have been around for a long time. Christian evangelical fascists have been around for a long time. The sort of amalgamation of many of them under the banner of Q anon which is an ever-evolving

uh spigot of bullshit connecting the dots of history into something that uh excites and uh angers and drives the disenfranchised the racists the angry so now what happens i don't fucking know I guess we'll see tomorrow it's like you know today would have been a nice day to be like congratulations congratulations congratulations to Raphael Warnock and John Ossoff for being elected senators of Georgia. An African-American pastor and a Jew are now the senators representing the state of Georgia. Now that's a nice arc, a nice repairing dating back to the civil rights movement that sort of really kind of legitimizes and lands that journey

in a way of these two people and these two backgrounds. And it's also an amazing step in the correct direction politically and on a human level this would be the day for that congratulations but no how can we get people who want to believe in fantasy that drives them to violence, to racism, to anti-Semitism, to misogyny, to perhaps murder, to try to overtake the government, to take the Capitol and stop the Congress from doing its democratic work, the work of the people? of the people? How can we get the information correct once the brains are broken, when there's no barometer of truth, and when just the desire, the frenzy to believe becomes more important than what is being believed? It's been around since the beginning of people. Why is it raining? Why is my house on fire? Why did my wife die? why did my wife die why did my husband die why is there so much pain and trouble in the world god explain it make it better god who did this what bigger force than me people want to believe in things bigger than themselves

and things that are fantastical in order to feel connected to something or to explain something so once that valve or that portal or that gear in the brain is busted wide open and filled with fucking fascistic crap what do you do you storm the capital well what are those of us who know the truth do? Be scared and hope there's more of us? I did not mention today on the show, I talked to Stephen Lee Bruner, not Ring a Bell. How about Thundercat? That's what he goes by. He's a bass player, singer, songwriter. He's worked a lot with Kendrick Lamar, specifically on To Pimp a Butterfly. And he has four solo records out. Great, amazing, transcendent musician.

The most recent record is called It Is What It Is. And that is nominated for a Grammy. And I talked to him today. Man, I wish people had something. today. Man, I wish people had something. The plague thing, too, is bearing down, certainly on us here in L.A. and on us everywhere. My mother got shot one of the vaccine. I guess she waited a couple hours and had an appointment. She's in the age group there in Florida, so she's on her way to at least a little bit of relief from the fear. Her sister already had the COVID, as did my uncle.

But my mother and her boyfriend have not, and they were both inoculated with the first shot, which is good. It's making me squirrely that I know it's out there. I don't know when I can get it. And I know that it's everywhere where I live. It's out there. I don't know when I can get it. And I know that it's everywhere where I live. It's everywhere here. The relief is so fleeting, man. It's just the relief is so fleeting.

I appreciated President-elect Biden's comments. He did say it was seditious, probably, which it is. He did call it an insurrection, which it is. I'll add anti-American. You can add fascistic, too. But he said this isn't who we are. But you know what? I got to tell you, this is who some of us are.

That is what it is. are fascists who seek single party rule and are brain fucked enough to other everyone, but people they see as within their belief system. And that violence can get awful, historically speaking. And we want to believe that it's a minority and it is but symbolically what the pig president did yesterday was signal quite clearly that he will remain their leader we'll see where that goes what happens now in the next two weeks that guy should be thrown in fucking jail after all this sort of uh projecting that they do calling antifa fascist calling uh liberal democrats communists calling everybody the names evil he calls us calls democrats evil they are the things that they are projecting that's the most basic deflection of like a five-year-old no i'm not you are no i'm not you are no i'm not you

are why are you turning blue because my hands are around your throat i'm not killing you you are man he should actually be in jail he He should be forced out of office. Ted Cruz should resign. Senator Hawley should resign. They provoked this. They all fucking stood there and helped this along, enabled it, let it happen. Look, there's good and bad people everywhere, right?

Know who they are i hope when you hear this things have leveled off a little bit i can't really go on about it i'm just a comedian folks but just know there might be fascists in your family and they're proud of it and they let everybody know that yesterday so thundercat is somebody i always wanted to talk to i first saw him with kamasi washington uh at the staples center i think the club at the staple nokia club nokia i think is where i saw them uh kamasi had a broken leg but i was amazed by him and i've i listened to his solo records. I don't know everything he's done, but I enjoyed the album Drunk. I listened to some of his earlier albums, and then this new one is great. It's called It Is What It Is.

It's nominated for the Best Progressive R&B Album Grammy, and you can get it wherever you get your music. This is me talking to you. Hi, it's Terry O'Reilly, host of Under the Influence. Recently, we created an episode on cannabis marketing. With cannabis legalization, it's a brand new challenging marketing category. And I want to let you know we've produced a special bonus podcast episode where I talk to an actual cannabis producer.

I wanted to know how a producer becomes licensed, how a cannabis company competes with big corporations, how a cannabis company markets its products in such a highly regulated category, and what the term dignified consumption actually means. I think you'll find the answers interesting and surprising. Hear it now on Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly. This bonus episode is brought to you by the Ontario Cannabis Store and ACAS Creative. Death is in our air. This year's most anticipated series, FX's Shogun, only on Disney+.

We live and we die. We control nothing beyond that. An epic saga based on the global best-selling novel by James Clavel. To show your true heart is to risk your life. When I die here, you'll never leave Japan alive. FX's Shogun, a new original series, streaming February 27thth exclusively on Disney+.

18 plus subscription required. T's and C's apply. Go on. How you feeling? hey i'm all right yeah yeah is it a rough day already you know this is somehow somehow between the internet and them showing teen titans in the morning it's teen titans i just can't i don't don't know. I can't do it with this cartoon. It's the worst cartoon. No? Well, I mean, you have choices around cartoons. You don't have to watch them. True. So many

subscriptions. So many. What is Teen Titans? Is that an old one? I mean, it's an old DC comic, but it's also like, I guess, Cartoon Network kind of like they, that's their main cartoon. They rebooted it? Yeah, they rebooted it, and it's just been booted.

That's what it feels like. No good. It's been boot-oriented for sure. I feel like I'm getting kicked in the stomach every time I watch it. Did you grow up with the comics? I mean, was that your thing? For sure. I'm a Marvel kid through and through.

Like, I remember the day I started trading Marvel cards in middle school. Really? And, yeah, I mean, I was a collector of many different things, but Marvel cards was definitely, like, the beginning for me, you know? Did you watch the new Wonder Woman?

Yes, I did. And? Yeah. Goes right in line with this year. It's a great way to finish the year out. Disappointed? You know, the funny thing is, like, an old head, I went into a comic store one day, and this old head, the guy that worked there, was kind of like, me he's like hey man you know be open to stuff because it's like you know it's got to translate for the kids it's got to travel the generations it's got to go past what you know and all that stuff and he was right so there's a part of me that's always open to stuff but as a marvel as a marvel kid through

it like literally i have a marvel tattoo i have a couple of marvel tattoos there's a part of me that was just kind of like, I was watching it with my family, and I felt bad because it was almost like vomit. I kept booing in between moments, and I was like, oh, I hope nobody here is going to get pissed. I was like, I couldn't do it, man. I couldn't do it.

I watched it, and I was just kind of like, meh. Did you see the first one? Yeah. I took my daughter to see the first one and you like that you know it's funny too i'll say this i'll say there's something about it sucking so much more because not because of not being able to go to a movie theater sure so it's like sharing the experience with my daughter the first time it was kind of like it was an experience right it wasn't just about wonder woman the the comic it was kind of like you know i i

could read between the lines with this movie and i was like you know it's it's a good thing you know it's like it's like my daughter she she vibed with it a bit you know even though my daughter usually listens to like slipknot and it's just like you know she kind of she had a vibe with it you know i i don't like i don't watch i didn't grow up with the comics i didn't read many comics till i was later in life and they were just like uh swamp thing sandman hellblazer. I didn't grow up with the comics. I didn't read many comics until I was later in life, and they were just like Swamp Thing, Sandman, Hellblazer. I didn't grow up. That's the good stuff, though. Yeah, yeah.

Great. And I don't know why. I was in my 30s, and I was like, this is the best. Nice. But I didn't grow up with it or caring about it. Now, when I watch a Marvel movie, if I ever do i i'm always disappointed because i don't know i'm not expecting anything and i'm a grown-up so you know but it's an age-old tale i think i think that there's always a hard a hard thing for adaptation it's like something that you i said

this to the another comic store owner friend of mine i was like there's something about the idea of fantasy when you when you solidify it or make it real that it just like dispels it for you you know it's like there's a part where even the pictures right you don't engage any of your own imagination you're just reacting to this thing whereas yeah for some reason if you have the ability to contain you know contain a story that's written in panels, which not everybody does, that you don't really realize how much room there is in your imagination because these are just still panels. And after some point, you're not even paying that much attention to them.

They're there just to provoke your imagination somehow. Exactly. That's exactly what happens. Right. So the relationship is a lot different than having it all done for you and then having to trust that person to do it for you. I mean, who the fuck is that person? Exactly. Exactly. I mean, like a couple of the moments I was kind of like seeing the superpowers in real life,

you kind of go, I could probably kick his ass. That guy. I could probably beat him up. Yeah. He's not scary. Yeah. I could probably beat him up, you know? Yeah. He's not scary. Yeah. I guess for me, the first one was good in ways that a lot of comic book people didn't like. Like, I like the ending, you know, like all the big weirdness of the ending.

But they thought that was sort of like a sellout or something or something kind of overcompensating. I said, well, what are we working towards if it's not going to be something great like that? Yeah. Yeah. It's like there's so much to pull from with these stories. It's like, it could, it could afford to go anywhere, man. And you know, one thing I will say too, is that one thing that's dope is that it highlights a home guy, uh, the guy that also plays the Mandalorian. Uh, he was great. Yeah. Here's the best thing about that movie. Yeah. He played a real creep. The great thing about his creep, though, was like, it was an insecure creep, and you could see his insecurities from the get-go.

So, you kind of had this weird empathy, you know, which makes him a more interesting evil guy, because you're like, oh, he's just an insecure loser. He's like Trump. Yeah. He's just like... The comb-over and everything, right? Yeah. Well, I mean, I don't have much empathy for Trump, but I mean, if you could, it would

look like the Wonder Woman villain. Yeah, yeah. And I'm a huge Kristen Wiig fan, and it's always good to see her. You know what I mean? Yeah, I didn't understand that whole part. I guess you have to know the comic books. Like, why turn her into an animal when there's no real precedent for that? Like, out of nowhere, she's just an animal.

And as a guy who doesn't know the comics i was like well that's a weird choice yeah cheetah i knew who that character was but i was also just like it's again it was one of those moments where i was like you know it's kind of like it felt like just like it felt like a really bad cut and paste it's like yeah some of that stuff looks really amazing and here's cheetah and it was just like all right well you know what else i just watched was i watched uh that frank zappa documentary oh nice did you watch it now i've been meaning to i've been completely just sitting here just sitting here staring at the sky and then like watching cowboy b-pop yeah i'm like i'm a total anime nerd man I'm just like yeah you know through and through

so it's like the gist of this has been me sitting here tripping out watching hell anime but I've been meaning to if fantasy works for you and it gives you relief

that's great like I don't I don't have that you know I just have you know dread and existential dread

yeah and you wrote a song about that. Which album was that on? Was that on the new one? Existential Dread? That was the new one. That was good. Yeah, I can relate to that.

I can relate to a lot of the songs. But I was watching, like I talked to Bootsy a couple weeks ago, and then I watched a Zappa doc. So, you're talking about Parliament and then watching what Zappa's trying to do and then listening to some of the stuff you've done. element and then watching you know what zap is trying to do and then listening to some of the stuff you've done and the first time i saw you i saw you with kamasi when kamasi had his broken leg and he was sitting in a throne uh down at oh yeah it was like was that the staples it was a uh i can't remember where we saw it but he you guys have been somewhere and he had to sit in

that giant chair because he couldn't walk. It wasn't the Mayan. I don't think so. I feel like it was like you had just returned. It was in the small room at the Staples Center in the smaller lounge. Maybe it was, I mean, and that was when I first saw you. And I was like, how many strings are on that bass? But I guess the point being is that you know my understanding of where music goes and what

music can do uh it it seems something that you're highly aware of and there seems to be no real boundary to it yeah no it's it's it's very open it's i blame it on how i was raised and you know i always feel like the the somewhere between the lines is where we exist with the stuff so we got to always consistently blur those lines you know yeah well how what how does your upbringing relate well um quite literally I mean I've basically me and Kamasi and my brother and we kind of amongst other people we kind of we were kind of born together so to speak. Me and Kamasi's dad used to play together in high school or in college and stuff like that.

Your dad? Yeah, our parents. And even- What was his instrument? Kamasi, my dad's instrument was the drums. Kamasi's dad's a horn player, right? Yeah, Kamasi's dad is a horn player, yeah. And then also another one,

another one like that is George Ann Muldrow. Like our parents grew up playing together and they had us and it was kind of like you know you got that could go one of a couple ways you know you got the kids that resents which because it's always being shoved down their throat yeah but they right it it actually translated otherwise it turned into like you know it was it kind of passed down to us so there's a part of it where we started taking it really serious at a really young age like at a very young age we got a chance right with the with the likes of reggie andrews and and the thelonious monk institute and and and all these different you know things as we were kids were very um

it kind of cultivated our ability and then on top of that we were also doing stuff like playing in nightclubs and you know like i was the kid where you know i couldn't stand in front of or behind the club and then but i would come in to play and then they would kick me out and throw me down the street right you know like we were those kids and but anytime it was a chance anytime we got a chance to play and it was like we got a chance to grow we would we would take it. But you would go see your folks. You would see your, your father's play a lot.

Oh yeah. I mean, you could go to the rehearsal space or whatever. So like at that time, like, cause like, I don't, I, I've came, you know, I always kind of knew about jazz. I listened to jazz a lot more now. I've, I've broadened my collection a little bit. Yeah. jazz. I listen to jazz a lot more now. I've broadened my collection a little bit. And,

you know, I can't wrap my brain around theory or anything like that. You know, I play guitar, but I don't read music or necessarily understand things about it, but I can listen to stuff. You know, I do, I have pretty adventurous ears, like stuff doesn't bother me no matter how weird it gets. So, like, when you're younger, I mean, what kind of jazz were you being brought up with, really? Oh, everything from big band to jazz fusion to straight ahead. It was kind of all embedded. Like, growing up with Reggie Andrews, it was kind of like, you know,

everything from we would listen to jazz in the morning, then he would always quiz us on those kind of things where we would have to be able to tell who was playing by how they sounded. Yeah, so we would sit and listen to the radio, and it would be little incentive things like that that he would reward us for. He'd be like, man, who is this? And you're like, man, that sounds like Ornette Coleman, or that sounds like Wayne Shorter.

You hear certain types of note selection and stuff like that, or a certain tone. And you can do it yeah you can tell these guys you most of them yeah it was kind of how you know from that to like the types of standards we would learn like Kamasi's dad we would practice at Kamasi's dad's house a lot and Cameron Cameron Graves is another one we would practice at their parents house and um you know kamasi's dad would give kamasi like a task or give us a task to write a tune or learn a tune a day yeah you know take you know if you're gonna sit back here and play it's cool to be playing but like challenge yourself with learning something new and it's gonna it skews and offsets the comfortability of how you

know all that kind of stuff and then from that to like you know we would compete in like the john coltrane jazz awards and stuff like that we would do all kinds of stuff and we would just be involved in exercise yeah it was like it was a constant learning constant learning even when you're like sleeping it was learning it was we me and kamasi when i remember the day amoeba i remember the day amoeba set up and became a reality and me and kamasi used to live there like kamasi would go to UCLA or you know him and Cameron would be in school and then after they get out of school or when they would be on break they come back to their you know they stayed in a spot at one point and we would just go get in the car buy a burrito and go to Amoeba and spend like five hours there

and come out with this sea of music and like it's we'd be sitting in the car eating burritos listening to like some new Tchaikovsky or some some you know like what is this okay you know just examining stuff like that and trying to listen with bigger ears you know so it's all uh it was all music and marvel for you oh yeah man that's in anime music marvel in anime and that was when i say that's to this day it's kind of like that's what everybody is always up against with me. Where it's just like, in my most profound moment, I will still make a Dragon Ball reference. It's embedded in me, man. I think that's maybe that's some of the stuff that I don't quite understand on some of the records,

are references to things that I don't know about. Yeah, no, it's Dragon Ball. Dragon Ball is life. That's what it is. You know, Dragon Ball is life. What is it? the records was a references to things that i don't know about yeah that's dragon ball dragon ball is life that's that's what it is you know dragon ball is what is it it's one of the best cartoons ever created in the history of cartooning it's like you got mickey mouse you know you got gundam you know you got marvel you got i mean i'm you know i'm not going to fully be a hater i'm going to say for most first time it's gund DC. Gundam? Is that the Western with the Sensi? No, no, no. You got, Gundam is a Japanese cartoon that's just giant robo.

It's kind of like in the earlier years of giant robo. There's a lot of different giant robo. But, you know, you got all these different things. You got Hello Kitty from Japan. You got all this stuff. But Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z and now dragon ball super skipping dragon ball gt it's like it's kind of like this it's a story of this it's basically following this this alien kid as he's growing and watching him learn how to be human it's kind of it's it's got a lot of parallels to like stuff that we

recognize like a superman or like a you know or or just a you know the x-men and stuff like that it's like he's an alien what's the matter with gt gt i don't know man gt just felt really just it felt like neither here nor there there was some good stuff in it you know certain moments but it felt like it felt like the trope of as compared to the feeling or the quality of dragon ball z so you would see you know like certain certain obstacles goku and the guys had to overcome in z were like really like you could feel it you know goku would die and like you have to wish him back and then they only had this one they can only wish certain people back so just executive decisions would have to be made about

who they bring back and goku comes back 10 times powerful. He's been traveling astral. And it's like, he's been doing all kinds of stuff. So the story of Goku from a boy starts at Dragon Ball. And then Dragon Ball Z is him as a man. And then Dragon Ball GT is just him after listening to flock of seagulls or something. I don't know.

And then, wow. And then Dragon Ball Super is him as a God, you know, and it's, it's, it's got a bit of a... But you just, you explain it to me,

and it's like, you know, even if I'm interested, it feels like it would take a lifetime for me to catch up. Dragon Ball Z. I mean, well, you know, there's Cliff's Notes versions of it, and the truth is the manga is what it started as, and if you were into reading like that you mean if you wanted to check out dragon ball it's it's always available it's like it's it's almost no it's like batman it's like it's a common there's a good right you can

pick up at different points and it would still be like oh i get it okay yeah that's very good that's good okay well how did this when you look about you think, do you have a whole room in your house full of vinyl and one full of comic books? I mean, do you? It's all in the same space, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, like it's all not separated. It's all vinyls, comics, video games, toys.

It's just here. Right. Looks like an O'Connell Broadway in here. Well, when you think about it, do you feel that somehow or another, whatever your love for comic and fantasy planted in you influenced the music or your ability to see music differently? Yeah, man. The cartoons, I'm not going to lie, the cartoons inspire the music it's like it did like everything naruto and cartoons like naruto and cowboy bebop and dragon ball z they inspire me to push harder like to know that there's a there is more there

you just have to push harder like it's always anytime i've ever watched naruto like uh it made me feel like i can be a better person like anytime i would watch it i immediately would start doing push-ups or like you know or really yeah like i spent most of this year and like as we're talking about this year and i mean there was a giant weight loss that happened for me and yeah you look uh you look lean i remember when i saw you with kamasi you were uh heavier kind of bulbous yeah um bulbous with your big base with five strings yeah it's like it's one of those things where a lot of stuff six strings or five six strings six strings a lot of things but but every now and again you can definitely catch me playing a five

two it's like uh it's one of those things where i a lot of things had changed rapidly uh on the on the the death of one of my best friends and also the loss of like a person i was really in love with it was it became really difficult so i went through a weird moment of being depressed for real for real and this was uh this was like this year so you had some it started a couple years this started a couple years back and you know your friend died and someone you were in love with died? No, they didn't die. They just left me. Oh.

Both of them? Or one passed away and one left you? Yeah, and it was kind of consecutive. And it was like, it started back then. Grief is the worst, man. And when Mac passed, personally, it changed my life. Oh, Mac, that's right, right. Mac Miller, yeah. Yeah. Mac Miller, yeah.

Yeah. And I think from that time period till now, a lot of changes drastically happened that would result in me physically changing. So I became vegan and I stopped drinking because it was basically like, I feel like I had seen too much, you know? Well, I mean, I noticed that with, you know, going through all the records, you know, from Apocalypse forward that, you know, that, you know,

when you talk from the first person, it's interesting. There's a style of songwriting that, like, I noticed a little more in jazz. Like, I was listening to Horace Silver's later albums where he incorporated, you know, vocals and stuff. Yeah. He had brought in people. And, you know, there is a type of earnest sort of presentation in some of that more experimental jazz singing

where, you know, no one's looking for hooks, but it's more philosophical and more straightforward, you know? And it's not, you know, it's not based on rhyme or anything other than ideas, right? So there's some of this stuff that I was listening to, and I was like, there were points in the work where I was thinking that, is he writing from the first person or is he creating a character here? Because if he's writing from the first person, this guy's heading for a wall. And so is life, right? There you go. All right.

Yeah, there it is. It seems like you're drinking too much and you got a heavy heart and you're too sensitive and you get in trouble in japan that's what i i got that is that is quite literal sir this that is me in real life yes well that's good that you pulled it together man but it's all in there yeah i mean you know you're pretty honest in your work you know once i get past the sort of, you know, the music, which is great, but just listening to you.

So it was it was because you work with Mac Miller a bit, right? Yeah. Yeah. It was one of my best friends. Oh, he was? Yeah. It's hard, man. You know, so did you see the struggle with drugs with him?

Yeah. I was there for the most part of that yeah and that and that and and that was a wake-up call for you in the midst of the grief where you realized that you know even if you weren't doing the same drugs that perhaps you know you were increasing your odds of uh of uh of a of mortality yeah yeah i um i mean i mean, I really hate that it took, I hate that it took that when I look back in hindsight. But it's kind of one of those things where it's like, I just, something had to give.

Right, right. You know, and. Yeah, and you don't want it to be your mind or your life. Right? Yeah. So. Yeah, so you know't want it to be your mind or your life, right? So, you know, and it seems like. You either get the lesson or you get out of here. For sure, one way or the other, yeah. Yeah. But, well, I'm glad that you chose the art and the faith

and the decision to change the life, find some hope. Yeah, you know, watch a lot of Star Wars. So, but what about the work? I mean, is the album, it is what it is, the processing of that? Yeah. Yeah. It was like, I think it was like, you know, somewhere between real life. It's like, you know, again, like we're saying sometimes stuff with me can be a bit literal.

And yeah, that was me processing it. That was the change happening. And it just was kind of, it's again, it's like looking it's like, uh, looking back on it, it was really, it was a bit traumatizing. It was a bit, um, emotionally traumatizing at least. Um, it's terrible, man. And it's like, it's like, I, you know, I went through something this year, just terrible. And, and there's nothing, you know, when you lose somebody, uh, and your heart breaks, you know, both, you know, like however you lose people, it's heartbreaking and you get to a point, you know, I'm older than you where you're like, you know, I don't know how

much of this shit I can take. You know, how much are we built? Are we built to handle this? I don't know if I could do another one of these, you know, and, and when it, when it's death, then, you know, cause that's a surprising one. Then you're like, well, shit, you know, there's no avoiding this. And we're all going to deal with this grief if we live long enough one way or the other. But if it's people leaving or you leaving, then it's like, man, I don't have to do this again. Like it is, as my buddy Brendan said, you know, you sort of earn your stripes as a human when you process this shit without destroying yourself. There you go. Yeah, I wholeheartedly agree with that. You know, and it's you you know it's it's it's

never easy but you don't realize that you know like you don't realize it's it's always like you have to it's going to you know the consistent having to overcome and trying to like oh yeah be able to still walk straight after somebody hits you in the side of the head with a glass bottle you know it's like yeah it's a lot it's a lot man and did the work help did i mean did when you when you were doing the music did it help um i mean i remember it's it's it's always music has always been a bit therapeutic and a bit like it's it becomes that but i think in this moment it really was it was like overwhelmingly painful so getting if i didn't have flying lotus there with me and he's always been there with me like i always talk about him but it's the truth if flying

lotus wasn't there with me to help me see me through some of these moments i it just would be me tail spinning you know and yeah he's a good friend huh yeah yeah it's genuinely like beyond the music even though every i mean like i always say when i when i refer to him i always say people can hear our relationship in the music but yeah beyond the music it's one of these things where it's like i don't know he's just always i feel like he's always cared for me, you know? Yeah. It's important when you're in the grief. Yeah. In those moments, he's kind of, you know, he would help me be able to stay standing straight when stuff would wallop me on the side of the head like that, you know? Right.

Yeah. To hold you up in a way, you know, to get you, like, because, like, when my girlfriend passed away in May, you know know i got a friend who uh you know he just started calling me and we talk every fucking night man you know for you know even now yeah like you know right right from the get-go and it was just sort of like it's grounding because if you're just left to sit in it and you don't got no love coming your way in the form of just a guy going like what's going on what'd you do what'd you eat you know uh what have you been thinking about you read a thing you know whatever just to be like oh get me you know out of it you know for a minute right yeah absolutely man and then flying lotus so like that guy's a genius you're a genius so like you know you're swirling around in the possibilities. I imagine that outside the friendship, you're like, well, let's get into this thing.

What's that thing you were working on? Yeah. Right? Yeah. Yeah. Lotus can keep me focused, man. He really can. What's that guy's background?

Because I talked to Anderson Pack about him, and then I went on a little spin with some of his work. And before I knew you guys were buddies or work together like a couple days ago when I was I knew I was going to talk to you I'm like he's got to be with Flying Lotus because the the groove is sort of similar where you guys are going yeah so that you kind of inform each other huh yeah yeah that's how I I mean I you know I get you know you there's a moment where you see stuff in weird shades and gradients. I still remember vividly meeting him at South by Southwest. I remember what he was wearing.

I remember his sentiment. I remember the necklace. I remember the shoes. I remember how hot it was. And it was like, it was one of the greatest moments, you know, not knowing like unbeknownst to both of us, it was kind of like, it was one of those things like, man, we should hang out. And it was like, unbeknownst to both of us, it was kind of like, it was one of those things like, man, we should hang out.

And it was like, we should definitely hang out. And it just, you know, like life changes and the different growth and, you know. Did you know his work before you met him? Oh yeah, oh yeah. We both knew of each other's work to, I mean, I feel like he, I was a little bit more spotty back in the day.

It wasn't, I didn't have the day it wasn't i didn't have albums it wasn't something that was like solidified like that until i signed a brain feeder records but uh-huh me and he knew of my work by way of like the different things like saara creative partners and erica badu and different of different people that i would work with and he you know it's like uh we both knew that there was something that, you know, it was like, yeah, man. And I was a very big fan of his work, of course, you know. Yeah. This man is the sound of Los Angeles, you know.

Yeah. It's like it's interesting when I enter the world that you guys live in musically because it's not really my world. And when I go in there, I realize a couple of things like well this is amazing and deep and broad and and I you know I where the fuck am I living do you know I guy this is happening all right time and I every once in a while I walk into it I'm like holy shit there's a whole other planet here you know and I yeah cuz all you guys kind of you know like the world of him flying lotus and you and kamasi and kendrick and like there's a whole like amalgamation of different styles of music

sort of constantly coming together among the crew that you guys are seem to be with yeah no at any given moment you know we'll get together get together and something comes of it. You know, it's just, I think that's just kind of a, somewhere between like, you know, that's like, I don't want to say byproduct of the environment, but as compared to just, it's somewhere between the actual relations and relationships that you have with each other. And there's no way it's not going to translate musically. You know, it's going to, it's because music is the way we communicate it's like there's a part of it where it's it's embedded in there you know it's like you know you're looking for a chance to oh let me accentuate you know you're

like you're kind of like okay let me see if i can challenge let me challenge this a bit or like oh let me uh you know it's like i'm constantly tinkering with each other's stuff you know and well it's interesting to me like like you guys like you and kamasi like come on like when i first heard epic you know i talked to him years ago you know we he talked to me and i like you know i i heard epic and i'm like holy shit man the production on this is insane and then i realized you know when you guys play when i saw you play live that like you're you're playing live like you know, when you guys play, when I saw you play live, that like you're playing live. Like, you know, all that stuff is not, you're not doing tracks, you know? Yeah.

So I'm like, holy shit. You know, he's got the choral group there. He's got the strings over here. He's got his dad and he's got you and another guy on bass. There's two keyboards. Like, I'm like, what the fuck is happening? Two drummers. You know, like.

But. You got to imagine that being. It's all imagine that being wait you want to hear something funny you gotta imagine that in a small nightclub off of crenshaw boulevard like a whole entire without the without the orchestra and the strings but the whole band hanging out and trying to play at like fifth street dicks or lamar park or uh or uh we'd be hanging out the side of the club half the man would be outside the club oh my god just be some of the funniest moments you know you got cameron brandon playing and me and miles and you know isaac and and terrence kamasi everybody we would just be playing and then the half they wouldn't it was like man there doesn't really need to be an audience because we're the audience so many of you yeah half the club would be the

little small coffee house like 15 band members like who's getting paid from this nobody pay us in coffee and sandwiches but that's what that was the that was the uh the kind of the the uh the the primal soup of the thing right i mean that's where it was us that's who we were you know but like but what my point was like when i listen to epic i was like this is groundbreaking and it is but but then i listened to mingus uh um and i'm like oh well they're that choral thing's sort of a precedent you know that i mean that's been around yeah so i started to put that stuff together and then when i listen to you like there's definitely like you know there's a kamasi jazz and then there's you know what you're doing is a little different in your own way, right? Your approach is more fusion-oriented,

where Kamasi's pretty much traditional hard bop, bebop. He's coming from a different place, in a way. Yeah, absolutely. It's all embedded in there. Yeah, of course. Our first album together, we recorded as the Young Jazz Giants when we were kids. It was kind of like we would try to you know incorporate everything that everybody was into you know and it's like there's

a right i'm playing upright on the album i'm like there's a song called steven's song where you like or it's kind of like you know my it was me electric bass you know and then there's like this giant drum solo at the end and then and then cameron and then you know, Cameron's insanely gifted piano playing. One person I feel like I don't talk about enough is Cameron Graves, to be honest with you. Cameron, and it's just growing up with a Cameron Graves also was a really big deal. Between Cameron and Kamasi, they were always teaching me. You know, they were always showing me you know they were always showing me showing me how to play through what they would be processing and like oh this is these scales go with this this

is what fits here like they would be from that to like oh no man you know like the the repetition the part where I learned the repetition was growing up with Cameron Graves I would watch a guy sit and practice piano for nine hours a day growing up literally we could be having a conversation it wouldn't matter he had the metronome on he'd be chewing his tongue and going through the scales while you're trying to sit here and play resident evil you know and then you get up and play some resident evil you know and then go right back to playing you know it's just it was that's that was my upbringing you know and i was very fortunate very fortunate to have cameron and kamasi and my older brother as teachers you know what I mean and what like early on you know outside of those guys

you know and and living in the the sort of world of jazz all the time I mean what who were the who were the people the artists that really kind of connected with you early on where you were like that you know like I want to play bass I want to play bass like that or you know i get it now it was definitely definitely jaco and stanley no stanley clark right jaco and stanley like in in again again of course the introduction is to jaco uh around the age i'm around 10 or so and the same thing with stanley yeah i was of a certain age and then you know it's one of those things where i i um i had many different moments i remember everybody would always talk to me about different you know different cats growing up you know again ray brown and you know mingus of course and stuff like that right then i would you know ron carter of course and miriro Slavittu's like but

it's funny because I think that the place that it lies specifically for me was in the jazz fusion era because there was everything in being embodied in those moments from upright to electric and yeah like in that moment as a transitional part of the music I think there was somewhere where I knew that there was a place for me that existed you know I mean it's like there's a part of it where oh as a bassist being able to do all of that you know like something like this is this is okay this you can do it was like almost like being introduced to what this is what you can do with your instrument right right you know right well yeah I'll get it yeah because like you know because

of the way you grew up you realized on some level that there were limitations to traditional jazz right so yeah i imagine you know getting hip to stanley clark or jocko you started to like the departure from upright yeah to like almost any possibility at all yeah yeah and then one key one two other important ones are anthony jackson and paul jackson anthony jackson like changed my sense of melody and harmony tremendously you know um it's kind of like one of those things where all i mean there's only a few bass players that i would always say i wanted to be like growing up it was definitely Stanley and Jocko and it was Anthony Jackson Anthony Jackson and Paul Jackson and Anthony Jackson played electric you know I mean I'd have my favorites Eddie Gomez and Charlie Hayden and stuff like that I was very aware of

different you know cats growing up but Anthony Jackson's relation to melody and how often he would be able to how how effortlessly he would change the course of music from the simplest place it just always was like i want to be able to do that i want to be able to do that i want to it was like you could hear him talking under the music it was crazy well that's what i guess that's what that's the uh opportunity that bass gives you is that you can just sort of like almost quietly change everything yeah like you know yeah it is you know it's like where are we now and i don't know the bass player just did something and we're in a different place entirely there you go yeah yeah i always always feel like and we you know we always say you know lead singers guitarists

you know sure sure you're like we know but we know deep down bass players around the world they do they do the rhythm section runs the world really right yes yes and i i don't understand that relationship with the like you know i learned about it later in life just like listening to rock music that you know that if the rhythm section isn't tight you're the whole the whole project's a mess yeah you wouldn't you wouldn't drive a lamborghini with a donut i mean yeah you don't have your wheels aligned properly yeah but where do you put like people like like you know i i have to assume only because I just talked to him a couple weeks ago, that Bootsy is important. Oh, yeah, man.

Yeah. Yeah, man. And to be honest with you, like, man, man, oh, man. And it's like, again, like, Bootsy and Bernie Worrell, to me, that was also who I wanted to be like. Well, I hear it all through your records. Because you get a groove and you're not concerned with hooks. You're kind of concerned about movement. But there's that Bernie Worrell style synthesizer that just pop in occasionally.

And you're like, oh, okay. There's a reminder. An intergalactic reminder. Yeah, yeah, man, yeah. Oh, man, Bootsy and Bernie, man. And it's like somewhere between being able to vacillate between roles as the instrument is always, like, leaned on or it always has like this heavy anchor

trying to find the ways that it like can also become texture can also become progressive uh progression it could also become you know uh percussive you know like finding those places yeah because like i i noticed that like you know if you lay a couple of bass tracks down because i noticed that yesterday i might have it might be on the new record where, you know, you're kind of, you know, doing something very upfront with the bass as a, you know, a single voice almost where, you know, this is the bass singing here upfront. from bass you'll drop that bottom beat you know you know as a percussion but you're still on top of it with the other one or however you're working that and then you really kind of illustrate what you're talking about the two differences to you know the approach and the possibilities of bass yeah yeah yeah but like Bootsy like what struck me about him talking to him is like out of nowhere on this last record this new one that he did the one you know you know he's playing with

george benson and i'm like george benson really yeah and then like you but then you you know you got kenny loggins you got michael mcdonald but you've got this respect you know coming through fusion in the 70s for these cats that like in my youth i might have found a little boring right so like george benson you know george benson's all right you know i know him from the hits when i was a kid yeah bootsy's like i always wanted to play with george benson and i'm like really oh george can rip man i know he's great yeah i mean i but i judged because of my association you know i'm i'm it's hard for me to sort of adapt to fusion, dude. I don't know why. Like out of all the jazz styles, it's hard for me. And I think that I think one of the reasons is because there is a kind of softness to it.

And I, you know, I require anxiety. You know what I mean? I need I need the jazz to have a a riddling effect on my own trip like i need i hear you you do okay yes but but listening to you or listening to lotus that like you know if you want to go on the ocean and you know just you know take that journey you know it's it's here for you you know if you want to be in a fucking storm, then, you know, go live there. Right. Right.

Right. I hear you. Does that make sense? That makes total sense, man. I'm like, I don't know. And I go like this. Well, here you go. That's where enter George Duke and Frank Zappa.

Right. You know. Right. Yeah, man. Right. Because like that stuff, like you listen to the production on that shit and there's no way it's not going to be hard on you. It's not going to be harsh no matter what Frank's doing.

The way that they put that stuff together, you know, stuff that is pretty aggressively dissonant and challenging. Yeah. But still there's such a ring to it. You're like, I'm okay with this. It's not making me aggravated. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. there's such a ring to it you're like i'm okay with this it's not making me aggravated yeah yeah yeah but what was it like you know i guess jaco and stanley would do it because that seems to be you know where you prefer to live is in that kind of you know starting with that fusion foundation

yeah man it's i don't know because it's like um I think it's important. I think it's important, man. To a major degree, like the ability and prowess of the instruments, you know, like your physical ability. It's like, it's important. It's just as important, you know. And I feel like there's a lot of, I mean, and like I said, I always am a firm believer in the idea of somewhere in between you know like finding where it's almost like it's no different than a marriage or a or a love for something you know it's like the hard work as compared to the feelings and stuff like that and trying to understand how to balance those things it's literally always somewhere in between i think the same and when it comes to the music, I think like,

okay, be able to have that, but then also be able to pull back, but then also be able to, you know, like intensify and, and have something to say, you know,

it's, it's a, it's imperative. And, and also structurally, like, because of the way you've set up, how you conceive of albums and music,

like you've really set up a situation where you can do whatever you want you know for like you know you have 30 second 40 second two minute pieces but you can move through any any sound you want i mean well you know one of my one of my favorite things is i always say you know like dri can do a 20 minutes a 20 second song and nobody will bat an eyelash to it right it's like yeah it's like that's all in there i'm like you know what that's sometimes that's all you have to say you know it's like sometimes that one moment is it and it's not right meant to be anything why not let it be its own thing i think those moments are just just as important you know yeah and let's you've probably gone over this before but like talk to me about because it seems like you and Kamasi and whatever you guys, you know, how that all came together with Kendrick on To Pimp a Butterfly, that there was something fundamental about like, I now know the evolution out of, you know, jazz into hip hop, into rap. Like I watched a documentary on the Blue Note on the, you know, on Blue Note

records and I never put it together quite like that. And now I kind of get that, but it seems to me that when you guys did that album, that you would really sort of discovered the, the kind of the, the perfect symbiosis between jazz and, and, and rap. Do you feel that, that, that, that something was that? That something was, because of, I guess, Kendrick's sensitivity to what you guys were doing, I don't know if he grew up with you guys, that you created something, I would say almost totally original with that record

because of the jazz element. Yeah, man. That album, it was the definition of a perfect storm. Yeah, how'd that happen? Man, you got, you know, it's the snapshot of everything that was literally happening at the time. I mean, again, if we were going to keep it musically, it's one of those things where everybody's mind and heart was open in that one moment to trying to push into something new. And the way he would go about bringing that about, you know, it's like sometimes it's like the part where, yeah, you got to get us all in the room together sometimes. You know, that's definitely a part of it.

You know, everybody's, everybody, along with their heart and mind being in the same place, it's like physically with the instruments and stuff like that, you know, we're spending a lot of time in different ways and stuff like that. You know, Kamasi, me and Kamasi are always on tour

in our own worlds and stuff like that. Yeah. At this point, I'm writing music like every day and get on the computer and, you know, I'm writing music every day. I get on the computer and I'm digging around up here and digging around over here. It's a bit like everybody brought their best to that moment, I think. Did you guys know Kendrick? Did you grow up with him? Not in the same way that I grew up with the Kamasi. I didn't know Kendrick as a kid, no.

But in the process of working, he reminded me, or let me know the first time that he got a chance to interact with me. And it was like, I think I was playing with this group, J. Davey, and him and his group, I think Black Hipp for j davy at one point and he expressed to me how he remembers seeing me play with him and i think i had met him and that was again years prior to to pimp a butterfly coming out of course yeah i i mean for me it was hard for me to remember too because again you know mentally i'd be in different places back then, of course, you know, but you know,

it was crazy because it was one of those moments where it's, I think that this was a moment where he, he just wanted to bring me in to what it was, I guess, a bit. And I'm happy he did, you know, I'm very happy he did. And it was all, it was open, right? So like, cause it seems to me that that generally is not like you and kamasi had a shorthand and you know and you were you know you were all it seemed like the the creative convergence was not was not that common in that world in in the sense that using real instruments and whatnot is that yeah no we again this is years

and years of us having played together so it's like it's one of those things if you know you get us in a room it's not gonna not happen you know it's like it's just it's that's what we've spent our life doing so it's like you know even if we hadn't seen each other in ages or like i was saying kamasi being on tour i'd be on tour you know miles doing his thing or however this translates it's like you know it's you know we would learn we've known each other's music since we were kids so you know you start playing a tune and oh yeah i remember that tune or like you know you know right you know and it and kendrick was just open to it because he knew what you guys were capable yeah or he would he would take elements of it in like you know you know you know he'd place it or he'd find places for it.

Yeah, right, right, right. So what's your relationship with Japan? Man, you know, it definitely, again, it started when I was a kid. It definitely started early on, you know. Through anime? It was definitely anime for sure. Definitely anime for sure. I'm realizing how much stuff was anime as a kid. I always talk about it where it's kind of like all of our cartoons from He-Man to Silverhawks to the Mighty Orbots to the Transformers to Thundercats. Those were all Japanese animators.

you know she wrote princess of power freaking uh what's the other one jim and the holograms that's all that's so we're already we were already being fed that and then on top of that my first introduction to dragon ball z was a wrist a bracelet that i got at a dentist office and i remember it because i also uh i don't talk about it as much but i i also illustrate i'm also an illustrator and it started back then for me i was kind of like intrigued with the with the shapes of the figures and stuff like that and then from there from that moment um again it's like it's it's it's so embedded in in in interweaved and stuff you know i was there when pokemon was incepted you know it's kind of like the the reception of Pokemon cards.

Huh? Were you there in Japan? No, no, no. Like, I mean, the introduction of Pokemon as a kid. I was one of those kids from that to realizing the Power Rangers was a Japanese franchise. You know, like, all of that was like, it would just be swirling around. And at different points, you'd tap in and be like, oh, wow, of course, that's Japan. Oh, that's Japan.

And then you get older and you're like, of course it's Japan. And then, you know. They're jazz heads too over there too, right? Oh, for sure. For sure. And yeah, you see the connection. You see the connection. But do you go over there?

Do you spend time there? Yeah. Yeah. It's been, it's kind of like, it's my happy place to be honest with you i go there yeah yeah i go there and just completely turn into a japanese school girl and then yeah no for real the one that the tokyo what album's that on tokyo that's on drunk i think oh man that sounded like a pretty pretty good night yeah restless nights in tokyo man yeah yeah i've had some wild moments in tokyo oh god oh my god but it's it's like um so all of that kind of going in and around and then like

you know my first introduction to anime was, like when Cognizant introduction to anime, the one job I ever worked was at a comic store called Collector's Paradise. And it was my summer job when I got- Where's that? That's here, right? Yeah, Collector's Paradise. I'm pretty sure it's all around the States. Okay.

Yeah. And I worked there when I was around between the age of 10 and 14 or something like that. You know, when my grades were really good and I didn't have anything to do in the summer. And I wasn't practicing. I wouldn't practice 24 hours a day. So my dad was like, you got to get out and do something. So I would go work at the comic store. Yeah.

I would work at the comic store and they would like let me bag and board comics. And I had to make sure the displays were right and make sure kids weren't stealing stuff you know they would have to make sure i wasn't stealing stuff and then um but like one of the first things i remember they got when they got a tv in the in the uh in the in the store and they would play like you know old crazy korean horror films and they would play anime yeah and i remember seeing fist of the north star and street fighter first and i remember street fighter was so cool as an anime i was like i was like whoa this looks insane these characters this is insane and i remember maybe maybe somebody in the store was like oh you like anime and i was like you know oh okay that's that's what this is

and then here comes the flood of Pokemon, Dragon Ball Z, and all this other stuff. And I'm just like, oh my God, I love anime. You know? So they saw you and then you became anime radicalized.

Yeah, man. And I've been the same ever since. Quite literally. It's so funny that like, those moments were like, I imagine it was similar when you first heard Jocko, where you're just sort of like,

what? Yeah. Yeah. It were like, I imagine it was similar when you first heard Jocko, where you're just sort of like, what? Yeah. It was like, it put me on my ass, you know? It was kind of like, whoa. You know? And again, as an illustrator or, you know, something I do wish I went to school for illustration because it's like, that's the, I've been drawing just as long as I've played bass. But I just don't have as much discipline in it. just as long as i played bass but and i but i just don't have as much discipline in it um

it's one of those things where it's like i the and the illustrator in me and like the that part it would be like oh my gosh like oh you know like like man like it was just the color it was just it was it was uh it was intense you know yeah i get it it's all loaded up there's a there's a whole like the the style of anime, even though it's not my thing or I don't know enough about it, it definitely has, it seems a bit more sort of sexual than just regular Marvel stuff. Oh, yeah, no, I feel like in anime, a lot of the times, they don't limit it to, you know, this whole idea that it's a child's thing.

It's kind of a thing where it's like, no, this is an adult and child world. And it's just like in reality. This is also reality. Did you get sucked into the Reddits and stuff, into the communities around anime? Because that seems to have gone kind of bad. Yeah, no. No, i would just watch cartoons that's literally like i would just be watching cartoons not like i'm not one of those guys that likes to discuss it unless it's with another anime nerd you know where it's like right like so this gramony nom the gramony nomination is um how do you are you excited? You must be excited.

It's pretty trippy, man. Like, you know, I'm excited. I'm definitely like tripped out. I'm kind of like, whoa, you know, like, cool. What is the category? Progressive R&B, I think. Now, who else is in that category? Jhene Aiko, Chloe and Halle.

Jhene Aiko, Chloe, Halle. Jhene Aiko, Chloe, Halle, the Free Nationals. Isn't that wild, though? Like, you know, you can't, like, that you've got, there's a whole group of you in your own different ways that have sort of entered this uncharted territory of music where they, you know, like, even you can't label it. You know, it's kind of interesting. Yeah, no, and I'm really excited that, again, it's like, it's all family in there, you know, like even you can't label it. You know, it's kind of interesting. Yeah, no, and I'm really excited that, again,

it's like it's all family in there, you know, for the most part. The Free Nats, like, those are my bros, like, for real, for real. And so is Janae. Janae is like, she's like family, you know. Right, right, sure, of course. And I guess Beyonce has been nominated in that category before. Word. Okay, there you go.

So it's a little more. So it's not like it's out of the mainstream, you know, in a sense. Right, right. It still meets. It meets, you know. Well, I wish you all the luck, man. It was great talking to you. Damn, man.

Thank you for having me. I really appreciate you. Yeah, man. It's, you know and hopefully we'll have a better year sorry for your recent losses and uh you know time does make it a little easier buddy yeah all right man take care of yourself thank you thank you man all right that was Thundercat. Fucking brilliant musician. And kind of a, you know, a, what would you call him?

He's a real nerd in a good way. Beautiful nerd man. Amazing bass player. The album is called It Is What It Is. And the musicianship, the songwriting is great. Love that guy. Just remember, fascism is bad. And we're in fucking trouble.

God bless America. Here's some guitar. Don't get the plague! Thank you. Thank you. guitar solo Thank you. Boomer lives! And Monkey and La Fonda and Cat Angels everywhere and I fucked up right at the end there. I just fucked it up just right at the end there. But we're to leave it.

It's a night for the whole family. Be a part of Kids Night when the Toronto Rock take on the Colorado Mammoth at a special 5 p.m. start time on Saturday, March 9th at First Ontario Centre in Hamilton. The first 5,000 fans in attendance will get a Dan Dawson bobblehead courtesy of Backley Construction.

Punch your ticket to Kids Night on Saturday, March 9th at 5 p.m. in Rock City at torontorock.com. Discover the timeless elegance of cozy, where furniture meets innovation. Designed in Canada, the sofa collections are not just elegant, they're modular, designed to adapt and evolve with your life. Reconfigure them anytime for a fresh look or a new space. Experience the Cozy difference with furniture that grows with you, delivered to your door quickly and for free. Assembly is a breeze, setting you up for years of comfort and style. Don't break the bank.

Cozy's Direct2 model ensures that quality and value go hand in hand. Transform your living space today with Cozy. Visit cozy.ca, that's C-O-Z-E-Y, and start customizing your furniture.