It Is What It Is
Studio album by
Thundercat
ReleasedApril 3, 2020 (2020-04-03)
Genre
Length37:38
LabelBrainfeeder
Producer
Thundercat chronology
Drunk
(2017)		 It Is What It Is
(2020)
Singles from It Is What It Is
  1. "King of the Hill"
    Released: October 30, 2018[1][2]
  2. "Black Qualls"
    Released: January 15, 2020[3]
  3. "Dragonball Durag"
    Released: February 17, 2020[4]
  4. "Fair Chance"
    Released: March 17, 2020[5]
  5. "Innerstellar Love"
    Released: April 2, 2020[6][7]

It Is What It Is is the fourth studio album by American musician Thundercat, released through Brainfeeder on April 3, 2020.[8] It was preceded by five singles: "King of the Hill," which was released as a single from the label's compilation album Brainfeeder X in 2018, and "Black Qualls," "Dragonball Durag," "Fair Chance," and "Innerstellar Love," the latter four being released in 2020. The track "Unrequited Love" had previously been used in an episode of the anime Carole & Tuesday in 2019. The album was executive produced by Thundercat and Flying Lotus,[9] and features guest appearances from Louis Cole, Steve Lacy, Steve Arrington, Childish Gambino, Ty Dolla Sign, Lil B, Kamasi Washington, BadBadNotGood, and Zack Fox.[10]

It Is What It Is received critical acclaim, with critics praising Thundercat's typical sense of humor in his lyrics and bass playing, as well as Thundercat's way of expressing emotions - in particular, his grief over the loss of long-time close friend and collaborator Mac Miller, which feeds into many of the musical and lyrical elements of the album.[11][12][13] The title track of the album contains a vocal sample from the late Miller; Thundercat also dedicated the album in his memory.[14]

The album won Best Progressive R&B Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, beating out fellow nominees Jhené Aiko, Chloe x Halle, Free Nationals, and Robert Glasper.[15]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.9/10[16]
Metacritic84/100[17]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
Exclaim!9/10[12]
The Independent[13]
Mojo[18]
NME[19]
The Observer[20]
Pitchfork7.4/10[21]
Rolling Stone[22]
The Times[23]
Uncut9/10[24]

It Is What It Is was met with critical acclaim. At Metacritic, the album received an average score of 84, based on 23 reviews.[17] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 7.9 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.[16]

Writing for AllMusic, Andy Kellman gave the album a positive review, stating that "As on the earlier Thundercat LPs, outer space and homeboy escapades, comic courtship and elusive companionship, and philosophical insights also inform the material." Kellman continued by stating that the album contains "no throwaways or novelty tunes."[11] Emma Finamore of Clash was also positive in her review, stating that the album's "definitely a project rich in contrasts." Finamore further opined that it's "an album embracing difference, accepting highs and lows: just what we need right now."[25] Exclaim!'s reviewer Dylan Barnabe acclaimed the album, saying that "There is perhaps no better album with which to face our current uncertainty than Thundercat's It Is What It Is. Filled with gentle reflections on love and loss, mixed in with the star bassist's signature sense of humour and funky beats, it is exactly the record the world needed." Barnabe praised Thundercat's implementation of humor elements on the album, particularly praising the song "Dragonball Durag". Barnabe further stated that the album "manifests as a beautiful ebb and flow of emotional states, philosophical musings and plain old comedy."[12] Roisin O'Connor of The Independent favorably compared the album to its predecessor, Drunk, stating that both records "continue to reflect on Thundercat's acceptance of his own mortality, veering away from an almost-claustrophobic grief and into deeper contemplation."[13] Writing for NME, Sam Moore stated that the album's "magic moment comes as Thundercat links up with Steve Lacy, Childish Gambino and '80s funk hero Steve Arrington on 'Black Qualls'; the disco-funk tune should be up for consideration as the best song of 2020. Its inclusion here gives a comforting indication that, for all of the album's heavy rumination on life, death and healing, Thundercat can still kick back when required." Moore commented on the album's lyrics, which depicts a variety of themes, stating that " Thundercat's lyrical reflections on grief, uncertainty and gradual healing are threaded through 'It Is What It Is'."[19] Pitchfork's reviewer Reed Jackson gave the album a positive review, but also criticized the composition and songwriting on a few of the album's tracks. Jackson also called it more "unpolished" than its predecessor, while at the same time praising Thundercat's bass playing.[21]

In a more mixed review, Kitty Empire of The Observer stated that "The track-listing also finds ample time for these more dense jazz-funk fusions – hyper-speed snippets like How Sway, where Bruner reminds listeners he isn't from the mainstream, he's just visiting from somewhere altogether gnarlier. It all makes for an album that gently weeps, then does a set of star jumps. Bruner's quick mind and faster fingers dash off on tangents, never quite exploring his grooves to their fullest extents." Empire continued by stating the album's drawback lays with the fact that it switches through emotions too often. She stated that Thundercat "doesn't sit with one emotion, be it high or low, for a sustained length of time. When the title track glides in, at a luxurious five minutes (even if it is in two parts), you wish Thundercat had given all his ideas the benefit of the album's title – It Is What It Is. You wish for a record that allowed Bruner to do less and just… be."[20]

Accolades

Accolades for It Is What It Is
Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
Billboard Billboard's 50 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year
N/A
Consequence of Sound Top 50 Albums of 2020 14 [27]
Double J Top 50 Albums of 2020 27 [28]
Exclaim! Exclaim!'s 50 Best Albums of 2020 12 [29]
The Los Angeles Times Top 10 Albums of 2020 4 [30]
NPR The 50 Best Albums of 2020
31
Paste Paste's 25 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year
15
The 50 Best Albums of 2020 15 [33]
PopMatters The 60 Best Albums of 2020 12 [34]
Stereogum Stereogum's 50 Best Albums of 2020 – Mid-Year
15
The 50 Best Albums of 2020
27
Vulture Top 10 Albums of 2020 8 [37]

Track listing

It Is What It Is track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Lost in Space / Great Scott / 22-26"
1:22
2."Innerstellar Love"
  • Bruner
  • Ellison
  • Thundercat
  • Flying Lotus
2:41
3."I Love Louis Cole" (featuring Louis Cole)
  • Bruner
  • Cole
  • Thundercat
  • Flying Lotus
3:24
4."Black Qualls" (featuring Steve Lacy, Steve Arrington and Childish Gambino)
3:09
5."Miguel's Happy Dance"
  • Bruner
  • Ellison
  • Atwood-Ferguson
  • Thundercat
  • Flying Lotus
2:11
6."How Sway"
  • Bruner
  • Ellison
  • Dennis Hamm
  • Thundercat
  • Flying Lotus
1:14
7."Funny Thing"
  • Bruner
  • Dickerson
  • Hamm
  • Thundercat
  • Flying Lotus
  • Mono/Poly
1:56
8."Overseas" (featuring Zack Fox)
1:28
9."Dragonball Durag"
  • Bruner
  • Ellison
  • Thundercat
  • Flying Lotus
3:01
10."How I Feel"
  • Bruner
  • Taylor Graves
  • Thundercat
  • Graves
1:08
11."King of the Hill"
2:51
12."Unrequited Love"
  • Bruner
  • Ellison
  • Thundercat
  • Flying Lotus
3:14
13."Fair Chance" (featuring Ty Dolla $ign and Lil B)
  • Thundercat
  • Flying Lotus
  • Sounwave
3:57
14."Existential Dread"
  • Bruner
  • Ellison
  • Thundercat
  • Flying Lotus
0:51
15."It Is What It Is" (featuring Pedro Martins)
  • Bruner
  • Ellison
  • Martins
  • Thundercat
  • Flying Lotus
5:02
Total length:37:38
It Is What It Is – Japanese edition (bonus track)[38]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
16."Bye for Now" (featuring Michael McDonald)
  • Thundercat
  • Flying Lotus
2:16
Total length:39:54

Personnel

Charts

Chart performance for It Is What It Is
Chart (2020) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[39] 50
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[40] 73
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[41] 28
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[42] 87
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[43] 66
French Albums (SNEP)[44] 152
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[45] 30
Irish Albums (IRMA)[46] 95
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[47] 25
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[48] 36
Scottish Albums (OCC)[49] 6
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[50] 56
UK Albums (OCC)[51] 23
US Billboard 200[52] 38
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[53] 23

See also

References

  1. ↑ Mahadevan, Tara C. (March 10, 2020). "Watch Thundercat Pay Tribute to Mac Miller With "Black Qualls" on 'Kimmel'". Complex. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  2. ↑ Daramola, Israel (October 30, 2018). "Thundercat – "King of the Hill" ft. Flying Lotus & BADBADNOTGOOD". Spin. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  3. ↑ Schatz, Lake (January 15, 2020). "Thundercat announces new album It Is What It Is, shares "Black Qualls" featuring Steve Lacy and Steve Arrington: Stream". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  4. ↑ Bacior, Robin (February 17, 2020). "Thundercat Shares New Single "Dragonball Durag": Stream". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  5. ↑ Alston, Trey (March 17, 2020). "Thundercat's Stirring New 'Fair Chance' Pays Tribute To Mac Miller". MTV. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  6. ↑ Leas, Ryan (April 2, 2020). "Thundercat – "Interstellar Love"". Stereogum. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  7. ↑ Jarrod II, Johnson (April 2, 2020). "Thundercat Shares "Innerstellar Love" From Forthcoming LP It Is What It Is". Paste. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  8. ↑ "It Is What It Is by Thundercat on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  9. ↑ Sawyer, Jonathan (March 31, 2020). "Everything We Know About Thundercat's New Album 'It Is What It Is'". Highsnobiety. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  10. ↑ Price, Joe (April 3, 2020). "Thundercat Drops New Album 'It Is What It Is' f/ Childish Gambino, Steve Lacy, and Lil B". Complex. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  11. 1 2 3 Kellman, Andy. "It Is What It Is – Thundercat". AllMusic. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  12. 1 2 3 Barnabe, Dylan (April 2, 2020). "Thundercat: It Is What It Is". Exclaim!. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  13. 1 2 3 O'Connor, Roisin (April 1, 2020). "Thundercat review – It Is What It Is: Bass genius accepts his own mortality on this dazzling album". The Independent. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  14. ↑ Suskind, Alex (April 2, 2020). "Thundercat comes up for air". EW. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  15. ↑ "63rd Annual Grammy Awards". Grammy Awards. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  16. 1 2 "It Is What It Is by Thundercat reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  17. 1 2 "It Is What It Is by Thundercat Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  18. ↑ Chick, Stevie (May 2020). "Free your mind". Mojo. No. 318. p. 88.
  19. 1 2 Moore, Sam (April 2, 2020). "Thundercat – 'It Is What It Is' review: versatile superstar mediates on life and death with tribute to Mac Miller". NME. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  20. 1 2 Empire, Kitty (April 4, 2020). "Thundercat: It Is What It Is review – love, loss and hyper-speed star jumps". The Observer. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  21. 1 2 Jackson, Reed (April 7, 2020). "Thundercat: It Is What It Is". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  22. ↑ Blistein, Jon (April 7, 2020). "Thundercat Honors His Friend Mac Miller on the Head-Spinning 'It Is What It Is'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  23. ↑ Hodgkinson, Will (April 3, 2020). "Thundercat: It Is What It Is review — how to have a funky lockdown". The Times. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  24. ↑ Wray, Daniel Dylan (May 2020). "Thundercat: It Is What It Is". Uncut. No. 276. p. 35.
  25. ↑ Finamore, Emma (April 1, 2020). "Thundercat – It Is What It Is". Clash. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  26. ↑ Billboard Staff (June 9, 2020). "The 50 Best Albums of 2020 (So Far)". Billboard. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  27. ↑ "Top 50 Albums of 2020". Consequence of Sound. December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  28. ↑ "The 50 Best Albums of 2020". Double J. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. December 9, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  29. ↑ "50 Best Albums of 2020". Exclaim!. December 2, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  30. ↑ Wood, Mikael (December 9, 2020). "The 10 Best Albums of 2020". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  31. ↑ "The Best Albums of 2020". NPR. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  32. ↑ "The Best Albums of 2020 (So Far)". Paste. June 8, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  33. ↑ Paste Staff (November 25, 2020). "The 50 Best Albums of 2020". Paste. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  34. ↑ "The 60 Best Albums of 2020". PopMatters. December 7, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  35. ↑ "Best Albums of 2020 So Far". Stereogum. June 10, 2020. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  36. ↑ "The 50 Best Albums Of 2020". Stereogum. December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  37. ↑ Jenkins, Craig. "The Best Albums of 2020". Vulture. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  38. ↑ "BEATINK.COM It Is What It Is". Beatink.com. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  39. ↑ "ARIA Australian Top 50 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. April 13, 2020. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  40. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Thundercat – It Is What It Is" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  41. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Thundercat – It Is What It Is" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  42. ↑ "Thundercat Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  43. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Thundercat – It Is What It Is" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  44. ↑ "Top Albums (Week 15, 2020)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  45. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Thundercat – It Is What It Is" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  46. ↑ "Irish Albums Chart: 10 April 2020". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  47. ↑ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2020-04-13" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  48. ↑ "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. April 13, 2020. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  49. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  50. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Thundercat – It Is What It Is". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  51. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  52. ↑ "Thundercat Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  53. ↑ "Thundercat Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
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