Highsnobiety
Double Tap to Zoom

Thundercat's fourth studio album, It Is What It Is has arrived. The 15-track project serves as an existential mediation on mortality, as well as a tribute to his friend, the late Mac Miller.

Executive produced by Thundercat and Flying Lotus, It Is What It Is features previously released singles “Black Qualls” with Steve Lacy, Childish Gambino, and Steve Arrington, “Dragonball Durag,” and the Mac Miller tribute “Fair Chance” with Ty Dolla $ign and Lil B.

While a triumph for Thundercat, real name Stephen Lee Bruner, It Is What It Is is an undeniably melancholy project. “This album is about love, loss, life and the ups and downs that come with that,” he said in a press statement.

“I think the existential dread set in when Mac disappeared,” he told The New York Times recently. “I was faced with a choice — to either follow suit or figure it out. And I guess this is me trying to figure it out.” “Fair Chance” and “It Is What It Is” in particular see Thundercat grappling with Mac's death and his own mortality.

Listen below.  

We Recommend
  • New Balance's Wonderfully Chunked-Up Dad Shoe Has HOKA Vibes
    • Sneakers
  • In Crisp Black Leather, New Balance's Hybrid Loafer Has Never Been More Formal
    • Sneakers
  • Players at the Australian Open Are Serving More Ways Than One
    • Style
  • The Brand-New Biggest-Ever Louis Vuitton Store Is Also So Much More (EXCLUSIVE)
    • Style
  • C.P. Company's New adidas Sneakers Are Even More "Spezial" Than the Last
    • Sneakers
What To Read Next
  • The Super-Flat, Super-Frayed Vans Sneaker Screaming for a Beach Getaway
    • Sneakers
  • Zacapa & Agua Bendita Weave a Celebration of Culture, Quality, and Craftsmanship in New Collab
    • Culture
    • sponsored
  • A Patient Dries Van Noten Store for a "Faster, Bolder" City (EXCLUSIVE)
    • Style
  • 30 Years of Asking the Most Esteemed Design Fair: Can't Great Design Be for Everyone?
    • Design
  • Unpacking a Watch That's Part Dinosaur, Part Millennium Falcon
    • Watches
  • Is COS the Cool, Cost-Conscious Clothing Line of Right Now?
    • Style