For Thundercat, distraction can be a powerful creative tool

There are a million things competing for your attention. Your job. Your family. That errand you need to run. That chore you still haven’t finished. And, of course, your phone — and the entire internet and social media ecosystem that’s designed to pull you away from everything else.

But do your best to stay focused today, because our guest knows exactly how you feel.

Thundercat is a renowned bassist whose Grammy Awards include one for his work on Kendrick Lamar‘s “These Walls” from To Pimp a Butterfly, as well as one for his 2020 album, It Is What It Is. His new album is Distracted, and in this conversation, we talk about distraction — and why it might actually fuel creativity. He also reflects on his friendship with the late Mac Miller, who appears on the album.

This episode of World Cafe was produced and edited by Miguel Perez. Our senior producer is Kimberly Junod and our engineer is Chris Williams. Our programming and booking coordinator is Chelsea Johnson and our line producer is Will Loftus.