From stringing memorable baselines and choruses on Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp A Butterfly,” to collabs with Mac Miller and Flying Lotus, Thundercat returns! On April 3, 2026, Thundercat dropped “Distracted” after a five year hiatus. The album includes production by Greg Kurstin, Flying Lotus, Lemon Twigs and Kenny Beats. It also boasts a wide feature selection of Tame Impala, Lil Yachty, A$AP Rocky, Willow, Channel Tres and a posthumous feature of the late great Mac Miller.
The album rollout spanned years, with the single “No More Lies” featuring Tame Impala first releasing on April 25, 2023. Two years later, he released the double single “I Wish I Didn’t Waste Your Time” and “Children of the Baked Potato” featuring Remi Wolf on September 25, 2025. The last three singles all released within the first three months of 2026, with the song featuring Mac Miller having been leaked all the way back on February 6, 2020.
Mac Miller and Thundercat have had a close relationship, recording songs together like “What’s the Use?,” “Self Care” and “Hi.” Additionally, Thundercat also performed on Mac Miller’s Tiny Desk Concert accompanying him by playing the bass. The result of Mac Miller’s death left him very downcast, to the point he dedicated the entire album “It Is What It Is,” after Miller. Since Miller’s passing, Thundercat made it clear that he made several different lifestyle choices to live healthier, saying in an interview with The Guardian, “Either it’s your turn to go or you walk the other way” from personal addictions.
“Distracted” follows “It Is What It Is” by creating a project that radiates a lot of elements and styles blending jazz-fusion, funk, R&B, psychedelia and hip-hop felt throughout Thundercat’s past work while taking communicating to the listener a profound, vulnerable message about heartache and loss.
The first track of the album, “Candlelight,” discusses the loss of a friend as their time comes to a close over a psychedelia jazz-fusion influenced instrumental. Moving on, the third track, “She Knows Too Much,” continues with a posthumous feature by Mac Miller. Thundercat posted on Instagram about this feature saying, “I always considered Mac a ‘one man rat pack.’ Smooth like Frank, cool like Sammy, suave like Dean. I wish that you all could have been there with us the moment this song was created in his garage … we all knew it was something special.” Despite the track leaking online years ago, it was able to come to fruition with a music video upon the album’s release.
The fourth track of the album, “I Did This To Myself,” features both Flying Lotus, and for the first time, Lil Yachty. The song discusses the relationship between Thundercat and a woman who has Thundercat, “looking like a fool.”
The fifth track, “Funny Friends,” features A$AP Rocky, which is the newest collaboration between the two since Rocky’s song “PLAYA” off of his newest album, “Don’t Be Dumb.” “Funny Friends” involves the two exchanging verses and reciting the chorus, discussing a friendship that contains potential unrequited feelings.
On the sixth track, “What Is Left To Say,” features The Lemon Twigs as Thundercat acknowledges the end of a relationship. The Lemon Twigs join Thundercat along in the chorus and instrumentation of the track.
Verdict: Overall, “Distracted” is another classic in Thundercat’s discography, that blends the multiple genres he’s known for covering, without skimming on the side of human emotions that carry weight in moments of love and loss one can experience.
