Those 3 times Thundercat went beast mode (w/ Mac Miller)

I love videos like this!
So today, we’re taking a look at the bass wizardry of Thundercat, and his EPIC cameo on Mac Miller’s Tiny Desk Concert.
Having worked with the likes of Snoop Dogg, Suicidal Tendencies, Kendrick Lamar, Pharrell Williams and Erykah Badu, Thundercat is quite possibly the coolest bass player that ever walked the Earth. He even has a Pikachu-shaped backpack and a leg tattoo of Jaco Pastorius!
In today’s video I’m going to talk you through the 3 times that Thundercat went beast mode with Mac Miller back in 2018. Including his insane intro lick to “What’s The Use?”
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[@m.h.5400]

Every bassist playing a nasty bassline: Stankface Thundercat: Smiles

[@darthvader4339]

I smile when I jam like that

[@joaogomes9405]

The thing I admire the most about Thundercat is that I've never once seen him without a smile on his face while playing. It's such genuine happiness and enjoyment, it's infectious

[@Chaziltasm]

That's called being a bass player my dude ;) if you aint smiling while playing bass, you are doing it wrong.

[@madProgenitorDeity]

*disclaimer: Thundercat is actually never not going beast mode

[@nofretzDW]

*nawl nerry a one

[@nathans4957]

Thundercat exists purely in beast mode, or whatever the DBZ equivalent is

[@TheoTattaglia]

he's in ultra instinct

[@Ryukendragonfist]

Great ape mode

[@spring_shadow]

He is a God Of Destruction

[@agdrummer2610]

Facts are all you know sir

[@errollbrantley]

Super super saiyan

[@kantorobo7718]

Thundercat is the reason I started playing bass this summer

[@patrickr12342]

It is a Gold Bassist. Have faith,keep the fun and become what you love. Apotheken geraten Bassist.

[@sebastianfernandez6146]

Same here

[@jovan9724]

Go check out mononeon, he's a freakin beast too 🤯🤯

[@westonf8779]

Me too! I've always dabbled with instruments, but I've really appreciated gettin serious with bass this time

[@markbsjr]

Same

[@gibsonakin]

the triplet snare fill at 5:33 throws Mac off and makes him smile, details like this make music special

[@randyman67789]

That's the beauty of truly live music performances

[@DamienPaceGaming]

I think he was smiling over how fuggin sick that bassline sounded

[@keidthwshza]

@@DamienPaceGaming Mac Miller actually wrote that song

[@Ah-ed6ie]

He brushed the snare to make a weasy laugh 👍

[@CrappyProducts]

Ahaha so true, never noticed that

[@CM-ls8he]

DUDE!! I literally stayed up all night last night learning “What’s the use”. There’s a girl on YT here named “Juliaplaysgroove” who has a SICK bass cover of it. Shout out to her and Thundercat. Thanks for this Scott. I love SBL. Been rocking with you since 2012 man. Love the come up. 🤘🏾🤘🏾

[@raggaeldestro]

Yeah that girl is really good.

[@djspyke1000]

I had a bass for 1 week, was learning the absolutely basics, Saw the video and Said : shit i have to learn this. Julia rocks

[@rileydryer308]

Juliaplaysgroove is my favorite bassist on yt

[@markbsjr]

@@rileydryer308 Her and MonoNeon are mine

[@EvonneLindiwe]

I follow her as well. She got me with Q tip getting up

[@nmcgunagle]

Bass playing aside, my favorite moment was when he sang his one line which I can’t remember exactly. But right after he pauses and says thank you. It cracked me up, and Mac obviously thought it was funny too. Legends

[@devinebass]

Ah that bit was hilarious! 🤣

[@marycircle104]

1. Thundercats solo on Never Catch me by Flying Lotus 2. Anything by Janek Gwizdala 3. The bass on the intro to your videos

[@applesyo]

That never catch me solo is insane

[@energy40gaming]

That was the first time I heard of him. Insane first impression

[@RoyBeatty]

Never Catch Me makes me want to quit bass forever but also makes me want to practice for 8 hours a day. That song goes way too hard, i love it

[@larrymartin87]

Facts

[@exactlywhatisaid]

Never Catch Me is so good

[@kevinlynch2248]

Scott: "My digets aren't that fast...". Yeah, mine either mate and I've been playing for a couple of decades plus. 😁 Thundercat is a BEAST!

[@tmemming]

where does he say that? I must've missed it haha

[@hugebeebop2955]

@@tmemming 7:04

[@armanitransport2604]

Man Mac Miller had so much soul in his delivery 🙏🏾. I would like to hear Thundercat do a version of Luther Vanross

[@damienscanlon5585]

I'd love to hear about Bootsy Collins, Geddy Lee, Anthony Jackson, or Chris Squire going beast mode.

[@M2Mil7er]

I think that collectively comes to a measure of about 180 years haha

[@TimothyLafreniere]

BOoTsy! ♥️

[@blackdog5186]

Don't forget John Entwistle and Justin Chancellor

[@Darko7274]

Bootsy!

[@HumansFreshlyBorn]

I think he’s trying to focus on Modern Bassists

[@ccjacks3]

This is one of the first grooves I tried to learn on Bass. THANK YOU SO MUCH for breaking this down. I'd really love to see more of these videos possibly with: Michael League More Marcus Miller and Pino Palladino Frank Brunot Justin Raines

[@juanjacobomendozaborda3226]

Esperanza Spalding - I know you know - nobel concert

[@errollbrantley]

The studio version of endangered species, she holds it down. I noticed she doesn’t sing the lyrics live. She scats

[@nycfunk]

How about MonoNeon, Mohini Dey, and Richard Bona all in their Beast Mode.

[@omarmabrouk3995]

Love Mono Neon. Dude is next level

[@McDoinky]

That’s all mohini dey does... I wish I could see her play something sparse, for once

[@RoyBeatty]

Yes to all these. MonoNeon did Complicated by Mac and it’s super smooth, so much so that i thought it was thundercat at first. I did a cover on my yt you might enjoy

[@jewdproductionmainemanvide9913]

Right on

[@1bIgFaTsOnOfAbItCh]

@@McDoinky That's the disadvantage of playing the lead instrument. Most of the funkiest bass lines are sparse. It's the syncopation and spacing that makes it so head bobbing funky.

[@pipomaggi]

everything about this performance is kinda magical. from the great groove, great bass playing to thundercat's sense of humor and love for mac

[@zomat7955]

Another guy I'd love to see featured in one of these videos is MonoNeon. His groove is just so filthy, and there are tons of great live recordings with Ghostnote.

[@BrotherReg]

1.) Scott, you are awesome! Been rocking with you since the early days! 2.) The NPR Music video with Thundercat now has over 101 million views and is the 2nd most popular video on their platform. Rest in Peace Mac Miller. 🙏🏾

[@nathanmccormick2538]

Pretty sure Thundercat lives in beast mode lol Also I'd love to see a Stuart Zender video, he doesn't get enough love.

[@popovka]

STUART ZENDER!

[@hebrardherve6368]

only fews knows his name who give Jamiroquai a good name..can I get an amen Here.

[@nathanmccormick2538]

@@hebrardherve6368 AMEN!!

[@goldenant9450]

thanks for covering this moment. can't believe i'm just seeing this. probably my favorite live concert and I love hearing a bassist break it down.

[@AgentMose]

Can you do a Thundercat Beast Mode pt. 2 using his performance from when he did his own Tiny Desk? He really went beast mode on that one!!!

[@bajovato]

Thank you for this breakdown, Scott! I love Thundercat. You do such a great job of demystifying his lines.👍🏼

[@tedayre]

Thundercat being an absolute LEGEND!

[@blazer6248]

Hardly. Berry Oakley? He's a legend. Thundercat? Not even a little. Give him 10 more years. Maybe then.

[@lambolii]

@@blazer6248 he has incredible talent

[@jeremiahcowling3837]

I think we can all agree Berry was a total badass, however I have to disagree. If you were to pull over a random person on the street and ask them if they knew the player, the chances are far higher that they will know Thundercat than that they will know Berry.

[@scottbourne8258]

This free video lesson of yours was so very uplifting and valuable to me. And I thank you. First, I discovered Thundercat (I am a guitar player not a bass player so I didn't know him) and - here's the money shot - it caused me to want to take up the bass again and I signed up for a year of your training. Two weeks in and I am so glad I did. I can't believe it but I can actually see myself playing bass. Whether or not I'll be able to work in the last part of this lick is still in doubt :)

[@alfonzo9289]

His playing on tiny desk was such an amazing treat.

[@someky4340]

Says "BASS" and "slap that like button"* I'm on to you!

[@taylorgangchatt]

What's the use just gives you chills when that baseline hits

[@jaaz.handss]

FINALLY A THUNDERCAT VIDEO

[@bennobassosaurus7078]

Love the look on the guitarist when the Cat tees off! 😁

[@Britmysta]

I'm SO pleased you did this, Scott!

[@boagski]

The whole band was on point for this! And man this song is done so well hey, amazing performance!!

[@Chord_The_Seeker]

I’m glad you featured Thundercat. He’s one of my favorite bass players. As far as someone else I’d like to see you do a video on, it would be Mark King, Mark King or Mark King. Anything by him would be greatly appreciated, but Hot Water or Dune Tune would be awesome.

[@BaptisteNovelle_bassiste]

Thanks Scott very nice one as always!

[@MarcPlaysDrums]

That second riff is such a patented Thundercat lick.

[@johnathanstuart9022]

Instead of beast mode I like to think Thundercat goes berserk, and turns a bright glowing red. Then randomly attacks anyone who gets in his way.

[@BigB_972]

Thanks a lot for all you do and this beautiful bass Line transcription

[@acenarrow7952]

The short tabs with harmonic explanation for these nice juicy licks are amaze balls.

[@frankbass485]

Amazing lesson thank u so much Scott!!

[@deafprof]

The Player's Pathway is amazing. Thank you so much! Loving the J Dilla-esque lesson!

[@HDArtzy]

I’ve been waiting for this video, hands down my favorite artist 🙏😅!!

[@chrisggoodwin777]

Did anyone else feel the "Short Skirt, Long Jacket" vibe?

[@tay-basswalker3964]

Yes the 2nd bar it definitely sounded like that

[@gloominousdoom11]

I was racking my brain trying to figure out the song this riff was modeled after. lol

[@McDoinky]

Finally someone says it

[@thebassclef007]

Chris Goodwin it’s not just a vibe, I’d consider it a rip off.

[@SausageFingers420]

I'm catching more of a "Sly" from Headhunters vibe but that works, too.

[@akmadsen]

It's nice to see these crazy licks broken down. They're a lot simpler than they sound, not to say that they're easy to play but that they sort of make sense when presented in this way. Still difficult as hell (for me at least) to play. Thanks for the lesson! :) But... As much as I love Thundercat's bass playing, the chemistry between Thundercat and Mac on this track is what really elevates this performance to absolute perfection. The whole band is obviously having a blast. It's so radiant that even my 4-year-old is constantly asking to see this specific performance with "the tired man and Thundercat". She doesn't care much about the bass playing (yet) but she loves Thundercat's huge grin, the interactions between him and Mac, and the reactions to Thundercat's "thank you" after the bridge in the song. Just today I've watched it 3 times with her (on her request) AND she's listened to the audio (from the performance, she doesn't like the studio version; her own words) at least twice. And it's been like that for at least a month... /rambling

[@jesserenderos9130]

Thank you for this video!!

[@davecollins3710]

Very so cool. Cheers, Scott

[@ivart817]

I was literally watching this Tiny Desk last week and saying, "I MUST LEARN THIS BASS LINE!" Then this video popped up the next day! Thank you Scott!

[@hayjay6703]

Fantastic video. Thanks, man.

[@bastaras545]

Super!!! Thanks Thundercat, Thanks Scott!!!

[@adampowell5237]

Joe dart and thundercat would be the two I'd love and you've done them. I feel like there are many more Joe dart and thundercat performances that I'd love listed

[@adampowell5237]

Michael league and Bootsy would be two legends I'd love to see more of

[@hypnosis4207]

Thank you for free info. For real I love how you just want to spread great music!!!! I love it

[@philmusixx1574]

ThunderCat is AMAZIN!!! but can we jus thank God for Scott!! MAN we appreciate you for being so AWESOME SCOTT !

[@thedoctorate]

Great breakdown Scott. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Peace brother.

[@hendripurba1018]

I'm just a beginner and I can really understand the way you explain, thank you, subscribed your channel straight away

[@bassistboy99]

That first bass riff is Short Skirt and a Long Jacket by cake with a few changes

[@johnxaviermusic]

Had to go check. Sure is. 1/2 step up.. Good ear!

[@hejsanii5769]

Absolutely phenomenal...

[@christianmullins7862]

Oh my god Scott thank you so much 😂 this makes me so so freaking happy I never thought about Thundercat when you asked about bass players you wanted to make these videos about but it’s so obvious now 😂 Another amazing bassist to do a video like this on is Stanley Clarke, almost any time he rips a solo on the electric he goes absolutely bonkers

[@NowWhat01]

As usual...excellent tutorial Scott!!!

[@danielirvine7468]

This was cool thanks for sharing bro

[@lucasglenn3079]

idk who’s playing bass on this recording but topez jones’ “toothache” has some crazy bass i’d love to see broken down like this

[@bryanv.1040]

Agree!

[@richardchikosi4320]

I have New Found respect for this channel for covering the amazingness of Thundercat

[@cesarrios5778]

Thanks for the amazing lessons!

[@aidenliske3043]

Thunder cats Tiny Desk NPR performance is absolutely BEAST MODE!!! Especially when he plays “Them Changes”

[@garethbennett-allen7260]

Yes I've been waiting for this

[@alanmarquespessoa]

That live was great!

[@ChanceC5]

Mick Karn Dalis Car Sally's Car is my favorite. Thanks for posting this.

[@superdrwholock]

He's super talented and seems like he'd be really kind irl too, just the way he's always smiling

[@mark_reviews-reddit]

Really cool video, subscribed!

[@Laras94]

Scott keep it up man! keep it up!!

[@teemad]

LOL @ the "BASS!" and none-too-subtle "SLAP!" ergo Davey504. 🤣🤣🤣

[@jaimewong6423]

Awesome video Scott

[@AvAfanfromfrance]

This performance and bassline made me practice during quarantine

[@StarLordIRL]

Breaking down Thundercat?! Respeeeect! Nice playing, man!

[@bramvevo1751]

Whats the use taught me how to play bass, first song ive learned and im glad it was that one

[@petegaslondon]

One of my fav things about Thundercat is he can get SO intricate and widdley (still with groove) yet on his 'favourite basslines' vid he digs the most bass-ic grooves like this one-note bassline - I think that's freakin' AWESOME

[@Aeroste]

Thank you for this video, i have still problems on those beast licks

[@patrickellis5577]

Crazy thing is I was just trying to learn how to play this song too!👍😂

[@bassface12348]

Love this style of bass lesson Scott would love to see a hadrien feraud episode and federico malaman maybe mononeon or Bubby lewis also lol

[@sixsentsoldiers]

Ok, you got me. Im learning it.

[@AntonioPlaysBass]

Scott, thanks for this lesson. This tune and that bass line is SOOOO funky. Love the format. How about doing a bit of Les Claypool? Greet the Sacred Cow would be an awesome one to do. Also, Louis Johnson, Flea and Stuart Zender Zender would be fantastic for lessons with this format!!

[@valentinobasack]

Amazing video!

[@haydenhollenbaugh3958]

Thundercat and Joe are the musicians that got me into the bass. Another one to check out is the bass player from Men I Trust. And of course casseopia Mint Jams.

[@jjguerrero4199]

I'D LOVE to see Pedro Aznar during his performance in "encuentro en el estudio", Andrés Rotmistrovsky from Argentina in any of his harmony arrangements or Pablo Gonzalez Sarre from Mexico.

[@danielkainyah824]

I like the background of the session with Thundercat

[@skyron19]

Thanks Scott. I need to subscribe to your bass lesson and I will!!!

[@alongr5]

Thundercat is legendery

[@thomasroachii3354]

"Beast Mode" players I'd like to see you cover: Stanley Clarke, John Patitucci

[@JoseRivera-mw5wy]

My favorite Patitucci's beast mode is his solo in Humpty Dumpty with the Chick Corea's acoustik band in the Blue Note in tokyo in the late 80's

[@TheEowli]

Patitucci is such an amazing player he is constantly impressing

[@kamogeloboale1051]

Stanley is someone I just started listening to. And he makes the bass talk (as he wished)

[@LuWheely]

2:50 ... yeah, now I'm watching that concert✌🏾

[@groovedoctor82]

Great stuff Scott. Always come away with some much after watching your content. If I can, I’d suggest doing a video about or with (with would be better) Alex Al. Impressive repertoire and super funky bassist. Hope you’re well and keep the great content coming.

[@busterrabbit]

Chuck Rainey's bass line to Kid Charlemagne is brilliant all the way through, melodic, crosses the beat, and sliding chords, the work (one of hundreds if not thousands) of a true great

great groove!

[@wildman166]

Very cool , thank you

[@siriusaldebaran9436]

Thundercate is so good his bass line always beautifull. I d like to see video about Les Claypool in live with Primus !!

[@florigian5379]

Fantastic

[@Unitz15]

Dude I was thinking a couple of days ago that you should do a thundercat video! And here we are

[@maurobenitez790]

Great video bro

[@BARTFUNKBASS]

*I love Tiny Desk performances!*

[@BlackGolemREC]

HAHAHAHA thanks a lot man, i've fretted a lot on this one and coincidentally youve posted this on my birthday xD

[@jordonbarry6569]

Yesssssssss love thundercats work with mac

[@hodaridaniels8786]

Thundercat is crazy insanely funky with this original bassline.

[@ulo]

Love this groove! First time I’ve heard this, it kinda gives me a lil bit of Evelyn King’s “Love Come Down” groove (but smoother). 🔥🔥🔥 Thundercat Fire as always!

[@Yhofunk]

Scott you are the Best!!!!!