Why Thundercat is thankful to Kendrick Lamar and Erykah Badu

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Grammy-winning singer-bassist Thundercat says that the saying “It Is What It Is” — which just so happens to be the title of his fourth album, out Friday — might actually help you cope with coronavirus anxiety. “We all come to that conclusion at a certain point,” he says of accepting that “it is what it …

“We all come to that conclusion at a certain point,” he says of accepting that “it is what it is” to carry on in times of adversity and uncertainty. “Sometimes you don’t get the answers. Sometimes you don’t get to draw a conclusion. It’s reality.”

On his new LP, the alt-R&B artist born Stephen Bruner draws you into his own musical realm with a genre-bending mix of funk, jazz and psychedelic soul. He flexes the creative chops that won him a Grammy with Kendrick Lamar in 2016 for “These Walls,” their “To Pimp a Butterfly” collaboration also featuring Bilal and Anna Wise.

“It was, like, overwhelming. It was a lot to process,” says Thundercat, who, in addition to “TPAB,” also worked on Lamar’s “untitled unmastered.” and “DAMN.” albums. “Sometimes I see the Grammy, and I just don’t know what to do. I’m like, ‘Am I supposed to clean this?’ ”

The 35-year-old Los Angeles native credits Lamar with helping to up his game. “I learned a lot about who I am as a musician and as an artist,” he says of working with the Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper. “He helped me to grow in the sense of … what it means to put in hard work. He very much inspired me to push further in the creative process.”

Thundercat also got schooled by Erykah Badu: He played bass on her 2008 album “New Amerykah Part One (4th World War)” and its sequel, 2010’s “New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh),” while also touring with her. “She kind of mentored me,” he says.

And she also helped Thundercat to come up with his music moniker. “It was a name given to me between [producer] Shafiq Husayn and Erykah Badu,” he says.

Since releasing his debut album, “The Golden Age of the Apocalypse,” in 2011, Thundercat has become a solo force in his own right, singing and playing the bass — an instrument that he first picked up at age 5. “I would practice to the ‘[Teenage Mutant] Ninja Turtles’ soundtrack when I was a little kid,” he says.

But the question remains, is he a dog person or a cat person? “I’m 100 percent cat person,” says Thundercat, who has a feline friend at home: “She’s an Egyptian [Mau] tabby.”

And like her owner, this puss has no ordinary name: “My cat’s full name is Turbotron Over 9000 Baby Jesus Sally Uzi Clip. Baby Jesus is definitely named after ODB [Ol’ Dirty Bastard]. Rest in peace, ODB.”