![]() ![]() We’re really blessed that this one’s still going.” “I’ve seen trends happen and they’re gone in 72 hours. “Sped-up tracks feel like a thing, but I was not expecting it to happen to Thundercat,” says Josh Berman, who leads marketing efforts for the artist’s management company, Really Happening. The single cracked Billboard‘s Hot R&B Songs chart in October, a first for Thundercat as a lead artist. (Thundercat is signed to Brainfeeder, which is distributed by Ninja Tune.) The company sent an official sped-up rendition of “Them Changes” to streaming services and worked with marketing companies to increase the new version’s exposure on TikTok. “By the next Monday, we had already seen the streams double,” says Will Slattery, vp of North American marketing operations for the independent label Ninja Tune. This new version was a world away from the slow-and-low original - at 114 beats per minute, it’s like a train threatening to jump the tracks. 22, the TikTok account Ezzsounds posted a simple remix of the track, pushing the tempo until the song catches the jitters. This detailed imagery leads listeners to see that, much like the crime scene described in this song, Thundercat is himself a “heartless, broken mess.Thundercat‘s “Them Changes” is steeped in funk history, with drums that nod to The Isley Brothers‘ “Footsteps in the Dark,” stutter-stepping at 82 beats per minute, and a wobbling bass line. This leads us to Thundercat’s ultimate question, “why in the world would I give my heart to you?” This is a feeling many have come to know but Thundercat has created this narrative in a whole new light. Them Changes – Thundercat It must’ve fell when I lost my mind Deep in the cut, drowning in the pain Somebody help, ‘cause I can’t find my way Nobody move, nobody move Instead, it’s imagery grounding us in this place, and we need to focus on finding his heart. We’ve entered a crime scene, and though there’s blood all around, this mess isn’t the forefront of the story. ![]() Thundercat is personifying his heart, here, making it the subject of the song’s opening verse. While the intro is fun, the story being painted through the lyrics is one of heartbreak, which, to Thundercat, is a heinous crime. These lyrics, sung against the playful bass line, help to bring gravity and weight to “Them Changes”. Them Changes – Thundercat Nobody move: There’s blood on the floor- And I can’t find my heart! This upbeat R&B groove coupled with the song’s descriptive and melodramatic lyrics make it hard to leave the story the scene of the crime. The song opens with a sample of the beat from The Isley Brothers’s “Footsteps in the Dark,” and quickly adds to it a bass line, both working together to make the song immediately mesmerizing. ![]() Of course, this isn’t to say that there aren’t artists out there who are still heavily influenced by that funk genre we’ve all come to love and respect…it just takes more work to find, which is why Thundercat’s 2015 single “ Them Changes” stands out among the crowd. While mainstream artists like Bruno Mars claim to have funk influences, it’s harder to hear, as it’s working alongside the pop genre rather than acting as a genre in its own right. ’70s funk, while revered by many, is something that is harder to hear on today’s airwaves than in decades past. ![]() Thundercat’s groovy “Them Changes” brings back the funk through a powerful heartbreak narrative ![]()
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