Steve Lacy's Popular Music Videos
Artist Biography
Throughout the 2010s, Los Angeles was Americaās epicentre of forward-thinking Black music across the mainstream-to-underground spectrum. There were the hip-hop heavyweights of the Top Dawg Entertainment stable, the indie-rap provocateurs of the Odd Future crew, the electronic-jazz experimentalists of the Brainfeeder familyāand standing at the intersection of all these game-changing forces was Steve Lacy. Born in Compton in 1998, Lacy (nĆ© Lacy-Moya) first surfaced as the teen wunderkind guitarist-producer for Odd Future offshoot The Internet, shaping their woozy funk atmospheres with beats he created on his iPhone.
After The Internetās 2015 opus, Ego Death, earned Lacy a Grammy nomination before heād finished high school, his lo-fi approach attracted some high-profile clientele. He went on to leave his smudged fingerprints on J. Coleās chart-topping 4 Your Eyez Only and Kendrick Lamarās epochal DAMN., among many others. All the while, Lacy was laying the groundwork for his own solo career, updating Princeās psych-soul auteurism for a post-Mac DeMarco bedroom-pop age on endearingly off-the-cuff singles like āDark Redā and āC U Girlā. (That tightrope walk between R&B swagger and outsider aesthetics carries over to his guest features for urbano star Kali Uchis, indie kingpins Vampire Weekend and avant-funk maestro Thundercat.) His reputation as a certified vibe-master well established, Lacy revealed more of himself on his 2019 full-length debut, Apollo XXI, using the epic alt-rap suite āLike meā to address his bisexuality and fear of coming out. But that sort of candour is perfectly suited to his musical m.o.āwhether heās beatmaking on his phone or opening his heart, Lacy always puts a premium on honesty and intimacy.
With the release of his 2022 album, Gemini Rights, Lacy transitioned from hitmaking rookie to bona fide star, due in large part to his viral single āBad Habitā, which dominated every corner of the internet thanks to its nostalgic, genre-averse sound. Relatable lyrics, adventurous productions and deeply felt themes of love found, lost and found again make Steve Lacy feel accessible, even as he continues his artistic ascent.
Hometown
Compton, CA, United States
Genre
R&B/Soul