Steve Lacy’s rise; From The Internet to TikTok

Good or bad, Steve Lacy has certainly made a habit out of success.

Cool without trying and unapologetically himself, Steve Lacy is that rare brand of slightly weird that just works. From the music he makes to his side projects – see @fitvomit, his fashion-focused Instagram account – Lacy consistently creates with ingenuity, while retaining an unmistakable personal brand. Never one to fit in, Lacy’s music lies somewhere in the space between alternative R&B, pop, funk, and indie rock. Yet, despite his genre-defying MO, Lacy manages to produce and write songs that represent the zeitgeist, again and again, having worked with some of the biggest names in the music industry.

Steve Lacy’s rise to fame is the stuff of movies. Born and raised in Compton, Los Angeles, his musical career began at home. After Guitar Hero ignited a love of music, Lacy joined the high school jazz band as a freshman. This is where, at only 16, he caught the eye of Jameel Bruner, a senior who invited Lacy to join his band. And it wasn’t any old high school band but The Internet, the Odd Future-affiliated collective, in their very early stages.

It was a whirlwind tale of success after their initial introduction. Lacy became guitarist and producer for The Internet, recording and producing Ego Death almost entirely on his iPhone. At 17, Lacy attended his first Grammy Award Show with The Internet, nonchalantly returning to high school the next day. And, unbeknownst to him, this invitation would become an annual one. Lacy started producing for Kendrick Lamar at just 18 years old and, by the time he could legally buy a drink in the States, he had already worked with the coolest of the cool: Tyler, the Creator, Solange, J. Cole, Blood Orange, Mac Miller, Vampire Weekend…the list goes on.

This time, though, it’s the serial collaborator’s turn to take centre stage. Hit song ‘Bad Habit’, a genre-bending end-of-summer anthem of youth and yearning, has been pretty much everywhere in recent weeks. The track has altered Lacy’s popularity from cult to mainstream, and the song’s earworm – ‘I wish I knew / I wish I knew you wanted me’ – has been stuck in heads all over the world.

Signing with RCA Records – also representatives of SZA, Kaytranada, Brockhampton, Childish Gambino etc. –was perhaps pre-emptive of Lacy’s newfound level of fame, as was the move from his DIY iPhone/laptop recording process (symptomatic of his early solo work) to a shiny new recording studio. That’s right, Gemini Rights (2022) is Lacy’s first solo album completely recorded in an actual studio, and it shows. It’s still a mish-mash of genres, it still spotlights Lacy’s iconic slinky guitar riffs, and it still possesses his cuttingly witty lyrics, but as an album, it is altogether sleeker.

For all its gloss, though, Gemini Rights essentially remains a break-up album. In an interview with GQ Magazine, Lacy describes his most recent venture as a chance to ‘translate my personality into a record, which is what I’m super excited about: This is a conversation with me’. And despite the move to a more professional production process, the intimacy and personality which characterises Lacy’s work is a quality that he retains well into the depths of fame and success. Gemini Rights remains an album centred on the trials and tribulations of youth, and, in spite of his new stardom, Lacy is well on his way to becoming the voice of a generation.

It would be impossible to talk about Lacy’s meteoric rise without addressing TikTok. No doubt the belated virality of ‘Dark Red’ on the social media platform in 2021 sparked an increase of Steve Lacy fans, and much of the mania surrounding the artist at the moment can be attributed to ‘Bad Habit’’s popularity as a TikTok sound. However, after a video circulating online that shows the audience failing to sing along beyond the hook of ‘Bad Habit’, many people have questioned the longevity of Lacy’s popularity.

But honestly? To have ‘fake’ fans (or at least ones that don’t know the words) is a symptom of a move into the mainstream. Having a name, or a song, that singularly sells tickets is a testament to Lacy’s newfound rockstar status. The fickleness of the mainstream can’t be considered a measure of talent, nor of success. Lacy has been a legend in the background for years now and, now that he’s finally moved to the limelight, he shows no signs of going anywhere.