why steve lacy is more than a viral tiktok song

He’s more than a hit. Get to know the man that is a living legend.

BY KATERINA RALLY

I’m sitting in my local coffee shop, writing this, bummed because I forgot my headphones. But before I can start regretting every decision I’ve ever made, I am reassured as these baristas have impeccable music taste and Steve Lacy is playing in the background.

Lacy took off in 2022 when his massive hit “Bad Habit” earned over 706,000 video audio uses on TikTok and spent weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Most people know him for this song, “bad habit”, but actually, the 24 year old was a sensation before his hit song.

Lacy has long been producing popular music. With six Grammy nominations and one win for his most recent Gemini Rights, Lacy has been destined for greatness from the start. Just this year, for Gemini Rights he earned 4 nominations: Best Pop Solo Performance, Song Of The Year, Record Of The Year, and won for Best Urban Contemporary Album. He also performed at the 2023 Grammy’s.

Mixing tapes, trying random beats, and experimenting with it all, is where he began his journey, and where it remains today. Back in his high school years, Lacy created his first EP solely using his iPhone. The EP includes one of his most famous songs “Dark Red.”All he needed was his “little thing,” aka, his iPhone.

Lacy shares an anecdote about how all he wanted for his birthday and Christmas was a MacBook Pro. All his peers who were making music had one, and so he thought he needed one too. When a few Christmases passed and there was still no MacBook Pro under the tree and birthdays that were computerless, he began using GarageBand on his iPhone. “I realize I didn’t necessarily need what I thought I did.” He describes his phone as “the bare maximum.” Not only was he able to write and produce music using GarageBand, he released an entire EP, this phone is a token of his musical career. It’s what allowed him to become the musical genius he is.

When Lacy was able to convince his manager to book him some studio time, he chuckles – “I was surrounded by the equipment I couldn’t afford,” in “this whole studio with all this equipment, just to write this song on my little phone.” Lacy continues recounting the story, sitting on the floor of the studio booth, lights out, with his phone, a candle, and a mic stopper just trying to record vocals.

His iPhone, which he refers to as she, was something he respects and admires. “She’s what you have… I wanted to make the best project that I could with this little thing.” Lacy saw it as a collaborator, humanizing it and thanking it for being alongside his journey to success. It doesn’t matter if you have all the fancy equipment, it isn't what you need to experiment and create what you want to. Now, his legendary 2012 iPhone is on display in the Smithsonian museum.

Lacy has worked with artists like J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, Solange and was a vital component of the band The Internet. Lacy shared a funny story of his time with Lamar on his album “DAMN.” Lacy says: “When I walked in the room the first thing Kendrick said to me was ‘I’ve seen your face in some music videos’ and I was like yeah yours too man and the whole room started cracking up laughing and that just broke the ice.” Lacy got the opportunity to help write and produce arguably Lamar’s most famous song, “PRIDE.” Lacy once again created a demo using his iPhone and Garage Band, and un-shockingly, the songwriters and Lamar himself fell in love.

Despite the fame and the talent, this man still sees himself as the same person he was before he released a song. When asked in an interview with Rolling Stone the inspiration behind Gemini Rights, Lacy explained it was a lot of things, but was really him addressing his personal life. This album exposes his vulnerability as he shares: “I had a lot of truth to tell in my personal life; that bled through my album.” These truths brought up emotions and enabled Lacy to face his personal life head on. It was a big change as Lacy is finally able to open up and deep dive into his personal life. He not only developed as an artist, but a person. By formulating meaningful music, Lacy allows listeners to experience all the emotions put into each song.

Lacy is unafraid to be completely honest no matter what. Being able to connect to an audience and allow them to come in makes someone a truly powerful influence. He wants to break the wall between listener and creator “I want this to be like you know me. Like, this is how I talk to my friends when I’m venting.” One part in particular from “Static” on his new album Gemini Rights, that stands out is the part where he says “Hope you find peace for yourself/New boyfriend ain’t gon’ fill the void.” He’s venting about some deep things. Addressing the struggles when dealing with breakups and drugs, this part allows us to see the kind of man he is, someone who looks out for the people in his life, an honest man.

Even his high school teachers admired his careful process of creating; he quietly works and has always tried to fly under the radar, but his talent is impossible to miss. One teacher in particular, Emerson Cardenas, recalls how “he was very sophisticated, even as a freshman. But he wasn’t ever outspoken or seeking the spotlight. He was extremely humble, like he didn’t have anything to prove.”

Friendship plays a vital role in his music career. Steve grew up in Compton and attended George Washington Preparatory High School to study in its jazz band. Friends pushed him and encouraged him, in particular Jameel Bruner, who invited him to join the Internet. The Internet was a massive step forward for his confidence and his career. Together, The Internet put out Ego Death which snowballed the rest of Lacy’s career. Lacy credits much of his success to the support of his friends from the Internet.

Lacy will never admit that his career is successful. When talking about his friend from high school, Jameel Bruner, who was in the band the Internet with him, he notes that the ideas he sent were really bad but “he saw my potential before I did.” Lacy’s relationship with his music is always developing. He does not see himself as the major success the world around him is seeing.

Lacy’s careful attention to his music is unmatched. He’s patient and only puts out music he thinks is meaningful for his listeners. Lacy explained the time he spent on “Bad Habit” was lengthy. “It took months of listening to it, figuring out what was missing…I wasn’t sure about that song for the longest time, and then one day it was like, OK, here it is.”

Lacy will always go back to his roots and remind the world of how he’s a family man. Lacy shared how his father was in his life barely because “he felt like he had to have something to come around us. I mean at least that’s what I’m told.” Sadly, at age ten, his father passed away, but he’s surrounded by his mother and sisters.

Lacy and his mom shared the dream of pursuing music. While his mother did not end up pursuing it, she made sure she gave him everything to be set up for success. When talking about his mother’s and his own musical aspirations he says “mom, your mistake was that you put a percentage in Plan B that you should have put into Plan A… I want to try putting everything into Plan A.” I haven’t stopped thinking his words, he embodies the dedicated mentality that inspires others, especially me.

Although his mother ended up pursuing a different path, Lacy gave his mother and sisters the opportunity to sing backup vocals on Gemini Rights. With his mother by his side, Lacy attended and performed at the Grammy’s. In an instagram post from the event he says, “my mommy and i had the best time at the grammys… i wake up and get paid to be myself. what a dream? still waking up from this one. gratitude on high.”

No matter the fame or the money, Lacy will always remain humble.“The archetype of confidence that we see is: you’ve got to be a dick about it. No, you don’t, you can enjoy what you’re doing and still be a cool, good person.”

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Works Cited

Beaumont-Thomas, Ben. “'I'm Just Weird!' Meet Steve Lacy, the Sexed-up Heir to Stevie Wonder and Prince.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 8 July 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/jul/08/steve-lacy-us-singer-tiktok-stevie-wonder-prince-kendrick-lamar-bisexual.

Ihaza, Jeff. “Steve Lacy Didn't Know 'Bad Habit' Would Be a Hit.” Rolling Stone, Rolling Stone, 20 Oct. 2022, https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/steve-lacy-bad-habit-grammy-preview-1234607474/.

Lacy, Steve [steve.lacy]. "Grammy's Post." Instagram, 6 February 2023, https://www.instagram.com/p/CoVM0xkv5QN/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link.

Lacy, Steve. “The Bare Maximum.” TED, 19 December 2017, https://www.ted.com/talks/steve_lacy_the_bare_maximum.

Richards, Will. “Kanye West Calls Steve Lacy ‘One of the Most Inspiring People on the Planet.’” NME, NME Networks, 18 July 2022, https://www.nme.com/news/music/kanye-west-calls-steve-lacy-one-of-the-most-inspiring-people-on-the-planet-3271565.

Skelton, Eric. “Steve Lacy Describes Working with Kendrick Lamar and Creating ‘PRIDE.’” Complex, Complex, 14 Apr. 2017, https://www.complex.com/pigeons-and-planes/2017/04/steve-lacy-kendrick-lamar-collaboration-pride.

Ugwu, Reggie. “Steve Lacy Is Right on Time.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 21 Dec. 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/21/arts/music/steve-lacy-bad-habit-gemini-rights.html.

White, Ryan. “Steve Lacy: Musical Wunderkind.” i-D, VICE MEDIA GROUP, 5 Feb. 2019, https://i-d.vice.com/en/article/qv78yv/steve-lacy-interview-tyler-mitchell.