Steve Lacy

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Steve Lacy's career began with an interest in guitar at age seven through the video game Guitar Hero. He produced and performed his first songs on his iPhone using the app GarageBand and an iRig plug-in for his guitar. In 2015, he began producing on what would become the Internet's third studio album, *Ego Death*, which was nominated at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Urban Contemporary Album. He co-produced Kendrick Lamar's song "Pride" from Lamar's Grammy-winning album *Damn*. His debut EP *Steve Lacy's Demo* was released on February 24, 2017, with Lacy creating most of the songs on his iPhone. In 2017, he came out as bisexual. His second studio album *Gemini Rights* was released on July 15, 2022, and its single "Bad Habit" became his first song to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 after going viral on TikTok, where a snippet was used as the soundtrack for over 400,000 videos. As of 2025, Lacy has not released any new solo singles or announced a third studio album.

In Their Own Story

In 2026, Steve Lacy released his third studio album *Oh Yeah?*, which featured a collaboration with SZA. The second single from the album, "The Feeling", was released on June 5, 2026. On June 26, 2026, Lacy released the album's third single, "Is It Cool?", a duet with SZA; the song debuted at number 52 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album also featured guest appearances by Erykah Badu and Cecile Believe. *Oh Yeah?* received generally favorable reviews, holding a weighted average score of 72 out of 100 on Metacritic based on seven critics. Jeff Ihaza of *Rolling Stone* wrote that the record cemented Lacy's status as one of the leading pop auteurs of his generation. Commercially, the album opened at number 14 on the Billboard 200 with 33,000 album-equivalent units, and entered the top five of Billboard's Top R&B Albums chart. To promote the album, Lacy scheduled a run of tour dates across Asia during the summer of 2026, including headline festival slots at Summer Sonic in Japan and Lalala Festival in Indonesia.

Reader's Guide

Steve Lacy functions as a creative collaborator with SZA, appearing as a featured artist on her song "Is It Cool?" from his 2026 album *Oh Yeah?*. As a musician, his skills span guitar, songwriting, and production, having produced songs for artists including Solange Knowles, Kendrick Lamar, Kali Uchis, Mac Miller, and Dev Hynes. He has cited Thundercat, Erykah Badu, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Pharrell Williams and the Neptunes, Weezer, Paramore, and Jimi Hendrix as major influences on his sound. He has stated that one of his biggest influences in regard to production is Mac DeMarco. Lacy has said he is most comfortable writing about topics regarding love and dating, and describes his musical sound as like the tartan fabric 'plaid'. In 2023, he was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by *Time* magazine.

Did You Know?

• Steve Lacy produced and performed his first songs on his iPhone using the app GarageBand and an iRig plug-in for his guitar.
• His single 'Bad Habit' reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 after going viral on TikTok, where a snippet was used in over 400,000 videos.
• Lacy came out as bisexual in 2017.
• He co-produced Kendrick Lamar's song 'Pride' from Lamar's Grammy-winning album *Damn*.
• Lacy joined the Internet in 2015, contributing to their Grammy-nominated album *Ego Death*.