Over 10 years ago, Steve Lacy’s incredible career began. When he started at Narbonne High School, his mom forced him to join the jazz team. This is where he met someone who would change his life. Lacy had already grown a fondness for music when he was younger; he would play Guitar Hero all day when he was a child,which was what created his fondness for instruments. When Lacy joined the jazz team, he met Jameel Bruner, someone who would later help shape Lacy’s Career. Bruner would recruit Lacy into a new band that he had joined, “The Internet”. This band would be the start of his whole career.
The Internet began in 2011 when members of Odd Future decided to branch off and create another group. The group was founded by Syd, Christopher Smith, and Matt Martians, but Lacy only joined in 2015 after being recruited by Bruner. Lacy would help produce the group’s biggest album “Ego Death”; this album would be what put them on the map. “Ego Death” ended up getting nominated for best contemporary album of the year at the Grammys, and even though they didn’t end up winning, it would propel their popularity.
During the time that he was making music with them, he would absorb his environment and learn how to make music. According to The Standard Sound, Lacy stated, “I’d never made music or anything, I was chillin’ in those environments, seeing how it’s done, taking it in.” Lacy originally didn’t want to sing, so this environment not only made him more confident about becoming solo but also helped improve his musical capabilities.
In 2017, fans of Lacy begged him for a solo project, and he finally delivered. Lacy would release an EP, extended play, named “Steve Lacy’s Demo”; which would put Lacy on more people’s radars. Due to Lacy’s rising popularity, he would begin to work with large artists. Before this, he had already worked with J.Cole on his project “4 Your Eyez Only”, and after his EP, he would work with Kendrick Lamar on his Album, “DAMN.” which only made him grow in popularity.
After his EP he would begin to work on his first album, which his fans had been begging for. In 2019, he finally dropped his long-awaited album, “Apollo XXI”, but many fans were disappointed with this album. “However, as I finished my first listen of the entire album, I found myself slightly disappointed. The album is certainly not bad, but it falls short of what could have been great,” Erin Chun stated from The Guardian. Despite this, Lacy continued to release projects until he finally received his biggest break.
In 2022, Lacy released his most popular album to date, “Gemini Rights”. This album would propel him to a household name. His song “Bad Habits” became an instant success due to its massive use on TikTok. This album was different from all his other albums, sporting more of a soft R&B sound compared to his usually funky R&B music. “It’s an urgent concoction of R&B, rock and pop songs filled with jazzy guitars and buttery hooks, at once reminiscent of Stevie Wonder and Pharrell,” as stated by Ethan Shanfield from Variety. “Gemini Rights” is a detour from his previous works and it works flawlessly. This album truly helped his career thrive and made him a superstar.
Lacy is truly one of the most talented artists we’ve had in the last decade. Lacy’s career began when he was a teenager and now he’s a global superstar. Lacy is a prime example that shows if you’re truly passionate about something, you can make your dreams come true. Next time you’re listening to his music, just remember how much love and work is put into his music.
