Steve Lacy
Lacy in October 2022
Background information
Birth name	Steve Thomas Lacy-Moya
Born	(1998-05-23)May 23, 1998 (age 26) Compton, California, U.S.
Genres	Alternative R&B neo soul funk jazz indie rock lo-fi psychedelic soul[1]
Occupations	Singer songwriter record producer guitarist
Instruments	Vocals guitar bass drums keyboards percussion sampler
Discography	Steve Lacy discography
Years active	2013–present
Labels	RCA[2] Three Quarter AWAL[3] L-M
Member of	The Internet
Website	www.stevelacys.com
Signature

Steve Thomas Lacy-Moya (born May 23, 1998) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and record producer. He gained recognition as the guitarist of thealternative R&B bandthe Internet, which he joined in 2015.^[4][5] His self-produced debutEP,Steve Lacy's Demo (2017), was met with critical praise and became asleeper hit.^[6][7] Lacy then guest performed alongsideFrank Ocean onTyler, the Creator's 2017 single "911 / Mr. Lonely", which receiveddouble platinum certification by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA). That year, he also co-wrote songs for artists includingSolange Knowles,^[8] andKendrick Lamar on his song "Pride".

His debut studio album,Apollo XXI (2019), earned aGrammy Award nomination forBest Urban Contemporary Album. That same year, he guest appeared onVampire Weekend's single "Sunflower", as well asCalvin Harris' song "Live Without Your Love", which entered theUK Singles Chart. He signed withRCA Records to release his second studio albumGemini Rights (2022), which peaked within the top ten of theBillboard 200 chart and spawned the single "Bad Habit". Also a sleeper hit, the song peaked atop theBillboard Hot 100 after going viral onTikTok; it was nominated forBest Pop Solo Performance,Record of the Year andSong of the Year at the65th Annual Grammy Awards, while its parent album wonBest Progressive R&B Album. He was named one of the100 most influential people in the world byTime magazine in 2023.^[9]

Steve Thomas Lacy-Moya was born inCompton, California, on May 23, 1998,^[10][5] the son of an African-American mother and Filipino father.^[11] He was raised by his mother and grew up with his sister Asia Lacy (Asiatica), with his father being largely absent from his life and usually only visiting on special occasions. When Lacy was 10 years old, his father died.^[11][12][13] Lacy attendedNarbonne High School before moving onto a private school. Lacy has said that he grew up sheltered, a result of his mother wanting to shield him and his sisters from the environment at the time in Compton.^[13]

Lacy first gained an interest in the guitar at the age of seven through the video gameGuitar Hero, but soon wanted to learn how to play on an actual guitar.^[13] He met Jameel Bruner, his future bandmate inthe Internet, while in the jazz band at high school.^[6][11] He produced and performed his first songs on hisiPhone, using a plug-in for his guitar called an iRig.^[14][15][16] In 2013, he began a producing role on what would become the Internet's third studio album,Ego Death.^[17] Contributing on the production of eight tracks,Ego Death was nominated at the58th Annual Grammy Awards forBest Urban Contemporary Album.^[4] Lacy appeared onMatt Martians' albumThe Drum Chord Theory andSyd's albumFin after it was announced that the Internet members would release solo projects.^[18] He also began producing songs forTwenty88,Denzel Curry,Isaiah Rashad,J. Cole,GoldLink, andKendrick Lamar, most notably producing the song "Pride" from Lamar'sGrammy-winning albumDamn,^[19] and making two guest appearances on theVampire Weekend albumFather of the Bride.^[4][20][21]

Steve Lacy's Demo was released on February 17, 2017, with Lacy once again creating most of the songs on his iPhone by producing the guitar and bass arrangements through it and singing his vocals directly into its built-in microphone.^[22][23] He also programmed the drum patterns inAbleton Live.^[24][25] That year, he also co-wrote and producedRavyn Lenae's EPCrush, which was eventually released in February 2018.^[26] He reunited with the Internet to work on their albumHive Mind, which was released in July 2018.^[27][28] Lacy went on to produce forSolange,^[29][30]Kali Uchis on her debut albumIsolation,^{[31][32][33][34]}Mac Miller on his albumSwimming,^[35] and was featured onDev Hynes' albumNegro Swan.^{[36][non-primary source needed][37][non-primary source needed][38][39]}

In 2018, Lacy said that he had produced for rapperYG, and that he had begun using devices other than his phone to produce music.^[12] In March 2019, he was credited for producing on two tracks on Solange's albumWhen I Get Home.^[40][41][42] He was also featured on the Vampire Weekend song "Sunflower" and appeared its video that same month.^[43] In April, he released the single "N Side" from his debut albumApollo XXI.^[44][45][46] He announced the release date ofApollo XXI to be on May 24, 2019.^[13][47][48] In the week of his album debut, he released two more singles, "Playground" and "Hate CD".^[49][50][51] The album was nominated forBest Urban Contemporary Album at the62nd Annual Grammy Awards, Lacy's first Grammy nomination as a solo artist.^[52]

On December 4, 2020, Lacy released a compilation album of his early work titledThe Lo-Fis.^[53][54] His single "Mercury" was released with a music video on June 16, 2022.^[55] The video featured on YouTube is about half as long as the version published on Spotify, which spans 4:58 minutes compared to the 2:30 minutes of the video.^[56] His second studio album,Gemini Rights, was released on July 15, 2022.^[57] The album spawned the single "Bad Habit", which became Lacy's first song to reach number one on theBillboard Hot 100 after going viral onTikTok, where a snippet of the song was used as the soundtrack for over 400,000 videos on the platform.^[58][59][60] On November 5, 2022, he performed "Bad Habit" and "Helmet" onSaturday Night Live.^[61]

On January 31, 2023, AEG (Anschutz Entertainment Group) Presents announced that Lacy would be one of three headline acts at the inauguralRe:SET Concert Series.^[62]

In an interview withThe Fader, Lacy citedThundercat,Erykah Badu,Black Moth Super Rainbow,Pharrell Williams andthe Neptunes as some of his biggest influences, also mentioningPrince as his dream collaborator.^[4] Lacy has also listedWeezer,Paramore, andJimi Hendrix as major influences on his sound.^[63] Makeda Sandford ofSaint Heron described his sound as "an electrifying yet smooth... playful depiction of beachy funk, rock 'n roll-sprinkled soul."^[14] Jonah Bromwich ofPitchfork said he "sparkles with classic Southern California funk and soul."^[6] He has also stated that one of his biggest influences, in regard to production, isMac DeMarco.^[64] Lacy has said that he is most comfortable writing about topics regarding love and dating, and describes his musical sound to be like the tartan fabric 'plaid'.^[11][65]

In 2017, Lacy came out asbisexual.^[66][67]

• Apollo XXI (2019)
• Gemini Rights (2022)
• Untitled Upcoming 2025 Album

• Ego Death (2015)
• Hive Mind (2018)

Wikimedia Commons has media related toSteve Lacy (guitarist).

• Steve Lacy onSoundCloud
• Steve Lacy atAllMusic
• Steve Lacy discography atDiscogs

• 1998 births
• Living people
• 21st-century American LGBTQ people
• 21st-century American male singers
• 21st-century American singers
• 21st-century African-American male singers
• 21st-century American guitarists
• African-American guitarists
• American contemporary R&B singers
• American male guitarists
• Bisexual male musicians
• Guitarists from California
• African-American LGBTQ people
• LGBTQ record producers
• Alternative R&B musicians
• American LGBTQ singers
• Musicians from Compton, California
• Record producers from California
• American people of Filipino descent
• Filipino people of African-American descent
• Grammy Award winners
• American LGBTQ people of Asian descent
• LGBTQ people from California

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