Steve Lacy

Who is Steve Lacy?

Steve Lacy, born Steve Thomas Lacy-Moya on 23 May 1998 in Compton, California, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer. He first made his name as a member of the Los Angeles collective The Internet before building a acclaimed solo career that blends R&B, funk, rock and bedroom-pop.

The Internet and early work

Lacy joined The Internet as a teenager, contributing guitar and production to their Grammy-nominated 2015 album Ego Death. Famously, he produced much of his early music using just his phone, an approach that became part of his story and showed a rare, self-taught fluency across instruments and production.

A self-taught musician

Part of what set Lacy apart from the start was his approach to making music. Largely self-taught, he became known for producing polished, full-sounding records using little more than an iPhone and a basic interface, writing, playing and arranging much of the work himself. That do-it-yourself method, combined with a natural ear for melody and groove, gave his early releases an intimacy and immediacy that a studio full of equipment can struggle to capture, and it became a defining part of how people understood him as an artist.

Solo career

He released Steve Lacy's Demo in 2017 and his first full album, Apollo XXI, in 2019, establishing a loose, guitar-driven sound rooted in soul and psychedelia. His songwriting and playing also brought collaborations with artists including Kendrick Lamar, Tyler, the Creator, Solange and Mac Miller.

Gemini Rights and "Bad Habit"

His 2022 album Gemini Rights was his breakthrough. Its single "Bad Habit" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, a remarkable result for a left-of-centre record, and the album won the Grammy Award for Best Progressive R&B Album. It confirmed Lacy as one of the most distinctive young artists in American music.

Oh yeah? and "the feeling"

In 2026 he announced his third studio album, Oh yeah?, for release on 17 July, describing it as the work of a four-year period of self-discovery. Its lead single, "the feeling", arrived on 5 June 2026 with a video directed by Matt Castellanos, and the album features guest appearances from Erykah Badu, SZA and Cecile Believe.

Sound and style

Lacy's music is warm, unpolished and instinctive, built around his guitar and a willingness to follow a groove wherever it leads. His records mix soul and funk with the looseness of indie and the swing of hip-hop, and he tends to prize feel over precision, leaving in the small imperfections that give his songs their character. That approach, together with his skill as a multi-instrumentalist and producer, lets him make records that sound both handmade and effortlessly modern.

Legacy

He has helped blur the lines between R&B, indie and rock for a new generation, and his path — from phone-made demos to a number-one single and a Grammy — has made him a model for self-produced artists working outside the mainstream pop machine. For many younger musicians, Lacy is proof that an idiosyncratic, self-taught vision can reach the very top of the charts.