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Who Is Steve Lacy? 9 Things To Know About The "Bad Habit" Artist Defining Gen Z
Compton-born singer Steve Lacy has made a name for himself in recent years, thanks to songs like the mega-hit "Bad Habit." Touted as a sonic love child of the likes of Stevie Wonder meets Prince, the 25-year-old has carved a lane of his own as a producer, singer-songwriter, and guitarist to the tune of a dazzling genre-bending blend of rock, R&B, and pop songs that are as infectious as they are intricate.
The breakout success of "Bad Habit" and the positive reception of his Grammy award-winning sophomore album Gemini Rights proves how deeply Steve has cemented his position in the lane he's decided to occupy, which according to the "N Side" artist is a place that is "far removed" from the industry.
Who Is Steve Lacy?
Steve Lacy - Bad Habit (Official Video)
But who is the musician beyond the iconic braids and viral hits defining Gen Z? If you're just getting familiar, here are 9 things about Steve Lacy you should know:
1.For Steve Lacy, owning his narrative is important and he doesn't like to be placed in a box:
In a 2022 interview, he told The Guardian:
“Something big for me as a kid, and to this day, is owning my narrative. I didn’t want to do things if it would put a title on me. As a kid, there was so much homophobia. I love dance but I was like, I don’t want people to assume I’m gay, so I didn’t discover dancing. A lot of people didn’t know I could sing until I put some music out because I didn’t want my family to be, ‘Oh yeah, Steve’s a singer – Steve, sing us something!’ I just didn’t want anyone to assume something. I’m just weird!”
2.He had a near-death experience involving a drunk driver who crashed into him.
Steve touched on the topic of his near-death experience that happened three years ago for a recent cover story with Variety, where it was detailed that his car got crashed into by a drunk driver who hit him at full speed.
“Being that close to death, I had the realization that you could be doing everything right, and then some fucking dumbass can crash into your car head-on. And that could be it.”
3.Steve used to cold pitch beats to artists he admired and eventually worked with Kendrick Lamar on his song "PRIDE":
In his teens, Steve was friends with musician Jameel Bruner (who is also musician Thundercat's brother) and became intrigued by the way he created beats on a laptop. Shortly after, he was invited to play with Jameel's group at the time, a band known as The Internet. There, he would send cold pitches to artists like GoldLink and Isaiah Rashad in the form of DMs and emails.
One of his collaborators, singer-songwriter Ezra Koenig from the group Vampire Weekend eventually connected him with DJ Dahi, a producer who would become Steve's mentor and a catalyst for the work Steve would do on Kendrick Lamar's studio album DAMN. Steve revealed to The Guardian:
“I came with a laptop on my back, guitar in my hand, ready for whatever. First thing Kendrick says to me in this room full of guys: ‘Yeah, I seen your face in some music videos’. I said, ‘Hey, yours too man!’ I did it, broke the ice. We start jamming on new ideas, he’s playing me stuff he’s working on for Damn. I’m handling myself really cool, calm and collected, but I was freaking the fuck out, you know? There was a moment when it was quiet, Kendrick was on his phone, and I was like: let me play you some beats. Really scary – I jumped off the cliff.”
“I was in London the first time it came out. I walked to the Starbucks down the street and I’m listening to the album, and by the time I get back to the hotel, Pride is playing, I’m crying, the Damn electronic billboard is right there – I’m like, what the hell is my life?”
4.Steve is ambivalent to the 'queer icon' status the media tries to assign him because of his sexuality:
“I don’t like to handle that stuff in a way that’s shocking. I don’t feel brave or tough, it’s just how I exist... It should be a joke that we put so much emphasis on sexuality." - via LA Times
"I never care to speak for anyone else, because I think all of our experiences are so different from each other,” he says. “I guess I have a selfish perspective of myself in the world, and I’m just expressing myself. I’m not necessarily doing things for other people to feel good about themselves." - via Variety
5.Steve Lacy on not feeling like he 'needed' to come out as bisexual and thinking it's 'silly':
“But I didn’t really come out. I didn’t try to — it just kinda happened. I don’t care to announce who I’m into sexually. I think it’s silly. I never felt like I needed to come out.” - via Variety
6.Though 'Gemini Rights' is inspired by his breakup with his ex-boyfriend, Steve insists his art is about himself:
“I have no idea what he’s up to. This is my job, you know? Songs are not really about him. They’re about me. I’ve got to do this to feel less crazy or alone.” - via LA Times
In an interview with The Guardian that was published a few months earlier than the one quoted above, Steve said this about his split with his ex and their whirlwind seven-month relationship:
"I just felt like I tried, I kept trying, I kept wanting to try, and nothing was working. [I wanted to] just communicate openly, but it was just hard. But I made a great record, and I love him, it’s all good.”
7.He owes his curiousity to his late Filipino father:
In an interview with the LA Times, Steve acknowledged the memory of his late Filipino father and acknowledges a gift he left him with:
“I definitely feel parts of him for sure. I was really young and I didn’t get to meet the whole him. I have to rely on stories from my mom to tell me what he was like, but he left me with a curiosity to understand things deeper. My mom said he was very intuitive.”
8.Therapy helped Steve see art for what it was instead of what it could be:
In an interview with The Guardian, the singer-songwriter shared, that therapy allowed him to “be more open in creating, moving the things out of the way that will keep me from being my best self. I was getting rid of that pedestal: an Artist. No – we’re all people contributing to a collective consciousness.”
9.Steve says there's freedom in not having to conform in order to have success:
“I didn’t have to conform to whatever would make me a ‘success.’ I didn’t have to have people in my ear telling me what will work. I feel more freedom now than expectations, because I didn’t have to change anything. I just had to get better.” - via LA Times
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Featured image by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
This article is sponsored by Hulu.
UnPrisonedhas returned for its highly anticipated second season, delving deeper into the complex dynamics of the Alexander family.
The series premiere comes a year after its debut season garnered rave reviews from fans and critics and earned record-breaking ratings for Hulu's Onyx Collective brand. UnPrisoned's success can be attributed to its raw, relatable themes and comedic appeal.
Inspired by creator Tracy McMillan's life, the show follows Paige (Kerry Washington), a therapist and single mother whose life takes an unexpected turn when her father, Edwin (Delroy Lindo) --who was released from prison-- moves in with her and her teenage son, Finn (Faly Rakotohavana).
Throughout UnPrisoned's first season, viewers witnessed how Edwin's incarceration deeply affected Paige's life and relationships. In the series, Paige unpacks her trauma through interactions with her inner child and her online followers. Meanwhile, Edwin is overcoming specific struggles with his own past that led to his life of crime, including a dysfunctional upbringing and his mother's arrest. As the Alexanders attempt to reconcile, new challenges arise.
This new season promises to further explore their unconventional family dynamic. Here are several compelling reasons why season two of UnPrisoned should be on everyone's watchlist.
The Alexander Family Life Is Still In Shambles
UnPrisoned's second season resumes where the series left off, with Paige grappling with the fallout from her troubled therapy practice and Edwin navigating life independently after moving out. Meanwhile, Finn faces his own challenges. The teenager is battling anxiety and seeking information about his father—a topic Paige avoids discussing.
The Alexander Family Are Attending Therapy To Resolve Their Underlying Issues
Amid the chaos in their lives, the Alexander family decides to mend their bond by confronting their past traumas. They seek professional help and attend therapy sessions with a “family radical healing coach,” played by John Stamos, a new cast member. This collective effort aims to unravel the complexities of their shared history and strengthen their relationships.
The process of unraveling each character's internal conflicts and their potential impact on future relationships may clash with Paige's textbook therapy approach. While Paige is used to being in the therapist's seat in both career and family, this forces her into the unfamiliar role of a patient during therapy sessions. This shift would compel her to look in the mirror and try a radically different approach.
The Alexander Family Learned A Big Lesson During A Therapy Session
In therapy, the Alexanders are tasked with addressing their individual traumas to salvage their remaining relationships. One of the family therapist’s eccentric suggestions was an exercise involving a family wrestling match. During this session, Paige faces tough questions about her refusal to share information about Finn's father.
While it's unclear whether this scene is reality or fantasy, the image of the family duking it out in the ring certainly makes for hilarious yet compelling television.
Paige Tries Dating Again Following Failed Relationships
Amid her life's chaos, Paige decides to step back into the dating field. However, her many attempts have left her with mixed results. The dating apps have turned out to be a fail, and an outing with her ex Mal (Marque Richardson), who is also her father's parole officer, doesn’t go quite as expected after he brings an unexpected guest – his new girlfriend.
The situation takes an awkward turn when Mal's new partner learns why the former couple split, partly due to Paige's self-sabotage.
UnPrisoned Is A Perfect Balance Of Comedy And Drama
As a dramedy, UnPrisoned takes a comedic approach to its heavy subjects. The show takes us on a ride with Paige's dating misadventures and navigating a friendship with her ex.
Other lighthearted moments include Edwin's attempts at CPR based on online videos and, of course, the antics of the Alexander family's unconventional new healing coach.
The second season of UnPrisoned is now available on Hulu.
UnPrisoned | Season 2 Trailer | Hulu
Feature image courtesy
Blair Underwood Initially Turned Down 'Sex And The City' Because 'It Was About How Samantha Was Fascinated By Dating A Black Man’
Actor and heartthrob Blair Underwood is opening up about why he turned down Sex and the City the first time he was offered a role. Many fans of the HBO series may recall Blair's time on the show in which his character was dating Miranda (Cynthia Nixon). However, he was previously offered another role where his character would date Samantha (Kim Cattrall).
During his interview with AV Club, the Set It Off star revealed that he was uncomfortable with the initial offer due to the character's fascination with him being a Black man.
“I actually did say ‘no’ the first time,” he said. “The first time they had offered the role, to be honest with you, it was about how Samantha was fascinated by dating a Black man and wanted to know if, uh, all of the rumors were true about our anatomy! And I said, ‘Listen, I’m honored, thank you, but I just don’t want to play a character based on race, on curiosity about a Black man.'”
But that didn't stop them from reaching out again. This time he was offered to play Dr. Robert Leeds, the love interest to Miranda and he decided to go for it. "So they were nice enough to call about a year later, and I said, 'Well, is it gonna be about race?' And they said, 'No, no, no, we’re not even gonna mention race!' And I think it really did only come up maybe once," he recalled.
"It did five episodes, and I think Samantha mentioned it once, saying something about 'a Black doctor' that Miranda was dating. And that’s really been a consistent thing in my career: not wanting to be boxed as 'the Black guy.'
"I’ve had that conversation with many producers along the way, and they were so great. They said, 'No, he’s just a doctor who Miranda meets in the elevator, and they have a nice little fling.' And it was amazing."
Blair has had a wide-ranging career playing everything from a lawyer on L.A. Law to playing Madame CJ Walker's husband on Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madame CJ Walker. And during his interview, he revealed another role that he initially turned down, Set It Off. The movie, which is considered a classic in Black culture, stars Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith, Vivica A. Fox, and Kimberly Elise. Blair's character, Keith, played a banker and love interest to Jada's character, Stony.
He explained why he said no at first and eventually accepted the offer. "I had initially said “no” to that. Because I was playing this historic, iconic African-American historical figure in Jackie Robinson, and the time, y’know, there was Boyz N The Hood, and Menace II Society was out there, and I’d finished playing this noble Negro… [Laughs]," he said.
"And I’m reading the script, and there’s a scene where Jada Pinkett’s character—Jada Pinkett-Smith now—was going to sell her body so she could make some money to send her brother to college. And I remember, honestly, I threw the script across the room. I was, like, “I don’t want to do this. I want to do something uplifting for the Black culture and Black characters, and I don’t know if I want to see this.”
After a conversation with the movie's director F. Gary Gray and the actor's manager encouraging him to finish reading the script, Blair had a change of heart. What he first thought about the movie turned out to be totally different.
"So I finished the script, and I saw that the character they were asking me to play was really the love story in the midst of all of this turmoil of all of these characters, the four ladies: Queen Latifah, Vivica Fox, Kimberly Elise, and Jada," he explained.
"It was so well-written, it was such a great platform for them. And to be able to play the love story and the storyline that gave Jada’s character a leg up and a way out of this world, something to hope for, to wish for, someone to love her… I said, 'You know what? I’d like to be a part of that.'
"And I’m so glad I did, because that film resonates to this day. People all the time come up to me and say that they love that movie. So I’m glad that I did it."