Steve Lacy sings about late father on 'Oh Yeah?'
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- Steve Lacy spent four years making his third album "Oh Yeah?" after "Gemini Rights" won best progressive R&B album at the 2023 Grammys and accumulated 2.8 billion Spotify streams.
- Lacy credits a 3-out-of-10 review of his 2019 debut "Apollo XXI" by YouTube critic Anthony Fantano — rather than praise — with ending the "genius" myth that had followed him since age 17 and pushing him toward collaboration on "Gemini Rights."
- "Oh Yeah?" opens with the line "Tatay died when I was like 10" — the Tagalog word for father — in what Lacy says is his first public acknowledgment of his Filipino heritage or his father's death.
- The album features a trip-hop track with Erykah Badu and a song built around Cecile Believe, the vocalist behind SOPHIE's posthumous album "Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides."
- Lacy identifies as queer and says "Oh Yeah?" is inspired by a six-year-old breakup, describing himself as "overdeveloped as a creative person" relative to his personal growth.
- Malcolm Todd, openly dubbed the "white Steve Lacy," has surpassed a billion streams; Lacy's influence is now audible in alt-pop's appetite for scuzzy guitar sounds and unconventional song structures.
Why it matters: Lacy's four-year detour from 'Bad Habit' redefines him as an intentional songwriter rather than a one-hit-wonder chasing replication of his biggest single. By making his Filipino heritage, queer identity and emotional struggles the new core of 'Oh Yeah?', he is also establishing a measurable influence: protégé Malcolm Todd has crossed a billion streams in his wake.
