Steve Lacy, a multi-instrumental musician known for his indie and alternative genre, fulfilled his fans’ wishes and released a new song titled “Nice Shoes.” Lacy started producing beats at a young age, but began treating music seriously when he met the band The Internet. In this ensemble, members collaborate on projects but pursue separate careers. Lacy worked with the band on their third album, “Ego Death,” in 2015 and officially became a member. Lacy originally garnered attention from joining The Internet, but his own songs “Dark Red” and “C U Girl” reached viral heights on TikTok. Through this virality, Lacy gained recognition as a solo artist.

After working with The Internet for four years, Lacy released his first full-length solo album, “Apollo XXI,” in 2019 — the project peaked at number 160 on the Billboard 200 Albums. Listeners loved the album’s rawness and pure honesty. In fall 2019, Lacy embarked on the “Apollo XXI World Tour,” with concert locations throughout the U.S., Europe and Canada. The album earned a nomination for Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards in 2020.

Lacy’s second album, “The Lo-Fis,” released in 2020, did not garner much attention, yet still remained an important part of his career. The top-streamed song on the album, “Infrunami,” instantly became another smashing TikTok hit. Lacy’s release of “The Lo-Fis” served as a sign that Lacy could branch beyond the provocative Rhythm and Blues (R&B) vibe and into a softer love feel.

The fame he gained from joining The Internet and his first two solo albums cannot compare to the level of attention Lacy garnered from his album “Gemini Rights.” Lacy released his third solo album in 2022, and it became a sensational hit. The album became revered for its vulnerable depiction of a sad love story’s end, prevalent in the songs “Static,” “Bad Habit” and “Sunshine, ft. Fousheé.” The collection of songs took listeners on a journey through Lacy’s relationship, beginning angrily with “New boyfriend ain’t gon fill the void” in Static and ending with “I want it back” in “Give You the World.” Younger Generation Z (Gen-Z) felt like they could connect with the complicated feelings portrayed in the project. The album felt like a look into Lacy’s processing of a seemingly messy relationship. This personal glance inside Lacy’s life, combined with the R&B soul feel, led to the album’s adoration.

“Gemini Rights” debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200. “Bad Habit,” the album’s second pre-single, reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The song also earned Lacy 1.4 billion streams, leading to it becoming Lacy’s second-highest-streamed song. This prompted Lacy to embark on a tour titled “Give You the World” throughout the U.S. and Canada in fall 2022. Later at the 2023 Grammy Awards, “Gemini Rights” won Best Progressive R&B Album. 

After the tour, Lacy took a three-year music hiatus, despite fans begging him to release new music. Lacy posted numerous teasers before finally revealing his plans to release a new album via an Instagram post Wednesday, August 13. Lacy stated that while he continued to work on his new album, he felt ready to release a new single that Friday: “Nice Shoes.” 

The song leaves behind the heartbreak feeling that exists throughout “Gemini Rights,” signifying Lacy’s progress in healing from the breakup that inspired the album. Lacy chose to adopt a flirty vibe that held prevalence in “Nice Shoes.” While the song remains true to Lacy’s lyrical manner, the actual music itself changed to an experimental style.

“[‘Nice Shoes’] was different from [Lacy’s] other projects. I think ‘Gemini Rights’ had a more neo-soul, jazzy and hip-hop type of vibe, whereas ‘Nice Shoes’ is upbeat — [it] kind of reminds me of pop. I think ‘Nice Shoes’ was overall better than ‘Gemini Rights ’; it wasn’t talking about heartbreak and had a more summer vibe, which I really liked. It represented a new start for Steve Lacy, ” magnet junior Amari Snow said.

Overall, Lacy’s music always attaches an emotion to it, such as love, sadness, heartbreak and anger. Each of his songs, whether released solo or with The Internet, resonates with Gen-Z. Lacy’s music stays true to his feelings: deep, raw and real. After his three-year hiatus, fans expressed elated joy for “Nice Shoes.” The song, while different from his previous projects, still possessed that Steve Lacy vibe that his fans know and love.

“I like the song a lot — it’s different from a lot of music that’s been released recently and I enjoyed it. It definitely isn’t similar to ‘Gemini Rights,’ especially with the sound, use of instruments and just overall vibe of it. It felt less mainstream than ‘Gemini Rights’ did. The sounds included in ‘Nice Shoes’ were more quirky, and Steve experimented with more autotune,” magnet junior Mya Black said.

The Chant’s grade: A+