Steve Lacy: Gemini Rights

The realities of a flawed romance : Insight into the summer soundtrack of 2022 ‘Gemini Rights’.

A sophomore album that changed Steve’s trajectory as an artist in the industry, ‘Gemini rights’ created waves in the scene for a new generation of original bedroom pop artists as Lacy managed to entice the younger generation of alt pop fans with a funky new take on a traditional break up album. 

Steve Lacy, a 24 year old artist from Compton isn’t an unheard of musician in the industry; making waves in the scene as a producer since he was a teenager creating beats on his Iphone on Garageband.The Grammy winning artist had formerly been curating the well known melodies of many hits and even boosting upcoming artists in generating their own sounds, Lacy is an embraced talent who had been consistently enhancing the tracks of many albums including his own works in his popular alternative band ‘The Internet’. After the release of his solo debut ‘Apollo XXI’ the artist had firmly established his ground as a solo artist to be aware of in the industry, receiving many accolades for his polished production and his amusing lyrics. Lacy had only begun to show us the depths of his talents with ‘Apollo XXI’ and us listeners were very lucky that it was just the beginning as his second album most definitely lived up to the hype. 

‘Gemini rights’ grants us entry into the heights of Lacys talent as a solo artist, a pinnacle for his current success; this album proves Lacy is not only a profound producer but also unfolds layers of his capacity as a songwriter and more. Kicking off with a cheerless introduction “Static” is blunt yet somehow humorous, eveloping us into his loneliness, Lacy opens with a track that is duplicitous in itself. Depressing with some undertones of hope, ‘Static’ reminds us that attention thats mistakenly received as love can make you lose your self worth; an emotion that should undeniably leave you feeling more than can somehow allow you to let your self get treated as less than; “If you had to stunt your shining, for your lover,dump that fucker”. Lacy reminds us that although one may feel so comfortable with a companion that they love dearly enough to share their light with to never allow someone else to alter your own perception of happiness within yourself and therefore dim your own brightness. 

This protruding loneliness is followed in “Helmet” an upbeat anthem that uplifts the heavy doubts that are spoken about in ‘Static’, this tune reminds listeners to love themselves firstly before engaging in any relationships with others. Lacy creates this metaphorical chorus about guarding your heart to keep us aware of the dangers of letting someone in; “Loving you was a hazard, so I bought my heart a helmet’. A precaution is needed when it comes to loving someone that isn't right for you, it's like the saying goes “when you love someone you let them go”. Lacy realises his partner was toxic for his well being and decides to flourish on his own; “Time to get out, I don't want you around”. 

His most popular singles follow these two tracks, gaining the album a lot of attention from social media “Mercury” and “Bad Habit” are two singles that highlight Lacys prodigious talent in production. “Mercury” shows Steve's bitterness and tenderness when it comes to his break up whilst simultaneously relating itself to the album's title. Steve focuses on astrological context with this single to embed lyrical meaning into the double sided nature of the song. Steve is a Gemini, which does not come as a shock from his album title, Geminis being ruled by the planet Mercury which is characterised by traits of duality, expression and communication. Geminis also being stereotyped by their traits of being two-faced, Steve uses this to instil extra layers to the track, a song that's supported by light adlibs but contrasted with its devious lyrics. Steve doesn't shy from illustrating his astrological knowledge “Venus in retrograde, got me in bed thinking bout all of the shit that I said”, “You think that im two faced- I can name twenty three” a play on his birth date as he explains that he can also have 23 faces. 

“Bad habit” released as his second single and probably his most well known song on the album due to its exposure on TikTok, a song that speaks on his regrets of not advancing on his attraction to someone. The commercial success of this song  allows the track to have its own trajectory in Steve's discography aside from being in the album, this single staying in the charts for weeks at a time. Lacy realising that although his intention may have been to create a sonically constructed demonstration of his dissatisfaction with the outcome of a potential relationship it should not affect how listeners receive the song. A catchy single with no intention of being a chart-topper, it's ironic that it's now Steve's most successful song. Continuing to be mischievous with his song writing; Steve adds a light hearted warning with his outro “You can’t surprise a gemini, im everywhere im cross sighted”. 

A focal point for this album is “Sunshine” , a collaboration with a close friend and upcoming R&B artist Fousheė. As heated as its title this song is sweet and sultry, letting listeners fly up to the heights of their harmonies. It's a depiction of how love is never lost, just redirected; “I still, I still, love you”. Finalising the album is “Give you the world” a soulful goodbye, this song contains some of Lacys best vocals on the album. It's gentle and compassionate, a feeling of warmth exudes off this track that sounds like an extended lullaby. Steve lets his guitar riffs do all the work as his high notes take us up into the clouds. An album that's not extensive in its length yet very impactful in a short amount of time; “Gemini rights” is Steve Lacy in his element. 

Fats <33