Compton native Steve Lacy first became renowned in the R&B scene as a member of the soulful troupe The Internet at just 16, before further establishing himself through prolific collaborations and illustrious production credits with artists including Kendrick Lamar, Solange, and Blood Orange, all before the age of 21. Since embarking on a solo career, his rise to fame has been meteoric, beginning with the breakout single “Dark Red” in 2017, followed by “N Side” in 2019 and the hit “Bad Habit”, which made its rounds on TikTok in 2022.
By this, his third album, Steve Lacy has already established himself as one of the defining artichects of soulful bedroom pop, with a string of languid summer anthems and remarkable chart longevity. Oh yeah? proffers a mashup of superlative lo-fi textures, irresistable bedroom pop hooks, and soulful R&B grooves marshalled into a sound so cohesive and distinct it could only come from Lacy.
Oh yeah? launches you into a tesselation of blooming melodies, superimposed over melancholy guitar chords. The title track is flirty, challenging, and tongue-in-cheek, displaying like the lyrical wit predominant in Lacy’s discography. He flirts with life’s perpetual ebbs and flows, “life’s a bitch, and then you live again,” putting his own spin on the canonical Nas line. The melody seems to resolve itself to the realistic resignation of the lyrics, becoming unmoored and setting itself adrift.
There are a generous number of hard-hitting takeaway lines on this album, perhaps the most poignant appearing on the standout single and penultimate track, “nice shoes / in your world”: “I can’t seem to fall in love, it’s bad luck / Careful how you spend your time, it adds up”. Historically, one of Lacy’s greatest strengths has been his ability to alchemize even the most upsetting, anxiety-ridden, and heartbreaking lyrics into some of the most infectious melodies of the summer. Weighty lyrics notwithstanding, this song shines as one of the album’s brightest moments.
Another funky pop-hook standout, “the feeling” reflects on the vulnerability and uncertainty inherent in intimate relationships, revisiting the same what-are-we anxieties that animated the hit single “Bad Habit”. Upbeat, tender, and dreamy, the song seems to float through a hypnagogic haze, “when it seems it was some kind of dream but it happened, that’s the feeling tonight”.
“Pure Colour” slows the album’s pace, simultaneously bobbing buoyantly and sinking into its emotional depths. “I’m high, just wanna feel lighter”, Erykah Badu’s gossamer vocals croon, drifting through the track like a passing zephyr. “Show you me” serves as the album’s canonical love ballad. Dusting off any insecurity or fear he’d been feeling on the previous tracks, the catchy earworm reduces him to the bare marrow of his amorous apprehensions and earnestness.
“Just got a word, I heard I’m a bit shitty / damn what a pity, but I smell so pretty”; “doom” is a blur of alt-rock guitars swirling around effervescent melodies and cheeky lyrics. Resorting to the reality and state of things within himself, and within his generation, Lacy decorates the que-sera attitude to the tune of a hooking, upbeat melody.
Oh yeah? navigates effortlessly between concupiscent lo-fi bedroom beats, infectious pop hooks, and slower, soulful R&B-leaning rhythms. Lyrically, Lacy has never shied from self-criticism, and the songs off this album are just as vulnerable and diaristic, pairing catchy pop melodies with hard-to-swallow revelations. The album is only 39 minutes long, but to borrow the title of one of my favorite albums, it offers 39 minutes of bliss in an otherwise meaningless world.
