Oh yeah?E

The Artist

Steve Lacy came up as the teenage guitarist and producer for The Internet, famously building beats on his iPhone before he could legally drink. Raised in Compton, California, he built a reputation for a lo-fi, funk-inflected bedroom sound that felt handmade even as his profile grew, culminating in the breakthrough of Gemini Rights and the inescapable "Bad Habit." That mainstream moment brought Grammy wins and a level of scrutiny that clearly weighed on him. Oh yeah? arrives as his response to that spotlight, a record that pushes back against the pop machinery that adopted him. It positions Lacy less as a hitmaker and more as a restless auteur working through what he wants to be next.

The Album

Oh yeah? is Lacy's third solo album, following the commercial peak of Gemini Rights, and it finds him leaning back into the hands-on, self-produced approach that defined his early work. He handles the bulk of the writing and production himself, joined by a small circle of collaborators, and the record features guest turns from SZA, Erykah Badu, and Cecile Believe. The sonic palette is loose and tactile, favoring live-feeling guitars, warm low end, and vocal experimentation over polished radio gloss. Thematically it wrestles with fame, self-doubt, love, and the pressure of expectation, an artist processing what happens after everyone starts watching.

Listen For

The guitar as lead voice. Lacy's playing is the connective tissue across the record, from the wiry funk lines to more meditative textures. Notice how often the guitar carries melody the vocal might otherwise handle.

The SZA feature. "is it cool? (feat. SZA)" pairs two artists who share a certain vocal looseness and vulnerability. Pay attention to how their voices blend versus trade off, and who leads the emotional weight.

Structural left turns. "nice shoes / in your world" is built as a two-part suite, and several tracks shift shape mid-song rather than sticking to verse-chorus form. Listen for where the ground moves under you.

Erykah Badu's presence. On "pure colour (feat. Erykah Badu)," notice how her phrasing and tone interact with Lacy's world, whether she adapts to his sound or bends it toward hers.

Lyrics about being watched. Fame, perception, and self-image run through the record, surfacing on tracks like "oh yeah?" and "doom." Track how his tone shifts between defiance, exhaustion, and dark humor.