Upcoming artist, Steve Lacy, has just dropped the second album of his career and has taken the media by storm this summer. Lacy recently entered a new era of his career revolving around his new album, Gemini Rights, back in late May / Early June of 2022. His first song off the album, “Mercury”, debuted on June 15 and gave listeners a first taste as to what his album had in store. Two weeks later, he dropped another single, “Bad Habit”, which took the Internet by storm with its genius lyrics that tackle the idea many teens face: the fear of speaking up when a strong romantic connection is felt. The song blew up on many social media platforms, including Tiktok, and began bringing more hype towards Steve and his new album. Two days before he dropped his album, he dropped a third and final teaser song, “Sunshine (ft. Foushee)”, a very upbeat summer song. On July 15, 2022, Lacy dropped Gemini Rights and took the Internet by storm. Climbing charts at a rapid pace, Gemini Rights became a staple “summer album” for many teens and fans of Lacy.
Lacy’s album is a 10 song story that talks about a recent heartbreak he experienced. However, he took a very different approach as to how he told his story of pain, heartbreak and all the other emotions one may feel when dealing with a breakup. The album isn’t slow and full of sappy lyrics, nor does it completely obliterate his ex partner via foul language in every other lyric, the album is more upbeat and catchy and it truly shows off Lacy’s lyrical genius talent. “Bad Habit” took the world by storm because of the universal feeling many people experience throughout their entire lives: the fear of rejection.
In addition to the beautiful story Gemini Rights tells, the title itself turns lots of heads when it comes to criticism and the stigmatism around astrology. Astrology is present in the album in the song “Mercury”, especially in the lyric “Venus in retrograde got me in bed”, where Lacy reflects on how that specific retrograde can bring back the ideas of past lovers returning into one's life unexpectedly and can cause people distress, leading them to stay in bed. Lacy’s own ideas on astrology and moving on really target Gen Z and helped him rise to the top of many charts this summer and continue to keep his album widely talked about even 3 months after its release.
With his new era for the album, Lacy is just getting started. He released merchandise with symbols and icons that represent the album, including the iconic reverse sign with devil horns that symbolize the stigmatism Gemini people have around them and how they are seen as “two faced”, showing the two different faces of Steve. In addition to the merchandise, he released tour dates for North America, with his first concert being on October 2, 2022.
Steve Lacy’s most recent album has grown so successful because of the way it allows fans, new and old, to connect deeply to it. Lacy’s refreshing concept for his album is what’s drawn new people into his music style and appeals to long term patrons who have been longing for something new. Overall, Lacy’s new album definitely tells a story of young heartbreak, something that one too many people can relate to.