A closer look at Steve Lacy’s sexuality

Steve Lacy is an American singer and musician who came to fame as part of the Grammy-nominated R&B band The Internet. The collective’s third album, Ego Death, earned a nomination for Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards. After the nomination, The Internet’s members branched out to work on solo projects.

Lacy’s production skills shone through as he worked with J. Cole, Isaiah Rashad, and Kendrick Lamar. Steve produced Lamar’s hit song Pride on his award-winning album Damn. In 2017, Steve released his debut EP, Steve Lacy’s Demo, and two years later, his debut album, Apollo XXI, dropped.

This piece will look at Steve Lacy’s sexuality. He identifies as bisexual.

As Steve grew up in Compton, California, he realized that he was attracted to men and women. However, he suppressed his attraction to men because he thought it to be a sin. However, after flirting with and kissing a male friend on New Year’s Day 2017, Steve chose to embrace his bisexuality.

Lacy expertly dodged interview questions about his sexual journey, choosing instead to address the subject through music. The segmented 9-minute song, Like Me, on Apollo XXI, told the story of a young man struggling to come out to his family. “How many out there just like me?” Steve asks. “How many others not gon’ tell their family?” Steve told the Los Angeles Times that Apollo XXI represents sexual liberation:

“Coming into my understanding of my sexuality helped shape the record to be carefree, human, fun and honest. I didn’t care to say I’m anything because straight artists don’t. This album represents freedom and liberation for me.”

Steve doesn’t mind talking about sexuality, but he feels like the issue shouldn’t dominate every conversation about him. He told i-D Magazine:

“I’m not really that bothered by it honestly. I don’t like to look at it as a big part. Um, and I think, who we’re fucking, shouldn’t matter in the world. It’s kind of silly to me. But I’m also speaking from my Los Angeles bubble, I always have to be cautious of that. I don’t like to make it a big deal.”

Steve’s bisexual revelation attracted plaudits from fans that want to see a change in the heteronormative culture in hip-hop. However, he quickly earned criticism after revealing that he would never date a black man.

The Tumblr conversation started with fans asking Lacy about his sexual identity. “I’m human,” Lacy said. He then clarified that he’d have no problem with dating a man. All was going well until an anonymous user asked Lacy why he has an aversion to dating black men. Lacy offered the following reply:

“I never viewed or saw myself doing anything sexual with my neighbors. I literally, like I said, see them as brothers, as much as you or whoever thinks this sounds like bs, it’s from a real place… I don’t dislike black people, I prefer to live here and be around POC bc I love black people, I’m just not attracted to black boys. That is it. I still love them and want them to do well in life, we just won’t date. Sorry.”

Some people defended Lacy’s choice, but most responders criticized his stance against dating black men. A scathing article by Shervin Kayvon on Intomore titled – Yes, Steve Lacy. You’re Being Anti-Black – concluded as follows:

“I don’t have to personally care about it, but I won’t pretend the dressing up of anti-Black outlook as ‘preference’ is anything but what it is: fucked up.”