The ever-elusive Steve Lacy has come out to share his latest, Gemini Rights, out July 15. The wunderkind producer, musician and guitarist for GRAMMY-nominated band the Internet — whoj has collaborated with the likes of Chlöe x Halle, Blood Orange and Kendrick Lamar, among others — announced his sophomore album (his first release with RCA Records) during a live performance of the then-untitled "Mercury."
The album's lead single combines '60s Brazilian bossa nova and '70s funk with Lacy’s soaring falsetto, adding a more majestic mystique to the Compton native’s discography. Gemini Rights continues the singer-guitarist’s growth, and is an even more personal offering than his 2019 debut solo effort, Apollo XX1 or his 2020 deep-cut demo offering, The Lo-Fi.
Majorly self-produced by Lacy, Gemini Rights has only one guest appearance. On "Sunshine," Lacy and emerging singer and multi-instrumentalist Fousheé, present a "savage, hilarious, tender, sexy, and gender-fluid" escape that "wears its heart on its sleeve in the best way possible," as he shared with Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe.
Lacy spoke with GRAMMY.com about his new album, how exploring his own red flags on Gemini Rights helped him to trust his instincts, and why playing director with his mother and siblings was "too much" for him.
For those who are now just hearing the first two singles, can you share a bit about the story surrounding Gemini Rights?\
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Gemini Rights is essentially me coming into myself after a breakup. It’s a story that is very fluid [and] very fun. To me, the subject matter could be sad if you look at it that way, but I feel like it is way more hopeful — and that’s the story: finding happiness. I’m finding myself after a heartbreak and I am excited for people to hear this record. \
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Even with "Sunshine" a song with myself and Fousheé, I feel like that song is perfect. It ["Sunshine"] sums up Gemini Rights because it has all of this anger and animosity towards the person who affected me, but, as you’ll hear in mine and Fousheé’s verse — I still want to f—. [Laughs]. I still love them, which, to me, is some real s—. And that spectrum of emotions sums up the whole of Gemini Rights.
Between Syd’s Broken Hearts Club and your latest, love and break-ups are an interesting thread when it comes to y’all’s discography. Do you and the rest of the band talk about love and relationships as friends? Do you have any advice for those who want to have an enjoyable "shoot your shot" summer?\
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I don’t know if we really talk about love that much together as a group, but I know I’ve talked about it more with Matt [Martian]. We always talk about love, but in a way that is free, unconditional, and letting people be who they are. We’re not into that love that’s like, you need to do this and be this way. I appreciate a love that is more like just do your thing.
When it comes to shooting your shot, that’s a good question, but I’d say just do whatever feels good to you.\
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Has Gemini Rights helped you to work through, or work on, any red flags that you might personally have?
I think [that] red flags come from us not trusting our instincts. So, I learned that instead of pointing a finger at someone else, I have to trust those emotions inside of me. That’s the biggest thing that I learned about myself on this album — trusting my instincts. Because you can see red flags within yourself and others, but you’ll bypass them if you don’t check in and listen to yourself. You can find yourself blaming everybody else, saying that you have trust issues, but it’s only because of a boundary that you didn’t set up or didn’t say.\
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I’m learning that it’s all on me. I’m responsible for what I want and how I interact with others. I tell all of my friends that everybody has a choice. Because I’m not the friend that’s just going to agree with you when you’re in a sad place. I’ll ask, "Well, what’d you do?" I love to talk about all perspectives because emotions, feelings, and how people handle things are all so different and we all handle them differently. So, I’m always trying to open myself up and free myself [from any limitations].
What were some memorably weird moments that happened to you while in the studio?\
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I’ve been blessed to work with the most amazing people on this planet. And it’s such a good feeling to be around those whose music translates to others based on the interaction you have with them. Plus, I get to maintain these relationships with these wonderful people as well. Thankfully, though, I’ve never had a weird studio experience myself.\
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Fousheé has been incredible when it comes to her own work, and you two together certainly make magic with this record. How has it been working with her on Gemini Rights?\
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It was really natural. We were just hanging out and building a friendship while working. It wasn’t transactional in any way. We didn’t want anything from each other, but [putting together Gemini Rights] just felt right. Those moments are rare — and I never felt anything like that until I met Fou. She found me when I was in a slump about what to do next because everything [at the time] was weighing on me so heavy. \
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At one point, I’m wondering where to go next [with my music] and how to deal with the [end] of my relationship. And she was just like, "just chill out." We would then just start writing and having conversations where we’re coming up with bars that we just loved, and kept adding to. But then there we some days where we’d just get stoned, laugh on the mic, and just do dumb s—. [Laughs] Altogether, making Gemini Rights was fun.\
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By the time we got to "Sunshine," which was one of the last songs written for Gemini Rights, Fousheé and I were in a good groove. The way that we’d work is by writing, and then when a new idea pops up, we’d just sing together on two mics. When "Sunshine" comes about, we’re freestyling that s—. It’d get up to about 20 minutes long and [then] we’d chop it up to be shorter. With "Sunshine," though, she just had this hook and we were harmonizing for a moment on that part. It became the chorus, and then I was like, "You might as well just be on this song. Just be the only feature on my album."\
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She thought it was cool or "whatever," [laughs], and that’s why I think our process was so supernatural. We were just in a natural groove [and] I like that.\
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How does it feel to have Gemini Rights as your first RCA release? Does this moment impress upon you what you’d like to see once the Internet’s deal with Columbia Records ends?\
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It’s so far, so good, to be honest. I was really happy being independent for a while, but then I was talking to [RCA Records CEO] Peter Edge, and we had a really good conversation before finishing the Gemini Rights demo. He’s just been very patient and respectful of me and my artistry. [RCA] had a roster that I appreciated out of anyone in the game. And from what I knew of RCA, they allowed their artists to have their own narrative and help put it all together.\
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As for [the Internet’s] situation, we’re going to see what happens. Ask me that question next year and I’ll have a clear answer for you.
A while back you previewed "Mercury" during a live performance, which had a positive reaction. What feelings, if any, go into sharing yet-to-be-released work like that or demos like The Lo-Fis?
It makes me feel good to see people take it for themselves and interpret it how they want to. I don’t have too much ownership of how I want this [music] to be taken. Performing it live, specifically before it came out, is a risk that I took — but it felt really good. It felt natural.
I felt good to be the leader of the energy at that time. I’m genuinely excited and it was cool to look around and [see] they’re also excited. We’re just sharing this excitement together. In all of this, I am learning to express my bandwidth when it comes to performing in front of a crowd of people, which is kind of crazy.\
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Your family is also heavily featured on Gemini Rights. Can you talk about how it was to direct your mother and siblings? Also, where do they appear on the album?\
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Yes, yes! They sing the "la-la" part on "Helmet." They do the "oohs" and "aahs" and the "ba-ba-ba-ba" part on "Mercury," but they were a little pitchy [laughs], so I couldn’t use it. I got them on "Amber," singing on the big swell when the bass comes in. They’re all on that part. I then added them to "Give You The World," where they’re on the "goodbye" part, and that was it. \
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How was it to play bandleader and director for those moments?\
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[Laughs] It was too much, man. No, to be honest, it was fun and really sweet. My family is funny as hell, but I think they caught me on a day when I was really tired. They have a lot of energy. It’s three women — my mother and two sisters — and we’re all our own very different people. We have a very special camaraderie that makes being together funny as hell. \
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My mom kept screaming into the mic and I’m like, "Girl, stop! Voice control. If you’re going to belt, you go further [away from the mic. Why [are] you going closer to scream?" It was hilarious, though. I got the footage. Maybe I’ll post it one day.\
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Does this mean there will be a Gemini Rights: The B-Sides as well?\
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Maybe, yeah? I make a lot of stuff, so I learned with this album two things: the superpower of editing and that you got to make trash. Doing that freed me. When I used to think that I would dream up something perfect, I realized that I just had to let it come [to me.] Just blurt words out and vomit them out, let it go, and edit, edit, edit. I would treat [Gemini Rights] like how a rapper would and that made it way more fun.
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With that said, how do you feel about your own evolution as a songwriter and producer after hearing the final version of Gemini Rights?\
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I thought that [the final result] was great. And I know that I’m still growing in that space. I’m confident in this work that we did, but [I] also know that it is all practice. I’m going to get better on the next one, and I [know that] I am never fully satisfied because this is all practice for me and I want to constantly get better. [With Gemini Rights,] I’m confident where I am at right now, but I am going to do so much more.\
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I love the craft of music and developing sounds using the knowledge that I have of music, where meshing so many things together just creates unique experiences for myself and others is exciting to me. \
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So, what expectations or predictions do you have for fans who will hear Gemini Rights when it drops on July 15th?\
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My predictions are that it will make people feel more unconditional love for one another.