Bi guitarist Steve Lacy has a decade of performance and three Grammy noms under his belt. He’s worked with folks like Frank Ocean, Solange, Kendrick Lamar, and Tyler, the Creator. So why is so much of his current solo fanbase brand new — and awful to him?
Though his work with his band The Internet and his debut Apollo XXI album gained industry recognition, the singer broke into the mainstream when his song “Bad Habit” (and to a more recent extent, “Static) blew up as a TikTok sound.
“Bad Habit” went on to top the Hot 100 for nearly a month this summer
The first sign that these new fans might not be the boon they appeared to be came, coincidentally, in a TikTok.
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It turns out these fans didn’t even know the words to his biggest song:
this is ridiculous shdjsjjsj pic.twitter.com/eec0RNEUPz
— j a d a (@jadawadas) October 17, 2022
They had the TikTok sound part down pat, though.
Related: Lil Nas X asks fans to stop doing this at his concerts
Since then, more unfortunate clips have been coming out of the Give You the World tour.
In one, a fan screams out during a silent moment, “Can you say hi to my mom?” Lacy snaps back, “Can you be quiet?” and immediately launches into a song.
And we do mean immediately:
Steve Lacy has had it with some of y’all LMFAO pic.twitter.com/3OyopXEuiy
— (@TheCourtKim) October 25, 2022
In a now-viral clip, a fan apparently throws and hits the singer with a disposable camera mid-show. He asks the fan to hand the camera over and promptly smashes it against the stage before walking off-stage.
Y’all better stop playing with him:
New angle shows it was a fan’s camera that Steve Lacy threw on the ground after he was hit with it. pic.twitter.com/1y1Or4b3HJ
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) October 25, 2022
To his credit, he reportedly returned to the stage afterwards and finished out the encore.
Related: WATCH: Troye Sivan’s TikTok concert was a hot mess
There have been gripes of TikTok ruining the music industry for years now, with popular sounds from the app crowding the tops of the Billboard charts regardless of whether the songs are any good or not.
The pivot to virality is impacting more visible artists as well. Earlier this year, queer pop princess Halsey claimed that her label was holding a new single hostage under she pushed to turn it into a viral TikTok sound. Big name indie artists like FKA twigs and Florence Welch made similar claims around the same time, suggesting a widespread issue in the industry.
While this TikTok sound-to-streaming hit pipeline can be great for launching careers to new heights, it’s clear from Lacy’s new tour that those heights might come with a questionable foundation.
Terrycloth
Never heard of this guy until now.if those clips are any indication of his talent he has none..wobbly out of tune falt singing..aside from being rude to audience members , studio tricks might make his records sell but his live singing and attitude will change that REAL FAST
Kangol2
Charlie Gray, what are you attempting to say in this sentence: “holding a new single hostage under she pushed to turn it into”?
“Under she pushed to turn it into”? Until? Unless? After? Please, a bit more copy-editing would go a long way!
Invader7
Tacky Tock sucks.. It’s so vapid and a major waste of time. Total Chinese CRAP !!!