The lyric “I wish I kneThe song officially came out a few weeks before Gemini Rights dropped on July 15. That small change might have more to do with why the song took off than any other part of it. “And then he was like, ‘It’d actually be more memorable if you cut that word out,’ so shout out to Tyler.” “At first it was, ‘I wish I knew you/I wish I knew you wanted me,’” explained Lacy to Billboard.

Tyler, The Creator also played a minor but vital part in the song’s chorus, helping transform it into an earworm. But she wasn’t the only person who helped bring the track home. You’ve got the hard part done.’ Then we started writing together, and our chemistry was so easy!”įousheé, whose vocals open “Bad Habit,” added an indelible touch to the song, giving it the kind of texture Lacy strived for with Gemini Rights. “I was sitting there with so much doubt, like, ‘What am I even doing? What am I even saying?’ I was just in a dark hole, creatively. “She’ll never admit that, but she really, really helped,” said Lacy, to Highsnobiety. The New Jersey R&B/soul singer-whose song “Deep End” was also the basis for Sleepy Hallow’s surprise 2020 hit “Deep End Freestyle”-gave Lacy the boost he needed.

Unlike his previous projects, Lacy opened himself up to collaboration and worked in a real studio where he connected with his labelmate, Fousheé. He was also processing a breakup with his boyfriend of seven months. He had the title Gemini Rights (a satirical take on the phrase “gay rights”) already in mind but was having a crisis of confidence in his writing. While “Dark Red” was belatedly taking off on TikTok, Lacy was working on his next album. It’s also Lacy’s most streamed song on Spotify with nearly 600 million plays (“Bad Habit” has about half as many so far). Much like “Bad Habit,” the viral clip of “Dark Red” finds Lacy brooding with dejection as he sings, “Might be so sad, might leave my nose running/I just hope she don't wanna leave me/Don't you give me up, please don't give up/Honey, I belong with you, and only you, baby.” “Dark Red” has soundtracked over 100,000 TikToks (a sped-up version of it is also popular).

Second, in the summer of 2021, a song from Steve Lacy's Demo called “Dark Red” went viral on TikTok. So how did “Bad Habit” finally blow up? Two important things happened to Lacy after Apollo XXI that set the table for “Bad Habit.” First, Lacy signed to a major label, RCA Records, home to Doja Cat, SZA, Rex Orange County, and most importantly, Fousheé.

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