Steve Lacy has made his return with the new single ‘Nice Shoes’. Check it out below.
The song, released today (August 15), marks the first from the Grammy-winning artist, producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist in three years.
It comes following him hitting the top of the Billboard and Spotify charts with his critically acclaimed sophomore album, ‘Gemini Rights’, which was shared in 2022 and marked the follow up to his 2019 breakthrough LP ‘Apollo XXI’.
Now, after a hiatus over the past couple of years, the artist is back with the surprise new song, ‘Nice Shoes’. The track was written and produced by Lacy, and takes on an energetic, flirtatious feel throughout.
“If I, if I had a dollar for the friends I would fuck/ I could buy a pair of really nice shoes/ Life is but a stain, it’s not a tattoo/ Temporary pain, it’s lame to chase youth,” he sings over a hypnotic beat. “I can’t seem to fall in love, it’s bad luck/ Careful how you spend your time, it adds up.”
Check it out in full below, alongside the minimalistic lyric video.
The song comes following the artist recently appearing on the cover of Rolling Stone and opening up about his forthcoming third album ‘Oh Yeah?’.
Little is known about the record so far, and he told the publication that work is still underway on the new LP, adding that he doesn’t currently have a date in mind for when it is expected to drop.
When it was shared, ‘Gemini Rights’ was given a glowing four-star review from NME, which said that his songs “remain seriously steamy”, but have become “more refined and vibrant than ever”.
“Considering the sometimes-radical experimentation that was heard on his debut (‘Apollo XXI’’s second song ‘Like Me’, for instance, clocked in at nine minutes), Lacy has heeded Missy Elliot’s wisdom on his second LP in his own way,” it read.
“While his solo music and work with The Internet have infiltrated the mainstream in more discreet ways, ‘Gemini Rights’, which feature his most direct compositions yet, will make the ‘cult artist’ tag surrounding Lacy increasingly redundant.”
Later, his slot on the Reading & Leeds live stage in 2023 was given a full five-stars, and praised as having “charisma that comes at us from all angles”.