Steve Lacy Receives "Best Urban Contemporary" Grammy Nomination For Debut Album ‘Apollo XXI

Image Credit: Steve Lacy

“On his debut solo album, Apollo XXI, Lacy wrestles with questions about sexuality and selfhood in thoroughly modern, Tumblr-candid fashion over thumping, mutable space-soul jams that sound like 2075’s idea of deep-shag ’74.” – GQ Style, Fall 2019

Steve Lacy has capped off an incredible 2019 by receiving a Grammy nomination in the category of Best Urban Contemporary for his debut album Apollo XXI, out now on 3qtr via AWAL.

One of the most eagerly awaited debuts of the last couple years, Apollo XXI, written and produced by Lacy, has been streamed over 45 million times since its release less than six months ago, and won acclaim from critics with The Fader calling it “one of the most anticipated releases of this year” and The Guardian describing it as “a casually confident kaleidoscope”. Since then, Steve Lacy — best known as the guitarist of space-soul band THE INTERNET — become one of the year’s most talked-about artists; even Rihanna posted an Instagram story last month doing her makeup to Lacy’s “N Side.”

At the ripe age of 21, the Compton native — nominated once before in the same category with THE INTERNET for the album Ego Death in 2016 — already has a veteran’s resume: he was Wired Magazine’s Tech Visionary, Time Magazine’s Most Influential Teen, has produced-written-featured with Solange, J Cole, Vampire Weekend, Blood Orange, and produced some of Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN on his iPhone. He’s also toured the world 3x with his bandmates THE INTERNET, given a TED Talk, worked extensively with Gucci and Louis Vuitton on behalf of Virgil Abloh (including walking at the LV Paris Fashion Week show) and has now eschewed all major label offers to release his first album on his terms.

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