“I be looking bored but I be excited about shit,” says Steve Lacy in a new video, shot between takes of his cover shoot for Dazed’s autumn 2025 issue. And, in case you haven’t read his head-to-head with Solange yet – why? – he has plenty to get excited about lately. Namely, his upcoming third studio album, Oh Yeah?. 

“I think the first word that comes to mind with my new project would be: growth,” he adds. “This album is inspired by real life, you know? The chaos of human emotions.” It’s also, he says, his most daring work to date.

Since landing on the 2018 Dazed100, the Gemini Rights musician has gone from strength to strength, releasing multiple acclaimed projects, accumulating a base of rabid fans, and helping shape the sound of modern pop and R&B. All the same, he’s managed to stay grounded, and says: “I feel like I’m exactly where I should be.” That’s where we find him in the behind-the-scenes video, chatting about the challenges of showing up to work on a project, even when you don’t want to, and the secret to good collaborations.

Elsewhere, we see Lacy talk style icons (including his big sister and Napoleon Dynamite), the albums he always returns to, and his pre-show rituals. Then, there’s the “break-up psychosis” that led to his Instagram shitposting era. “I think it’s a real thing,” he says, “when people break up and they need something to believe in.” And so what if that’s memes and barely-censored nudes?

Watch the full interview with Steve Lacy above, and read his conversation with Solange here.