LOS ANGELES — In September, Steve Lacy sauntered into the glassy upstairs lounge at the Novo in downtown L.A. bearing some remarkable news. The 24-year-old, Compton-raised singer-songwriter, dressed in a flowy trench coat, shoulder-length braids and imposing full-face sunglasses, had just learned that "Bad Habit," his bummed-out yet deliriously horny TikTok viral hit turned Billboard Hot 100 smash, had simultaneously topped five different hip-hop/R&B and alternative rock charts (for the record: Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, Hot R&B Songs, Hot Rock & Alternative Songs, Hot Rock Songs and Hot Alternative Songs charts.)
It was the first time that a song had ruled all five charts in Billboard history, no less at the same time.
"It's cool, right?" Lacy said as he kicked back into a leather booth before a wall of color-changing LEDs. "I didn't have to conform to anything, I can just live in whatever space I want. I never considered myself to be R&B or hip-hop or rock, but I am influenced by all these things. The fact that one song can be recognized as so many things, that's kind of the point."
