--- description: Find out why Steve Lacy is one of the 100 most influential people of 2023. title: Steve Lacy: The 100 Most Influential People of 2023 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt214f04522cada612/698a3bdd86f68e13b76f250d/steve-lacy-time100-2023.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Apr 13, 2023 # Steve Lacy by Chloe Bailey  Kevin Amato What I admire most about [Steve Lacy](https://time.com/5003930/most-influential-teens-2017/ "undefined") is that he’s always himself—a good person who loves to make music. In a world where everything’s so contrived, he just wants to nerd out and be free, and that makes him a force to be reckoned with. From his performances onstage to his clothes to [his lyrics](https://time.com/6235775/best-songs-2022/ "undefined"), he’s open to expressing what’s real. That’s why people gravitate toward him so much, because in a time when everybody’s trying to be what other people want them to be, he’s saying, “I’m gonna make music—and if you like it, that’s cool.” He has inspired me to be fearless, to trust that whoever my music is meant for will find it. He has the biggest, warmest smile. And he reminds me that you don’t need to have all the bells and whistles to make good music. What you need is yourself, your ideas, and your heart. _Bailey is a musical artist and actor_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2023/6269450/steve-lacy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2023/6269450/steve-lacy/"},"headline":"Steve Lacy","datePublished":"2023-04-13T10:32:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-07-21T07:22:07.327Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2023/6269450/steve-lacy/","keywords":["TIME 100","franchise","sponsorshipblock","TIME100 2023"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt214f04522cada612/698a3bdd86f68e13b76f250d/steve-lacy-time100-2023.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt214f04522cada612/698a3bdd86f68e13b76f250d/steve-lacy-time100-2023.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2023/6269450/steve-lacy/","name":"Steve Lacy"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"TIME100 | The 100 Most Influential People of 2023","description":"See all the people on Time's 2023 Time 100 list","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/P6RIsapV/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2023-04-13T10:30:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/P6RIsapV.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2023/6269450/steve-lacy/","duration":"PT1M53S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2023/6269450/steve-lacy/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```