For Steve Lacy, Los Angeles first and foremost means family. But the city has also given him the space to create and innovate. Born and raised in Compton, Lacy shares his favorite L.A. haunts that reflect his distinct sense of style.
Less"Dino's is an L.A. staple. It’s known for their char-broiled chicken, fries, and special seasoning that tastes amazing. When I was in jazz band in high school, we went to go see The Jay Leno Show because Branford Marsalis, the saxophonist, was playing and invited us to come. After the show, we all went to Dino’s. This place is amazing. I love to come here. Anytime, anytime, literally anytime!"
"I’d describe my style as intuitive; it’s all based on how I feel. Savers is one of the places where I kind of started to develop my own style. I started going here during high school, so it feels very nostalgic. I remember getting a Prada jacket there for like 40 bucks, but I split it with my friend, and we’d go half on it; ‘you get it next week, okay, all right, I want it this weekend.’ You have to look through the racks to find a bunch of cool things."
"Zen [Ong, Awan's owner] and I used to work together, and we stayed in touch. He suggested creating an ice cream flavor to celebrate my new album. I was like, 'Yes! That’s super cool!' We met up, and I played him the album, and we talked about the flavors and mixing both sides of my culture, which is Filipino and American. We combined my favorite American ice cream, cookies and cream, with my favorite Filipino ice creme, ube, to create the Gemini Rights flavor. It was a really cool opportunity."
"This is just a beautiful park to hang out and picnic. I like the top section of the park. They have a nice waterfall and it’s right in the heart of L.A."
"Jack from The Midnight Hour own this music store. They fix things up, but they also sell cool vintage gear. This store is amazing. I love vintage gear, and I love that the store is owned by another musician from a band I respect. I got an Access Virus synthesizer here and a Midnight Hour base. It's a custom base made for the band, which is really cool. They're really, really good pieces. I actually need to go back and get something else."
"This is the land of the fish and chips. You eat by the water and it's just a beautiful place. It’s a Malibu staple. What to order here? Fish and chips of course. You can’t go wrong! I love this place. It's just a cute little vibe."
"New Earth is where my mom would go and get food and supplements. This store was my introduction to health and body stuff. My mom would take me here, and she would always get powder herbs, like goldenseal and turmeric. It’s in Compton very close to where I grew up. They have all the healthy stuff, but it’s in the hood, which I loved. My mom would always get us healthy stuff to put in our bodies, and skin stuff like Dr. Bronner’s and nice oils. This place is legit."
"My sister put me on to this place. They have these cool little cocktail drinks, and they have a bunch of different variations of liquor and wine. They also sell Sapere: It’s a sparkling rosé from a company that I’m helping start up right now."
"I just went here yesterday actually. Straight from the airport. Ding is my favorite boba place. My favorite flavor? Thai tea all day! I’ve tried others, but I always regret not getting Thai tea. It’s the best one. I like their boba. It’s not too hard, it’s not too chewy. I think it’s perfect. It’s in a cute location in Carson."
"This record store is a Los Angeles staple. Any type of music store is my safe haven. I can wander, look around, and look up information about the music. I love Amoeba. I love collecting vinyl. The most special record in my collection is a Pescado Rabioso record. It’s significant to me because I got it in Argentina. I was listening to it heavy and when we played out there, I met Luis Alberto Spinetta’s son, and they gave me the record. I think that was really cool."