Steve Lacy's considered one of the world's most influential people ... an honor the multi-layered musician is humbled by, but he isn't letting it go to his head either.
TMZ Hip Hop linked with the "Bad Habit" singer Tuesday at LAX as he was headed to shoot a big TV special ... "TIME 100: The World’s Most Influential People."
Steve was among the handful of musicians who made the 2023 cut, and was inducted last week by his good friend Chloe Bailey.
He tells us there isn't much science behind his cool factor -- he's literally being himself, and if anyone's inspired by his swag ... cool!
We also asked Steve about his latest body tattoo ... a work of art he says took him 4 hours to complete, and pierced his soul with pain!!! 😫
Hey, no one ever said being a rock star was easy!!!