Back in 2018 when Lil Nas X first dropped “Old Town Road”, the country-rap singer broke the internet. Lil Nas X’s fame trajectory started a debate over the racial boundaries of genre. While some thought it was just a teenager’s 15 minutes of internet fame, three years and two Grammys later, Lil Nas X is rewriting the rules of improbable stardom.
Lil Nas X Has Broken Several Records
Lil Nas X has not only broken Billboard records but has shattered stereotypes. The rap-pop star is proudly gay and uses his lyrics and music videos to generate new conversations about representations of Black queerness and dismantling homophobia in hip-hop.
The 22-year old said his intentions have always been to entertain and not to comfort anyone.
Lil Nas X dropped his debut studio album, Montero, on September 17, a project that took two extremely eventful years to make. The young artist joined NPR’s Sidney Madden to converse about the road to this release and how his approach to music has changed over the years.
He started by talking about his idols Kanye West, Drake, and Nicki Minaj. He was inspired by the fact that they use their music to share a piece of themselves with their audience. It humanizes them and reminds fans that they are more than just celebrities.
He confided that he is still getting used to writing personal stuff and being open to people about things happening in his private life. He wants to be honest with fans and remind people that he is a human being and that they all have the same situations in different forms.
Lil Nas X believes that when one is afraid to do something, that is when one should do it. His learning how to pole dance, talking about guys, attending BET Awards, and performing Montero is a pushback to him internally since it is very sensual.
He understands that it takes a lot for people to unlearn. It is going to take some time to calm it down.
On leaving a legacy Lil Nas X says that future queer artists will not have to worry about being the odd one out or being stifled by homophobic comments somebody has to say about them on the internet. He feels like that is a major difference between artists nowadays and 10 years ago. Artists today are open to hate from millions of people around the world. It is harder to block out. But he believes that it will be easier for them.
He hopes that maybe we will have mainstream trans artists or something new.
