The song “Old Town Road” by American rapper Lil Nas X went viral in 2019; his debut album, ‘Montero’ (2021), was also a success.
Lil Nas X: Who Is He?
Montero Lamar Hill was born in 1999 as Lil Nas X. His stage name includes “Lil” (a frequent rapper naming cliche), “Nas” from a Twitter account he had as a dedicated Nicki Minaj admirer, and “X” as the Roman numeral 10 (the number of years he felt it would take to achieve success). Nas has the social media skills to make his music stand out in a congested market, which aided his breakout single “Old Town Road.” Nas then released Montero (2021), a serious yet nonetheless attention-grabbing first album. Hits include “Industry Baby” and “Montero (Call Me by Your Name); the intimate song “Sun Goes Down” recounts Nas’s struggle with being gay as a young man. After being taught that homosexuality was bad as a child, Nas expresses his desire for gay relationships to be so accepted by society that they become ordinary.
Early Years
Montero Lamar Hill was born on April 9, 1999, in Lithia Springs, Georgia, as Lil Nas X. His mother named him Montero after the Mitsubishi Montero, a car she admired. When Nas’ parents divorced when he was six, he and his siblings moved to an Atlanta public housing complex infamous for drugs and violence, where they lived with their mother and great-grandmother. After a custody fight, Nas and his elder brother relocated to the Atlanta suburbs to live with their father and stepmother.
Advertisements
Nas has stated that he has known he is gay since he was five years old. As he grew older, he saw the abuse and bigotry that those who came outfaced and determined he would always remain in the closet. Nas had to go to church since his father was a gospel musician. “I even thought, ‘If I have these feelings, it’s just a test.'” A preliminary test. It will go away. God is only luring me.”
In high school, Nas kept his head down. His major emphasis was his online life as a Nicki Minaj superfan. Nas engaged with other Minaj fans — the Barbz — on Twitter as @nasmaraj and learned how to garner attention on social media.
Nas enrolled in the University of West Georgia to study computer technology, but he hated school. He began writing songs and discovered that he enjoyed doing music. To his father’s chagrin, he opted to drop out of school to focus on it.
The ‘Old Town Road’
Nas moved in with his sister after graduating from college and began releasing his songs online. He witnessed the rise in popularity of country-trap videos, which fused country music with Southern-style hip-hop. He wrote his own country trap tune, “Old Town Road,” using a $30 beat he got online. “It was the first song I genuinely formulated,” he explained to Rolling Stone. “I was like, ‘I gotta make it short, I gotta make it catchy.'”
Nas released the song on SoundCloud in December 2018. His social media skills aided the song’s virality on TikTok and spread to other platforms. “Old Town Road” charted on three Billboard charts in March 2019: the Hot 100, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and Hot Country Songs. The nation chart was then deleted. The stated explanation given by Billboard was that Nas’s song did “not embrace enough elements of today’s country music,” but many wondered if his being a Black guy had affected the decision. (According to Billboard, race was not an issue.)
Despite the criticism, the song peaked at number one on Billboard’s Hot 100. On April 5, 2019, he released a remix of “Old Town Road” he collaborated on with Billy Ray Cyrus, a 1990s country artist Nas recognized for his part in Hannah Montana. “Old Town Road” made a record by being at the top of the Hot 100 list for 19 weeks, thanks to remixes by Cyrus and others.
Making an Appearance
Nas chose to cease disguising his sexuality as his celebrity rose. He first told his sister and brother about his sexual orientation before telling his father. His father first questioned whether Nas was being lured by the devil, but eventually accepted and totally supported his son.
Nas openly came out on June 30, 2019, the last day of Pride Month. After performing at the Glastonbury Festival’s Pride performance, he told his fans to “listen closely” to his song “C7osure (You Like)” to find out whether he was homosexual.
Nas was aware that disclosing this knowledge would alienate some of his country and hip-hop contemporaries and followers. Some rappers have made homophobic remarks about him, including criticism of the apparel he has worn on red carpets. However, he stands by his choice. “I honestly felt like it was kind of my duty,” Nas revealed in a 2021 interview. Especially if I wanted to progress.”
Songs from the Second Album and the First Album
Following the success of “Old Town Road,” Nas secured a deal with Columbia Records in March 2019. His subsequent songs, “Panini” and “Rodeo,” attracted notice, but none of them surpassed the success of “Old Town Road.” And his 2019 EP 7 didn’t do as well as expected. Nas has confessed that he thinks he took a safe route with the song.
During the original COVID-19 lockdown, Nas revealed he matured while recording on his debut album, Montero. In March 2021, the song “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” was released. At the same time, Nas sent a letter to his younger self: “I know we promised never to come out publicly, never to be ‘that’ type of gay person, never to die with the secret, but this will open doors for many other queer people to simply exist.”
The video for “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” was inspired by Christian imagery and the notion that being homosexual meant being denied salvation. The video, coupled with the publication of “Satan Shoes,” sparked outrage online, but Nas stated, “The love outweighs the hate by like a hundred.” Nas’ mastery of social media enabled him to swat down criticism while drawing attention to his work. The Billboard Hot 100 charted “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” at No. 1.
Nas released images of himself with a large pregnant belly before releasing his album in September 2021. “I’m like a mother sending her child out into the world,” he said of the album’s debut in People magazine. He has recorded with Elton John, Miley Cyrus, Megan Thee Stallion, Jack Harlow, and Doja Cat, among others.
Achievements and Objectives
Nas won Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Music Video at the 62nd Grammy Awards in January 2020 for “Old Town Road.”
His children’s book C Is for Country, about Lil Nas X and Panini the Pony, became a best-seller in 2021.
In May 2021, Nas performed “Montero (Call Me by Your Name)” and “Sun Goes Down” on Saturday Night Live. His trousers split during his performance, although he subsequently stated that this was not intentional.
Nas earned The Trevor Project’s Suicide Prevention Advocate of the Year Award in September 2021. “If using my voice and expressing myself in my music can help even one kid out there who feels alone,” he said, “then it was all worth it.”
Nas stood court at the Met Gala in 2021, wearing three eye-catching costumes.
Nas states that he plans to begin acting when the moment is perfect.
Relationships
Nas was dating dancer Yai Ariza, who starred in his “That’s What I Want” music video, in 2021. “I’m at this point in my life where I finally realized that I don’t want to fall in love,” Nas revealed after the relationship ended. I’m so concentrated on my music profession, and falling in love takes a long time. It’s a lot of duty, and I’m not sure I’m ready to take on that extra burden right now. It will happen when it happens.”
QUICK FACTS
- Name: Lil Nas X
- Birth Year: 1999
- Birth date: April 9, 1999
- Birth State: Georgia
- Birth City: Lithia Springs
- Birth Country: United States
- Best Known For: American rapper Lil Nas X’s song “Old Town Road” became a viral hit in 2019; his first album ‘Montero’ (2021) was also a success.
- Astrological Sign: Taurus
Advertisements
