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Lil Nas X; Man, Myth or Legend? WORDS BY Juliette Capomolla ART BY Marissa Hor @marissa.pdf
I am not exaggerating when I tell you that I’ve been waiting for the perfect moment to do a profile on Lil Nas X — and yes, I know that’s really lame. But the man need not be underestimated. With a career spanning less than three years, and a discography of a little over 10 songs, somehow the singer is managing to break records. At the beginning of August, Lil Nas ceremoniously surpassed rapper DaBaby’s streaming record to become the most listened to male rapper in the world. This dethroning could not have been more serendipitous after DaBaby ousted himself as a homophobe at Rolling Loud festival in late July, which saw him dropped from upcoming sets at Lollapalooza and Governor’s Ball. A pretty impressive feat from an artist yet to release their debut album. Yes, Lil Nas X’s accolades are a list well beyond his years (although, I’m still waiting for him to add ‘guest judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race’ to it), but I would say that’s not even what makes Lil Nas X the artist he is today. There’s this inexplicable appeal about him (unless you’re a homophobe, that is); his shameless sexuality, self-deprecating tendencies (self-proclaimed “talentless homosexual”), and social media expertise (perhaps this stems from his Nicki Minaj fan account he had as a teenager) — need I go on?
But why is this man-myth-legend so controversial? It’s needless to say that his unashamed homosexuality is difficult for some prudish, archaic individuals to stomach. Yes, (un)surprisingly, those same White old men who were horrified at the sight of Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B singing about their wet ass pussies also nearly passed out when Lil Nas X gave the devil a lap dance in his ‘Montero (Call Me By Your Name)’ video. Oh, and then again when he and eight other Black men danced naked in the ‘Industry Baby’ video. When he came out mid-2019, six months after the release of the infamous track ‘Old Town Road’ and amidst its 17th week at number one, his audience was still relatively small. Now, with nearly 10 million followers on Instagram, he’s definitely attracting more attention — attention he effortlessly uses to his advantage. It seems that Lil Nas X is not afraid to act as a role model for others just like him. With ‘Old Town Road’ paying homage to the proud history of Black cowboys in the US, he definitely came out of the (metaphorical) gates swinging. But, not without backlash. ‘Old Town Road’ was removed from Billboard’s Country charts shortly after its release, a move that had many pointing out that Country music has, and has always had, a race problem.
