Lil Nas X
Montero Lamar Hill (born April 9, 1999), better known by his stage name Lil Nas X (/nɑːz/ NAHZ), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to prominence with the release of his 2019 country rap single "Old Town Road," the longest-running number-one song (at 19 weeks) since the U.S. Billboard Hot 100's 1958 inception.[1] During the course of this, Lil Nas X came out as gay, becoming the only artist to do so while having a number-one record.[2]
Lil Nas X
Following the success of "Old Town Road", Lil Nas X signed with Columbia Records to release his debut extended play (EP) 7 (2019), which spawned two follow-up singles: "Panini" and "Rodeo" (featuring Cardi B or Nas); the former peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100, while the latter peaked at number 22. His debut studio album, Montero (2021) peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 and earned a nomination for Album of the Year at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards. It was supported by the Billboard Hot 100-number one singles "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)" and "Industry Baby" (featuring Jack Harlow), along with the top-ten single "Thats What I Want".
Known for his queer visuals and social media presence,[3][4] Lil Nas X has received numerous accolades, including two Grammy Awards, five Billboard Music Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards, two BET Hip Hop Awards, two iHeartRadio Music Awards and two American Music Awards. "Old Town Road" ranks as the second highest-certified song in the United States—with 17 platinum certifications.[5] He was placed on Forbes' 30 Under 30 in 2020, and Time named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world the following year.[6] He became the youngest honoree in the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2022 upon receiving the Hal David Starlight Award in May of that year.[7]
Early life and education
Montero Lamar Hill was born in Lithia Springs, Georgia,[8] on April 9, 1999.[9] He was named after the Mitsubishi Montero.[10] His parents divorced when he was six,[11] and he settled in the Bankhead Courts housing project in the Bankhead neighborhood of Atlanta with his mother and grandmother. Three years later, he moved in with his father, a gospel singer,[11] north of the city in Austell. Although initially reluctant to leave, he later regarded it as an important decision, "There's so much shit going on in Atlanta—if I would have stayed there, I would have fallen in with the wrong crowd."[12] He started "using the Internet heavily right around the time when memes started to become their own form of entertainment"; about when he was 13.[13]
He spent much of his teenage years alone, and turned to creating memes on the internet.[11] His teenage years also saw him struggling with his coming out to himself as being gay; he prayed that it was just a phase,[14][15] but around 16 or 17 he came to accept it.[16] He began playing trumpet in the fourth grade and was first chair by his junior high years, but quit out of fear of looking uncool.[17]
Hill attended Lithia Springs High School, from which he graduated in 2017.[18] He then enrolled at the University of West Georgia, where he majored in computer science, but later dropped out after one year to pursue a musical career.[19] During this time, he stayed with his sister and supported himself with jobs at Zaxby's restaurants and the Six Flags Over Georgia theme park.[12] In September 2019 he revisited his high school to perform a surprise concert.[20]
Career
2015–2017: Internet personality
Hill said he began to isolate himself from "outside-of-class activities" during his teenage years. He spent large amounts of time online in hopes of building a following as an internet personality to promote his work, but was unsure what to focus on creatively. In a Rolling Stone interview he stated, "I was doing Facebook comedy videos, then I moved over to Instagram, and then I hopped on Twitter ... where I really was a master. That was the first place where I could go viral."[21] He also posted short-format comedy videos on Facebook and Vine.[12]
During this period, he reportedly created and ran Nicki Minaj fan accounts on Twitter, including one called "@NasMaraj", according to a New York Magazine investigation.[22][23] In 2017, this account gained attention for its flash fiction-style interactive "scenario threads" popularized on Twitter using dashboard app TweetDeck.[24][25][22] The investigation linked @NasMaraj to the practice of "Tweetdecking", or using multiple accounts in collaboration to artificially make certain tweets go viral. The @NasMaraj account was suspended by Twitter due to "violating spam policies".[22] After the suspension of @NasMaraj, New York Magazine's investigation concluded that he subsequently opened a new account with handle "@NasMarai", and that his current Twitter account at the time was a repurposed version of that "@NasMarai" account with a changed handle.[22] After media reports linked Lil Nas X to the Minaj fan accounts, he called the reports a "misunderstanding", effectively denying having run the accounts.[26][27] However, in May 2020, Lil Nas X admitted, in a tweet, to being a fan of Minaj. He explained why he initially denied it, stating that if people knew he was a fan of hers, they would think he was gay: "People will assume if you had an entire fan page dedicated to nicki u are gay. and the rap/music industry ain't exactly built or accepting of gay men yet". On June 17, 2020, Minaj responded to Nas, tweeting "It was a bit of a sting when you denied being a barb, but I understand. Congratulations on building up your confidence to speak your truth". Lil Nas apologized to Minaj, saying he "felt so bad, hoping u wouldn't see my denial".[28] The @NasMarai account was later mentioned in a New York Times Magazine article, which described Hill as having spent "every waking hour online, tweeting as @nasmaraj".[29] It is also referenced in the music video for "Sun Goes Down", which shows Lil Nas X's many struggles growing up as a closeted teen and embracing his sexuality; he is seen tweeting while in high school from an account named "nasmiraj" as the lyrics "I'd be by the phone, stanning Nicki morning into dawn" play.[30]
Sometime in the year 2018, Hill landed on music as a path to success, and started writing and recording songs in his closet.[11] He adopted the name Lil Nas X, which is a tribute to the rapper Nas.[31] On July 24, 2018, Lil Nas released his first mixtape Nasarati on SoundCloud, though it was not received with immediate fame; Nasarati would be removed from streaming services soon after the release of Old Town Road due to a copyright conflict and therefore would never gain significant traction.[32] In late October 2018, he happened to hear the beat that would become "Old Town Road".[11]
Musical style and influences
Lil Nas X's musical style has been described as hip hop,[124][125][126] pop rap,[127][128][129] country rap,[130][131][132] trap,[126] pop rock,[126] pop,[126][133] and rock.[126]
He credits LGBTQ artists Frank Ocean and Tyler, the Creator as inspirations and for "making it easier for me to be where I am, comfortably."[134] Lil Nas X also cites Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, Drake, Miley Cyrus and Doja Cat as some of his biggest influences.[135][136][137] In 2019 he said, "I grew up off the Internet, so my influences come from all over musically." He grew up listening to hip hop artists such as Andre 3000, Kendrick Lamar, Kid Cudi and Lil Uzi Vert.[138][139]
Personal life
Coming out
In early June 2019, Lil Nas X came out to his sister and father and he felt "the universe was signalling him to do so", despite his uncertainty whether his fans would stick by him or not.[11] On June 30, 2019, the last day of Pride Month, Lil Nas X came out publicly as gay.[159][160] His tweet confirmed earlier suspicions when he first indicated this in his track "c7osure". Rolling Stone noted the song "touches on themes such as coming clean, growing up and embracing one's self".[161] The next day he tweeted again, this time highlighting the rainbow-colored building on the cover art of his EP 7, with the caption reading "deadass thought i made it obvious".[162][163] He was unambiguous in an interview several days later on BBC Breakfast, where he stated that he was gay and understands that his sexuality is not readily accepted in the country or rap music communities.[164]
The response to the news was mostly positive, but also garnered a large amount of homophobic backlash on social media, to which Lil Nas X also reacted.[163][165] The backlash also came from the hip hop community, drawing attention to homophobia in hip hop culture.[165][166] In January 2020, rapper Pastor Troy made homophobic comments on the outfit Lil Nas X wore during the Grammy Awards, to which Lil Nas X responded: "Damn I look good in that pic on god."[167]
In January 2023, Lil Nas X tweeted a new statement suggesting he was "a little bisexual."[168][169][170] The next day he tweeted "that was my last time coming out the closet i promise".[171][172]
In November 2023, he tweeted that he was "still gay."[173]
Studio albums
