However, when considering Lil Nas X's career path, Montero State Prison is a setting that mirrors reality as he is repeatedly criticized by evangelical Christians and Twitter trolls alike for elevating gay representation - particularly for the prison's namesake, his last single " MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)" - it's understandable Lil Nas X would consider homophobia a prison, claustrophobic and imposing, especially in the music industry. Because of structural violence inherent in this country's carceral system, positioning the institution as a gay utopia is a risky choice. The song is one of his best, but its real power comes from the accompanying, highly-stylized video wherein Lil Nas X breaks out of a prison populated with Black gay men (and, for an unspecified reason, Jack Harlow in an unseemly role as the Straight White Savior who delivers a verse that is mid at best and inappropriate at worst). His latest single, "INDUSTRY BABY," is an exercise in braggadocio a triumphant, horn-driven beat from Kanye West and Take A Daytrip backs up bars like "Couple Grammys on him, couple plaques," altogether crowning the "Old Town Road'' hitmaker king of the rap-pop crossover throne.
Far from “Old Town Road,” the rap-country earworm that famously was recorded for $50 in a small Atlanta studio and has become the longest-running No.Lil Nas X is unprecedented: he emerged from the depths of stan Twitter to take over the pop charts, all the while growing as an unabashedly gay rapper.
1 hit in Billboard Hot 100 history, Nas’ recent lyrics, videos, TV appearances and especially public statements are exponentially more honest, autobiographical and queer.
And while he avoids making grandiose statements about being a pioneer or a trailblazer for the LGBTQ community - “Let’s fuckin’ go, gay agenda!” he wrote last month, tongue firmly in cheek, when retweeting that he had the top two videos on the YouTube U.S.
This year alone, Nas (real name Montero Lamar Hill) has released one video that features him giving Satan a lap dance - for “ Montero (Call Me by Your Name)” - and another, prison-themed one that has him and several male dancers gyrating nude, albeit with their privates pixelated, in a shower ( “Industry Baby”) delivered a sexually loaded performance on “Saturday Night Live” during which he split his pants and finished the song holding his crotch (that was an accident) and most controversial of all, kissed one of his male dancers full on the mouth on the BET Awards (that was no accident). “Honestly, I believe the pandemic helped me get out of the idea of trying to please everybody, and the idea of ‘He’s a cool gay person he’s an acceptable gay person,’” Nas says. He first exploded onto the pop culture scene with his viral hit 'Old Town Road,' which spent a short eternity at the top. “I used to see things like that as a compliment, but it’s not. When it comes to getting the internet's attention, Lil Nas X is a maestro. It just means you’re a people pleaser, and they never become legends. Referencing Lil Nas X's ongoing legal battle with Nike, it's kind of a 'Shawshank Redemption, but make it gay' moment, featuring hot pink prison uniforms, Jack Harlow as a corrupt guard and an instantly-iconic nude shower dance scene. I’m much more confident now - in my music, myself, my sexuality, the things that I believe that I stand for.” I wanted to be even more authentic in my music and let people into my life.