Lil Nas X

Lil Nas X (born April 9, 1999, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.) is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter best known for his 2018 country rap single “Old Town Road,” which spent a record 19 weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 list and won two Grammy Awards. Since he came out as gay in 2019, he has become a global LGBTQ+ icon and is known for his strong social media presence.

Early life and education

Lil Nas X was born and grew up in the Atlanta suburbs; his birth name, Montero Lamar Hill, was derived from the Mitsubishi Montero car model. When he was six, his parents divorced. His father was a gospel singer, and he trained as a vocalist while growing up. He has spoken about his struggles with coming out as gay, especially during his teenage years when he thought it was just a phase. He started spending more time online, experimenting with beats and trying to go viral on social media. He then attended college at the University of West Georgia but dropped out after a year to focus on music. Hill took on the nickname “Nas” as an internet alias, which eventually evolved into Lil Nas X.

In 2018 Lil Nas X released his first project, a mixtape titled Nasarati, on SoundCloud and other free hosting services. After he became famous, he was reportedly sued for using samples in this work, leading to Nasarati being removed from SoundCloud.

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Music career

In December 2018 Lil Nas X self-released the song “Old Town Road.” He had created the song, a blend of country and rap, using a beat he licensed online from the Dutch producer YoungKio for $30. He promoted “Old Town Road” as a meme on the social media platform TikTok, which allows users to set music to short clips they upload. In early 2019 the song went viral on TikTok, and scores of people wore cowboy costumes and danced to the song as part of a challenge with the hashtag #YeeHawChallenge. Lil Nas X then released the song on other platforms including Spotify and iTunes, labeling its genre as country, as he felt the song was more country than rap.

As “Old Town Road” gained popularity and rose up the Billboard charts, Columbia Records signed Lil Nas X in March 2019. But Billboard then removed the song from its Hot Country Songs list, stating it lacked sufficient country music elements to merit inclusion. This decision was met with criticism and led to debates about race and genre in country music; several singers spoke out in support of Lil Nas X. In April 2019 he teamed up with Billy Ray Cyrus to create a remix of “Old Town Road”; this version proved widely popular and spent a record 19 weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 list. The song won two Grammy Awards at the 2020 ceremony—best pop duo performance for Lil Nas X and Cyrus and best music video.

Lil Nas X released another single, titled “Panini,” in June 2019 through Columbia Records, followed by “Holiday” in 2020. In September 2021 he released his first album Montero, which features the song “Montero (Call Me by Your Name)”; an accompanying music video was met with controversy for its provocative imagery.

Personal life and style

Lil Nas X came out as gay on the last day of Pride Month in 2019, becoming one of the few openly gay Black hip-hop artists. He later shared that he lost a few fans and was subject to online trolling after his announcement.

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In addition to his unique musical style, Lil Nas X has been praised for his fashion style, which frequently combines cowboy and glam aesthetics. At the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards, he wore a cherry-red suit, and at the following Grammy Awards ceremony in early 2020, he wore a Versace pink ensemble cowboy suit that took 700 hours to make. For the 2023 Met Gala, he appeared painted silver and covered with gems, with a silver thong being the only piece of fabric he wore.