It’s Lil Nas X’s world, and we’re all just living in it.
Rather than the slow and steady export of content and news we get with other artists, Montero Hill—a.k.a. Lil Nas X—is all about explosive releases, memes and moments. To use an Olympic metaphor: if other artists see their careers as a marathon, Lil Nas X is doing cannonballs into the pool. And he shows no sign of stopping in 2021.
The latest big splash? The super gay video for his new song “Industry Baby” with Jack Harlow.
If someone had said 10 years ago that the biggest rapper in the world today would be a Black gay man who went viral for a duet with Billy Ray Cyrus—and who is now selling blood shoes and children’s books while talking about prison reform—we’d probably have laughed it off.
But here we are. There’s arguably no bigger artist than Lil Nas X. The 22-year-old has released two internationally acclaimed smash singles, a children’s book and raised tens of thousands of dollars for The Bail Project this year alone. And he’s doing it all while talking openly about being a Black gay man in the music industry.
In honour of the chart-topping release of “Industry Baby” and its music video, let’s take a look back at some of the rapper’s biggest moments of 2021.
C Is for Country
Lil Nas X started 2021 off with a bang, releasing a children’s picture book titled C Is for Country. In the wake of the success of “Old Town Road,” the rapper has long acknowledged his popularity with kids, appearing alongside Elmo on TV and even surprising an elementary school in 2019 in what is the most wholesome video you’ll watch this week.
In January 2021, he added to that kids fandom with his first picture book, an alphabetical narrative about loving yourself. Featuring a pink bedazzled version of Lil Nas X himself, the book walks through all of the letters of the alphabet with affirming messages like highlighting how “F is for fringe, feathers and fake fur.”
“Montero (Call Me By Your Name)”
If there’s anything we as a society needed in 2021, it was Lil Nas X riding a stripper pole to hell. And the rapper delivered in the form of his long-teased single “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” and its accompanying video.
The song, a queer tribute to Lil Nas X’s younger self, is impossibly catchy. And the video features everything from the aforementioned stripper pole to Lil Nas X giving the devil a lap dance.
The release caused quite a stir with right-wing Christian groups, but the backlash only seemed to give Lil Nas X more power: the song debuted at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The drama around the song’s accompanying “satan shoes”—a special release line of shoes each featuring one drop of human blood—only served to keep it in the cultural conversation for longer. Top that off with a performance featuring Lil Nas X making out with his male backup dancers at the BET Awards, and it’s safe to say the rapper owned the cultural moment this spring.
TikTok and Twitter
Throughout all of this, the rapperhas also become a master of social media. Whether it’s promoting his releases, clapping back at haters or talking about being a power bottom, nobody is doing “online” better than Lil Nas X these days. And while his songs and releases are moments, any time the rapper hits “post” on his social media, it’s sure to cause a stir.
(Seriously, he is teaching a masterclass in online excellence these days. The rest of us can only watch in awe.)
“Industry Baby”
And then there’s “Industry Baby.” Like “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” and “Old Town Road” before it, the song is a smash and a cultural moment unto itself. Featuring rapper Jack Harlow, the prison-set music video is queer as heck, with legions of undulating, ripped guys in pink uniforms. As of Monday, it’s topped 33 million views on YouTube alone.
In a world of misogynistic, heteronormative rap, it’s a big deal for the biggest rap song in the world to feature lyrics like “I don’t fuck bitches I’m queer.” But Lil Nas X has also used his fame to bring attention to other issues, in this case the broken prison system. Through the Bail X Fund, launched alongside the “Industry Baby” video, he’s raising money to support bail assistance for low-income incarcerated people.
“Music is the way I fight for liberation. It’s my act of resistance. But I also know that true freedom requires real change in how the criminal justice system works. Starting with cash bail,” Lil Nas X wrote. “This isn’t just theoretical for me. It’s personal. I know the pain that incarceration brings to a family. And I know the disproportionate impact that cash bail has on Black Americans.”
As of Monday, the fund has already raised tens of thousands of dollars.
Why you can trust Xtra
