Lil Nas X surprised the world by coming out on the last day of Pride Month, and to that, I say “hell yeah!”
Being completely transparent with all of you, readers, I had no idea who Lil Nas X was until about the second week of June. I’m not one to turn on the radio, EVER, so I tend to miss the Top 40 trends unless they’re being discussed on one of the many podcasts I enjoy.
Old Town Road began to haunt my earbuds and speakers after I stumbled across a clip on my Instagram feed; probably some trade twerking to the song, I’m sure. From that moment on I’ve been listening to the track on repeat and have added it to my overall music rotation. Also – I finally got a chance to sit with his latest project, 7, and have been digging it more and more with each listen.
Here are the tweets Nas X shared:
(X highlights Pride colors on the cover of his EP, 7.)
I connect with his first tweet so deeply. I vividly remember the night I decided to come out to my closest friends and family. I was away at my first semester of college in Indiana and they were four hours behind in Alaska; MySpace was the main social girl back then, Facebook was still blooming, so I wasn’t creating any epic posts back in 2005.
The email I sent to my inner circle had a similar tone as Lil Nax X’s tweet: “Hey, this is me. We can be cool, or y’all can have a nice life without me.” I won’t get too much into comparing my coming out to Lil Nas X’s because this is his moment; and what a moment it is! You’ll hear more about my coming out story on a future episode of my podcast, Thanks for Coming.
Nax X also encouraged us all to listen to the lyrics of the track, C7osure (You Like) closely:
“True say
I want and I need
To let go
Use my time to be free
It’s like it’s always what you like
It’s always what you like
Why it’s always what you like?
It’s always what you like, huh
Ain’t no more actin’, man that forecast say I should just let me grow
No more red light for me, baby, only green, I gotta go
Pack my past up in the back, oh, let my future take a hold
This is what I gotta do, can’t be regretting when I’m old
Brand new places I’ll choose and I’ll go, I know
Embracing this news I behold unfolding
I know, I know, I know it don’t feel like it’s time
But I look back at this moment, I’ll see that I’m fine
I know, I know, I know it don’t feel like it’s time
I set boundaries for myself, it’s time to cross the line
True say
I want and I need
To let go
Use my time to be free
It’s like it’s always what you like
It’s always what you like
Why it’s always what you like?
It’s always what you like, huh
Ain’t no more actin’, man that forecast say I should just let me grow
No more red light for me, baby, only green, I gotta go
Pack my past up in the back, oh, let my future take a hold
This is what I gotta do, can’t be regretting when I’m old”
Source: LyricFind
In the end, Lil Nas X was ready to live his truth, out and proud. Not only is he making waves on the country charts – after all that controversy and ignorance he faced – as a black man, but now he’s facing the hip-hop/rap part of the industry. We’ve seen queer artists break the mold in other areas of music, but hip-hop and rap historically have been tougher audiences for queer performers to capture. While toxic masculinity is definitely a thing, and we won’t dive into that today, there has been an outpouring of support and love shown by peers of X online. This makes me very happy.
One last note for all you readers as more comes out about Lil Nas X, queerness in hip-hop/rap, sexuality and representation:
Continue to love and support the artists and music you love. If somehow you’re reading this blog and don’t fully support LGBTQIA+ rights, I charge you to be open and move in a more positive direction. Now that the rapper has come out as gay doesn’t make the song any less of a hit, or him any less of a human being.
Some of you have children, and I KNOW the kids absolutely go crazy for Old Town Road. Don’t let your ignorance steal that joy from your kids or yourselves! Let the damned song play, keep YOUR mind out of the gutter, and don’t form narratives that aren’t present because you may view the artist a little differently.
Allies! Continue to share the love with Lil Nas X, support his art, and help people understand how big a deal this is. We are in a time where discussion on topics of race, inclusion, and equal human rights is of the utmost importance – especially for queer people of color. The work will never be done, so let’s continue to lift Nas X up on this new adventure.
Thanks for stopping by everyone! I’m going to listen to “7” again 🙂
More on the Country removing “Old Town Road” from the Billboard charts.
