Words by Chanelle Goddard
He took his horse to the old town road and now, he’s ready to ride all over the world.
Since American rapper and singer Lil Nas X stepped into the world of fame in 2018, he’s only made waves within the music industry, inspiring thousands along with the way with his drive, creativity and ‘no f***s given’ attitude. Discouraged by his parents from pursuing music full time, Lil Nas X proved everyone who doubted him wrong and has become a musical – and cultural – sensation. Here’s some insight into the 21-year-old’s journey and rise to fame.
Lil Nas X became a household name when he independently dropped his viral country-rap single, “Old Town Road”, and later released a remix featuring country singer Billy Rae Cyrus, which spent a total of 12 weeks at the top of the US Billboard Top 100 Charts – I mean, we’ve probably all heard song. At the time of recording the track, Lil Nas X was only 19-years-old, living with his sister after dropping out of college and looking to pursue music full time – not knowing that his life was about to change completely. The success of “Old Town Road” was an immense score for a 19-year-old Lil Nas X, and brought the genre of country-rap into the mainstream spotlight for the first time – he’d truly made waves in the music industry, even at such a young age. Lil Nas X had made his mark and shown the world that he wasn’t afraid to take risks, producing sounds that no one had heard before.
In December 2018, only 15 days after the release of his first single, the then-independent Lil Nas X was signed to Columbia Records – pretty impressive, right? Despite the viral-sensation of his first single, Lil Nas X made it his mission to make sure he wasn’t labelled a one-hit-wonder, and shortly afterwards dropped his debut EP, 7. It was another big win for the American rapper-singer, and featured two more iconic singles, “Panini” (which reached number five on the Hot 100)” and “Rodeo” (which peaked at number 22) – Lil Nas X had done it again.
One thing Lil Nas X has become known for is the creativity he injects into his music videos, which truly brings his music and general vibe to life. In the “Panini” music video, Lil Nas X takes the role of a high-tech robot following American-actress Skai Jackson around in a futuristic world. The use of great CGI technology, creative choreography, cool colour waves and a movie like-storyline blew viewers all over the world off their feet. The “Panini” music video has since gained 348 million views on YouTube, and still continues to skyrocket on the daily. Not only was Lil Nas X the most-nominated male artist at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards, but he also won the award for Best Music Video and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance – he sure is one creative and talented guy.
Since Lil Nas X put his foot into the door of the music world, he’s carried a bold ‘no f***s given’ attitude with pride, inspiring millions in the process. On the last day of 2019 Pride month, the artist came out as gay in a tweet hinting at the lyrics of his song, “C7osure”, on his EP. He tweeted: “Some of you’ll already know, some of y’all not gone fwm no more, but before this month ends I want ya’ll to listen closely to C7osure”, followed by a rainbow emoji. Inspired fans praised the 21-year-old for stepping out in the height of his career and coming out publicly, showing people that being gay really isn’t that big of a deal at all (he also tweeted “deadass thought I made it obvious”). Fellow celebrities tweeted back at the American rapper-singer in support and happiness for the star.
Another example of Lil Nas X’s bold nature was his 2020 Halloween look. October is a month that always stirs up the most creativity amongst the world of celebrities, all showing off their impressive Halloween costumes on Instagram – and Lil Nas’ was one that had everybody talking. The American rapper-singer underwent a full body transformation and disguised himself as the legendary Nicki Minaj in her iconic track “Super Bass”, sporting a pink giraffe print unitard and split-colour wig. He shocked millions with his resemblance to the female rapper, and impressed fans with his no f***s given take on Halloween. Lil Nas X made sure to clap back at the few who criticized his Halloween look, including disapproving rapper 50 Cent, to whom Lil Nas tweeted: “It’s November 2nd and grown men are waking up to have group discussions about a costume I wore on Halloween.”
The latest money moves Lil Nas X has made include the release of his November single, “Holiday”, which in the current Christmas festivities has already become an online TikTok sensation. The single currently sits at number 37 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, and the music video has already accumulated 70 million YouTube views, despite only being released a month ago. In the times to come, we can only expect more impressive work from the young music sensation that is Lil Nas X – his journey has only just begun.
Here in the UK, check out the up-and-coming British rappers who made 2020 their year.