Lil Nas X’s path to success might not have been possible just two years ago. His song caught fire not on the radio airwaves, but as a meme on TikTok, the video sharing app which debuted in China.
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. Rapper. singer.
songwriterInstrumentsVocalsYears active2018–presentLabelsWebsiteMontero Lamar Hill (born April 9, 1999), known professionally as Lil Nas X, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter. He came to international attention for his breakout single ', which first achieved on the video sharing app in early 2019. The song reached number one on the US and, the only song to do so since the chart started in 1958.
As of August 2019, it has received over one billion on, and earned him two. His debut, was released on June 21, 2019. His second single from 7, ', debuted in 's top ten in July 2019.In June 2019, Nas X as, the only artist at that point to have done so while having a number-one record. Contents.Early life and educationMontero Lamar Hill was born in, a small city outside of, on April 9, 1999. His parents divorced when he was six, and he settled in the housing project with his mother and grandmother. Three years later, he moved in with his father, a gospel singer, north of the city in.
Although initially reluctant to leave, he later regarded it as an important decision: 'There's so much shit going on in Atlanta—if I would have stayed there, I would have fallen in with the wrong crowd.' He started “using the heavily right around the time when started to become their own form of entertainment”; about when he was thirteen.He spent much of his teenage years alone, and turned to the Internet, “particularly, creating memes that showed his disarming wit and pop-culture savvy.” He began playing trumpet in the fourth grade and was by his junior high years, but quit out of fear of looking uncool. He attended and graduated in 2017. He studied for one year at the before dropping out. During this time, he stayed with his sister and supported himself with jobs at. Career Internet personality (2015–2017)Nas X said he began to isolate himself from 'outside-of-class activities' during his teenage years.
He spent large amounts of time online in hopes of building a following as an to promote his work, but was unsure what to focus on creatively. In a interview he stated, 'I was doing Facebook comedy videos, then I moved over to Instagram, and then I hopped on Twitter. Where I really was a master. That was the first place where I could go viral.' As of August 2019 he has: 2.3 million followers on Twitter; four million followers on Instagram; “5.2 million subscribers on YouTube, and over 44 million monthly listeners on.” He posted short-format comedy videos on and,.During this period, Nas X reportedly created and ran fan accounts on, including one called '@NasMaraj', according to a investigation.
In 2017, this account gained attention for its -style interactive 'scenario threads' popularized on Twitter using dashboard app. The investigation linked @NasMaraj to the practice of 'Tweetdecking', or using multiple accounts in collaboration to artificially make certain tweets go viral. The @NasMaraj account was suspended by Twitter due to 'violating spam policies'.
After the suspension of @NasMaraj, New York Magazine's investigation concluded that Nas X subsequently opened a new account with handle '@NasMarai', and that Nas X's current Twitter account at the time was a repurposed version of that '@NasMarai' account with a changed handle. After media reports linked Nas X to the Minaj fan accounts, he called the reports a 'misunderstanding', effectively denying having run the accounts.He then landed on music as a path to success; and started writing and recording songs in his closet.
Late October 2018, he ran across the music that would be '. 'Old Town Road' debut (2018). Main article:On December 3, 2018, Hill released the song '. He bought the for the song anonymously on an online store from Dutch producer for $30; it samples ' track ' from their sixth studio album (2008). Nas X began creating memes to promote 'Old Town Road' before it was picked up by users. He estimated he made about a hundred to promote it; the song went viral in early 2019 due to the #Yeehaw Challenge meme on the social media app. Millions of users posted videos of themselves dressed as a or cowgirl, with most #yeehaw videos using the song for their soundtrack; as of July 2019, they have been seen more than 67 million times.
Another core audience tied to social media is children who are hidden in the statistics of adult listeners. Quartz.com says the song certainly owes part of its success to the demographic, and notes they are attracted to the song being repetitive, easy to sing along to, and using lyrics about riding horses and tractors, which kids can relate to. Chart debut and genre controversyIt debuted at number 83 on the chart, later climbing to number one. The track also debuted on the chart at number 19 and at number 36. After an 'intense bidding war', Nas X signed with in March 2019.
Billboard controversially removed the song from the Hot Country songs chart in March 2019 telling:“When determining genres, a few factors are examined, but first and foremost is a musical composition. While 'Old Town Road' incorporates references to country and cowboy imagery, it does not embrace enough elements of today's country music to chart in its current version.In 's opinion, 'Taking 'Old Town Road' off the country chart strikes me as racist pure and simple, because remains racist regardless of the and it makes room for.' Another Billboard spokesperson told, ' Billboard 's decision to take the song off of the country chart had absolutely nothing to do with the race of the artist.'
Despite being removed from the main Country Songs chart, the song charted on Billboard's chart, debuting at 53, and peaking at 50. In response, CEO Randy Goodman told Billboard that his team started testing the song in some country radio markets, adding 'it would be negligent not to look at it'. In May 2019, the issues of racism in country music culture came up again when announced its Lil Nas X collection, and some consumers threatened a boycott. Media outlets also noted that the song brings attention to the historic cultural erasure of African-Americans from both and the era. Further success and 7 EP (2019–present)Country music star supported 'Old Town Road', and is the featured vocalist in an April 2019 remix, the first of several. That same month, Nas X broke 's record for the most U.S. Streams in one week with 143 million streams for the week ending April 11, surpassing Drake's ', which had 116.2 million streams in one week in July 2018; as of August 2019 it has over a billion plays on alone.
's Michael Arceneaux noted,In the social media age, Lil Nas X is arguably the first crossover star.In May 2019, the video was released and as of August 2019, has over 370 million views. Nas X released his debut EP, on June 21, 2019. The EP debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 chart. On June 23, 2019, Nas X performed with Cyrus at the. On June 30, Nas X made his international debut at the largest greenfield festival in the world, the U.K.’s annual, when he and Billy Ray Cyrus made a surprise appearance and joined for the song, before performing his new single ' solo in a set seen nationally on.
On the same day, Nas X became one of the most visible Black male singers when he as. Especially in country or hip hop genres, both which emphasize and “historically snubbed queer artists”. Black queer male artists in hip hop having mainstream acceptance arguably started in 2012 with ’s coming out just before was released. For end of June 2019 sales, premiered the in early July with three Nas X hits: ' featuring at number nine; 'Panini' at four; and 'Old Town Road' as the first-ever number-one song on the chart. Nas X wore a custom sequined “diamond fantasy moment” Christian Cowan suit in homage to for the ’ red carpet.Nas X has been noted for his public fashions; in July 2019, noted Nas X as a 'master' at giving the cowboy a glam look in his appearances and on. His, Hodo Musa, says he aims for items that are “electric, playful, colorful, and futuristic.” Wrangler, which is mentioned in the “Old Town Road” lyrics, has consistently sold out of Nas X co-branded fashions. In July 2019, named him one of the 25 most influential people on the Internet for his 'global impact on ', and 'overall ability to drive news'.
In late July 2019, the (VMA) nominations were announced, with Nas X receiving eight. He performed ”Panini,” an ”ode to the from ’s,” with a troupe of ”-inflected dancers” at the, where he also won two awards: Song of the Year, for which he is the first LGBTQ person to do so; and the video’s Calmatic for. He was nominated for five fan-chosen, winning Choice R&B/Hip-Hop Song for the Cyrus remix of 'Old Town Road'. 'Old Town Road' is also the YouTube top song of the summer in the U.S. And over fifty other countries and territories; it is also their second top global song of the summer. Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus’ remix were nominated for the collaboration category,; Nas X is the first out gay man to ever be nominated for a CMA award, which will be aired November 2019.
Vox noted the Event Award is not a part of the CMA televised celebration, and they snubbed Nas X from bigger appropriate categories.In early July 2019, 'Old Town Road' achieved its 13th week at the top spot on the Billboard 100, becoming the. It is also the first song to sell ten million copies while in the top spot. On its fifteenth week at the top, Nas X became the first artist to have a song last as long, beating out ’s 1997 —where both sides of the are promoted as hits, '/'.
At nineteen weeks at number one, Nas X holds the record for the most weeks since the chart was first introduced in 1958. As of August 2019, the song has also charted nineteen weeks atop the chart; beating a three-way tie record. At nineteen weeks at the top of the chart the song has also beaten a three-way tie. Personal lifeIn early June 2019, Nas X to his sister and father, and he felt the universe was signaling him to do so despite his uncertainty whether his fans would stick by him or not. On June 30, 2019, the last day of, Nas X came out publicly as gay,: 'some of y'all already know, some of y'all don't care, some of y'all not gone fwm no more. But before this month ends i want y'all to listen closely to. ??✨' noted the song 'touches on themes such as coming clean, growing up and embracing one's self'.
The next day he tweeted again, this time highlighting the building on the cover art of his EP 7, with the caption reading 'deadass thought i made it obvious'. He was unambiguous in an interview several days later on, where he stated that he was gay and understands that his sexuality is not readily accepted in the country or rap music communities. The response to the news has been mostly positive, but also garnered a large amount of homophobic backlash on, to which Nas X also reacted.
The backlash also came from the hip hop community, drawing attention to. 'Old Town Road' has been variously described by publications as a, or song. Nas X stated that he regards it as a ' song. The single's second official remix, 'Old Town Road (Diplo Remix)', was released on April 29, 2019 featuring additional production by American DJ. Mid-July 2019, an official remix of “Old Town Road” was released adding rapper, and, to Billy Ray Cyrus. In late July 2019, another remix called 'Seoul Town Road' was released featuring South Korean rapper of the boyband.
Billboard counts all the versions of the song in the same total. is full of like “sus”, “”, and “Pause” using “queerness as a punchline”. Other notable Black queer men gaining mainstream acceptance before Nas X include:;; frontman;. Black queer women artists have been accepted more readily; while the movement goes back to the 1990s. The tracks “the most popular songs of the week in the United States”; ranked by combining streams and sales, omitting radio plays. His nominations were for “Old Town Road”: Song of the Year, Video of the Year, Best Collaboration, Best Hip Hop, Best Direction, Best Editing and Best Art Direction. He is also up for the Best New Artist trophy.
The awards ceremony takes place August 26, 2019. Nas X was nominated for both 'Choice Male Artist', and 'Choice Breakout Artist'; 'Old Town Road' was up for 'Choice Song: Male Artist'; while the remix with Billy Ray Cyrus was also up for 'Choice Collaboration'. It surpassed three hip hop songs that were tied at twelve weeks each: ' by (2002), ' by (2009), and ' by featuring (2015).