Lil Nas X is responding to accusations of using shock value to boost his music.
Last week, the "Industry Baby" artist dropped a teaser for a song from his upcoming mixtape Nasarati 2, where he raps about his personal life and queerness before he reached mainstream fame. "Cap and gown, I graduated and got out of town / Went to college where I had no one around / Grindr sessions sexing with faceless accounts / Bringing bodies in me then sneaking 'em out," he raps.
But the next bar, where X discusses his closeted youth, is what had some listeners shook. Lil Nas raps, "Back in middle school I was fiendin' for dick / Seventh grade sending my homies some pics / Daddy never knew what I did as a kid / He would've crucified me but trust me I get it."
Despite some praising Lil Nas X for showing a vulnerable side of himself, others claimed that the lines were intentionally controversial for attention.
In response to the critcism, Lil Nas broke his X hiatus to speak his peace.
"i hate explaining myself every time i do anything, but this is not for shock," he wrote. "this is me telling my story, y’all being uncomfortable by it does not make it a gimmick. this is for me and my fans fuck everybody else."
Of course Nas is no stranger to controversy, which is likely why he felt it was necessary to clear the air. The discourse around his "J Christ" single led to allegations of blasphemy.
"It turned into this whole thing where it was me trying to dunk on Christians or something, and that was never what it was," he said about the "J Christ" rollout on podcast On Purpose with Jay Shetty. "I looked at the video with me eating like the communion or whatnot, and I was like 'Okay, this looks really bad on paper.' This thing that I thought was a little jokey fun video."
While we wait for Nasarati 2, Lil Nas X's first documentary and concert film, Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero, is available to stream on HBO Max.
