Lil Nas X is honoring his late mother with a deeply personal tribute as he prepares to release new music dedicated to her.
The rapper shared an emotional video on Instagram on Wednesday (Sept. 30), featuring a voicemail from his mother, who offers her son words of encouragement and reminds him to keep pushing forward.
“Hey Doobie, been calling you multiples of times today… I just wanna say, love you, keep your head up,” his late mother, Tameka Hill, says in the voicemail. “Continue to walk by faith, not by sight. Let God handle the rest. Everything else is gonna work itself in its own place, don’t give up, never give up. Continue to walk by faith not by sight… I love you. Don’t forget that. I’ll call you again just to check up on you.”
Toward the end of the clip, Lil Nas X holds up a piece of paper reading "World's Greatest," revealing the title of his upcoming single. The accompanying caption confirms that the track is set to arrive on Thursday, Oct. 1.
Lil Nas X is dedicating both the new song and its accompanying video to his mother. While the voicemail lets fans hear a personal moment between Lil Nas X and his mother, "World's Greatest" is also positioned as a celebration of perseverance, faith, and moving forward in the face of loss.
The tribute also comes less than a month after Lil Nas X announced the death of his mother.
On Aug. 29, the 27-year-old shared a collection of photos of his mother on Instagram, including images of the two together from different stages of his life.
"RIP TO THE BADDEST EVER!" he wrote at the time. "LOVE U FOREVER MOMMY. This one's gonna hurt."
A cause of death has not been publicly revealed.
Lil Nas X has previously spoken about having a complicated relationship with his mother. In a 2020 interview with Variety, he said she struggled with addiction and acknowledged that the two weren't always close despite his efforts to help her.
"Even trying to get her better — things didn't quite work out," he said at the time. "But there's still love."
