The Christianity-driven discourse surrounding Lil Nas X’s ingenious “Montero (Call Me by Your Name)” rollout, as expected, has been rife with false equivalencies and bizarrely anti-art takes on creatives’ purported obligation to underage audiences.
Among those who joined in on the wholly misguided criticism is “I’m Not Racist” artist Joyner Lucas, who at first appeared to acknowledge X’s marketing prowess before walking that back with a complaint about children watching a music video from an artist he inaccurately described as a former “kids anthem” maker.
In one tweet about “Montero” shared Sunday, Lucas called the visual “wild” but said Lil Nas X was “doing everything he supposed to do” as an artist by creating a viral moment and getting people talking.
“It’s a formula guaranteed to work,” Lucas said. “I doubt he actually worships the devil.”
The concept of “worshiping the devil,” of course, is only something from which people who believe in the existence of a “devil” can derive fear. Whenever a religion-minded argument pops up about an artist “worshiping the devil” and/or convincing fans to do the same, the artist in question is typically using the fictional idea of Satan (and other variants) as a device that quite easily exposes the inherent hatred of a belief system (i.e. Christianity) that aims to traumatically convince children they, for example, could languish in “Hell” just because they’re gay.
At any rate, Lucas had more to say about Lil Nas X’s new video, adding that “the biggest problem” for him was that X didn’t understand that his breakout hit “Old Town Road” was—in Lucas’ words—“every kids anthem.” From there, Lucas suggested X should have included a “disclaimer” with the new video.
X was quick to respond to Lucas’ criticism, noting Lucas only had himself to blame with regards to children listening to “Old Town Road,” or any of his songs.
“i literally sing about lean & adultery in old town road,” X said. “U decided to let your child listen. Blame yourself.”
Generously, Lil Nas X’s “Montero” rollout has also included the release of a video themed around the idea of hearing the song in the bathroom of Hell while he gives Satan a lap dance in the other room. Enjoy that in full below.
Below, catch X talking with Complex’s Joe La Puma about his MSCHF collaboration and more:
