Lil Nas X
Apr 16, 2021 |
Lil Nas X accepts the award for top hot 100 song for “Old Town Road” at the Billboard Music Awards last October. As a gay Black rapper with a hit country-western song, LNX was already in outside the norm. His latest hit single, “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” cements his outlaw status. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Outlaw by default, celebrity by design
“Mister, don’t take this the wrong way, but are you gay or bi?” a student asked during the last minutes of class.
“Yes,” I answered without elaboration.
“Which one?”
“You just … dress weird. Like, who wears a shirt like that?”
Elaine Chung
We ve been consuming music in a vacuum for over a year now. There hasn t been the chance to hear a new song at a bar, at a friend s party, or at a club. Instead, we consume what we can find via the Internet. What we hear is recorded or at the very least performed via livestream. It s different. The great stuff has been able to unite us, physical distance between us be damned. Music has felt essential throughout the last 13 months. It s offered us a short escape, or a way to make sense of our anxieties. In the best instances, an excuse to stand up and push aside the furniture and just move. And perhaps in a year or in a few months, we ll hear some of these songs and be instantly transported to this time and this place, for better or worse. What we do know, is that, for right now, these are the songs getting us through whatever stage of These Times we find ourselves in. Whether it s the escape of Silk Sonic or confronting the looming crisis of climate change with The Wea
No, this time the Grammy Award winner was accused of mistreating his mother who was allegedly recorded begging for food and money on an Atlanta street corner. The clip started making the social media rounds on Wednesday (April 14), with many assuming Lil Nas X callously abandoned her.
But as Lil Nas X’s father Robert Stafford explained in a recent Instagram post, the 22-year-old’s mother has been struggling with addiction. On Thursday (April 15), Stafford posted a snap of his famous son with his arm around him and defended the vicious rumors.
“Despite what people say @lilnasx is the greatest kid a parent can be BLESSED with,” he wrote in the caption. “Although his mom is in a struggle with an addiction she’s STILL a QUEEN and he goes through great lengths to make sure we’re taking care of.
In a series of tweets, he wrote: Y all told a 19 year old who had just escaped the lowest point of his life that he would never have a hit again. you told him to stop while he s ahead. he could ve gave up. but 4 multi platinum songs and 2 #1 s later, he s still here. thank you to my team and my fans! ily (sic)
The superstar - who spent a record-breaking 19 weeks at No1 in 2019 with smash hit Old Town Road - told his critics that he wants their tears to fill my Grammy cup .
He added: i hope my haters are sad. i hope they are crying. i want your tears to fill my grammy cup. (sic)
Nas has not addressed the video, but in an interview with
Variety last year, he spoke about his estranged relationship with his mother, while revealing that he tried to get her into a recovery program. “I never really talk about my mom. She’s an addict so we don’t have the closest relationship,” he said. “Even trying to get her better things didn’t quite work out. But there’s still love.”
He also opened up about his newfound relationship with fame. “The biggest surprise of becoming globally famous? On the outside, everybody loves you but on the inside, everything [feels] the same.”