Rap culture has always been powered by unbridled machismo, and one would be hard pressed to not find a gay slur embedded in the lyrics of any of the genre’s most famous architects.
Hip-hop’s refusal to embrace anything queer has been a blemish on the genre for as long as its been around. But this is still a genre that has never been supportive of change.” “We are finally starting to see queer black men celebrated in the genre. “It’s hard to be out in genres where being gay, or expressing your sexuality, is frowned upon,” added platinum rapper and singer iLoveMakonnen, born Makonnen Sheran, who rose to fame as a protégé of Drake and came out as gay in 2017. “Lil Nas X re-imagined an image of the Wrangler-wearing, horseback-riding man’s man into a young black representative of youth culture, got the attention of two traditionally macho cultures and then came out on the last day of Pride,” said Roy Kinsey, a Chicago-based librarian and rapper at the forefront of Chicago’s queer rap scene. That he did so in the orbit of hip-hop and country, genres that have historically snubbed queer artists, was groundbreaking. Overnight, the 20-year-old Atlanta native - born Montero Lamar Hill - became the biggest gay pop star in the world. “But I look back at this moment, I’ll see that I’m fine.”
“Embracin’ this news I behold unfolding … I know it don’t feel like it’s time,” he raps. but before this month ends i want y’all to listen closely to ‘c7osure’” he wrote, referring to a track from his debut EP “7,” then the No. “Some of y’all already know, some of y’all don’t care, some of y’all not gone fwm no more.
To get your own copy directly, support queer media and subscribe - or download yours for Amazon, Kindle, Nook, or Apple News.On June 30, the final day of Pride Month, the young country-rap sensation Lil Nas X came out to his 2.2 million Twitter followers. This story is part of The Advocate’s 2021 People of the Year issue, which is out on newsstands November 23, 2021. With the September release of his debut studio album, simply titled Montero, Nas X is poised to remain that icon for his listeners, and he does it all just by being himself. I want your tears to fill my Grammy cup.” “I hope my haters are sad,” Nas X tweeted following the success of “Montero (Call Me by Your Name).” “I hope they are crying. It’s that attitude of his that made him this generation’s leading gay (and media-savvy) icon. It’s this bravery in the face of seemingly unending waves of hate and his commitment to not letting it get to him that has endeared Nas X even more to the folks who love and admire his refreshing queer self-expression. Those who follow Nas X on social media, especially Twitter, already know that the same energy homophobes give him, he gives right back. The song went understandably viral on social media, especially on apps like TikTok. Its accompanying music video, which featured demonic-themed visuals like Nas X sliding down a stripper pole into hell and giving Satan a lap dance, enthralled many a viewer upon first watch. Little did we know that he was preparing to set the pop world up for one of the most epic, unforgettable, and queer eras in mainstream music.Ī reference to his birth name, Montero Lamar Hill, as well as the Oscar-winning gay coming-of-age romance starring Timothée Chalamet and directed by Luca Guadagnino, “Montero (Call Me by Your Name)” is an unapologetic queer anthem that embraces sexuality. But the 22-year-old rapper came out guns a-blazing in the first half of the year with the spring release of his track “Montero (Call Me by Your Name),” which became his second Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper.
Nas X, like many other musical artists, had a low-key 2020, trying to keep safe, sound, and fairly calm during the height of the ongoing global pandemic.