Consider This from NPR - Lil Nas X Is Not Trying To Comfort Anyone

Episode Date: September 24, 2021

Every generation has its musical "boogeyman." The Rolling Stones, N.W.A., Madonna. And the latest musician to be inducted into this notorious list is Lil Nas X. Not only has he broken Billboard records, he's breaking barriers.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Support for NPR comes from NPR member stations and Eric and Wendy Schmidt through the Schmidt Family Foundation, working toward a healthy, resilient, secure world for all. On the web at theschmidt.org. Every generation has its musical boogeyman, someone who gets accused of corrupting the youth. Elvis swung his hips in the 1950s. The Rolling Stones were called devil worshippers in the 60s. NWA was accused of inciting violence in the 80s. Madonna pushed sexual boundaries in the 90s, as did Britney Spears in the early 2000s. Get it, get it, get it, get it. Get it, get it, get it, get it. as did Britney Spears in the early 2000s.

And the latest musician to be inducted into this notorious list? Lil Nas X. The 22-year-old had a huge hit back in 2018 with the country rap song Old Town Road. He won two MTV Video Music Awards and a Country Music Association Award. Kids loved the song. Yee-haw, y'all! Now Lil Nas X has proven to be much more than a one-hit wonder. Last March, the rapper released the song Montero, Call Me By Your Name. Call me when you want, call me when you need, call me in the morning, I'll be on the way.

And the music video accompanying the hit song? Well, it's just one reason parents have been clutching their pearls and shielding their children's eyes. In the music video, Lil Nas X rides a stripper pole straight to hell and gives the devil a lap dance. The whole production is a celebration of unapologetic Black queerness, flaunting in the face of the idea that gay people will be punished in hell. The backlash from religious and conservative groups only added to Lil Nas X's fame. He played it up on social media,

trolling his haters, and now he is out with a full-length album that is just as provocative. One, two, three, pull! In this Instagram video, Lil Nas X literally gives birth to that album, titled Montero, after his real name. I'm not like trying to comfort anyone or whoever their family is or their children. Consider this, the controversy that Lil Nas X generates is reshaping the music industry, and each new chapter in the story adds to his fame. You know, it's my music career, it's my career, so I want to continue to his fame. You know, it's my music career. It's my career.

So I want to continue to do whatever. And I feel like if people get upset at it, then that's even better. Because if nobody's upset at what you're doing, then it's probably not worth it. Coming up, we'll hear from the pop rap star himself. From NPR, I'm Ari Shapiro. It's Friday, September 24th. money internationally and always get the real-time mid-market exchange rate with no hidden fees. Download the Wyze app today or visit wyze.com. T's and C's apply. It's Consider This from NPR. Lil Nas X started writing songs for Montero two years ago when he moved into his new house. And it was kind of raining and it was just like the perfect mood, you know? It was the perfect time. I spent the entire day just kind of writing, and it was kind of hard.

The process was challenging. When he first hit the scene, he wasn't out to the public. I'm still getting used to like writing personal stuff in songs and being open to people about things happening in my private life. He wanted to be honest with his fans, but he had to build up his confidence first. I started to believe in the universe more and just myself more and just remember more and just

remember the fact that I'm in charge of my own destiny no matter what's thrown at me no matter how big it may seem I'll overcome it. He has more than overcome Lil Nas X has transformed himself into a queer icon. Here he is at the VMAs earlier this month accepting the video of the year award for call me by your name. Okay first first I want say, I want to say thank you to the Gay Agenda. Let's go Gay Agenda! And he doesn't plan to confine himself to what people might expect, even if that means he loses fans. Once I elevate to my next level, a lot of them may say, oh, I'm not sure if I like this. I wish you would do this thing again. And I'm 100% okay with them dipping because

I have to evolve. How are you today? How you feeling? I feel good. Happy. Yeah? Are you hydrated? I should be, but I'm not. Ooh, you gotta hydrate. After all those outfit changes last night. Last night, meaning the Met Gala. Lil Nas X broke the internet with three different regal outfits on the red carpet, an ornate beaded cape, a suit of golden armor, and a glittery slinky bodysuit. The morning after all that, Lil Nas X joined NPR's Sidney Madden to talk about his debut album

and how his approach to music is changing. So you've gone back to the drawing board a lot. What's one song on the album that we can hear that metamorphosis? I feel like all of them, but especially Lost in the Citadel. I went back and wrote that like a million times, I guess because the situation kept changing. Are you happy? Do your dreams still seem in doubt? Lost in the Citadel is about this relationship that I kept going back to and like expecting like a different outcome when it was going to be the same situation over and over again. And it's called Lost in the Citadel because it's like you're in this place that you can't really get out of. You know, it's like you're in this place that you can't really get out of you know it's like a maze you have so much exuberant confidence but it's clear that you analyze your own output and your own creative

process a lot. And I really like, I like the song Dead Right Now. I actually wrote Dead Right Now as soon as I moved into my new house, I spent the entire day just kind of writing. It was kind of hard because I'm still getting used to like writing personal stuff and songs and being open to people about my private life. But, you know, I really just want to be honest with fans, remind people that I am a human being and that we all have the same

situations in different forms, you know? And what allowed you to be more personal? I thought about the people who I look up to the most, like say Kanye or Drake or Nicki. What really connects is when they're seeing the things that are happening internally. So they're letting you like get a peek into their life and just humanize them more because people a lot of times see celebrities or anybody famous as just a being existing. Not a real person. Yeah. Do you ever feel like you've been put in a box so far in your career? Yeah. And I feel like it's going to happen over and over and over again. We unintentionally say people are exactly our first thoughts of them. Whatever I'm saying right now, I may not agree

with in a year from now, you know, or things I'm doing right now. I may say, oh, maybe I should have did that differently because, you know, we change as people over and over and over again. Has there ever been internal pushback on what you want to do and how you express yourself? Yeah, absolutely. If I'm saying something in a song like the second verse in Call Me or even the first verse or even talking about guys and music. I caught it bad just today You hit me with a call to your place And been out in a while anyway Even, you know, going to these pole dancing classes Or going to the BET Awards and performing all, you know, sensually

Champagne, you're drinking with your friends You're living the dark, boy, I cannot pretend I'm not fake It's a lot of pushback internally But I know a lot of times that's actually my guide to do exactly what I'm doing, you know? Because a lot of times when you're afraid to do something, that's when you should really do it. And hip-hop's historically been, like, very homophobic in some respects. How has that affected your relationship with the genre? I wouldn't be here without hip hop. I understand how things have been and I let go of it, you know?

Like there's a long build of homophobia, not even just in hip hop, but like in the world. It's like something that has been molded for a very long time. And I understand it takes a lot for people to unlearn, you know? I feel like I've thought that way at one point in time, you know? I mean, that's the reason why there's still a lot of people that are extremely racist in the world, because it was a thing that was cultivated, like, over time. So it's going to take some time to, you know, calm it down, I guess. Can you give me an example when you did that and you had to unlearn that? Yeah. When people would say, like, I love you because you're not like the other gay people and stuff.

I thought that was like a compliment. But in reality, those people are just against feminine men, you know? And the only reason they actually hate that because they've been taught over time, like, this is not how this specific person or thing is supposed to be. At the end of the album, you're contemplating your own legacy. You're talking about leaving a legacy. I'm trying to have you forecast what that legacy is going to mean five, ten years from now when the fan who's hearing it right now starts their own music career. What boundaries are they going to break?

And what boundaries are they not going to have to think about because you already broke them? I feel like they won't have to worry about, you know, being maybe a queer person in the industry or being stifled by whatever somebody has to say about you on the internet, because I feel like that's also a big difference between artists nowadays and artists like 10 years ago or so. It's like we're open to hate from millions of people around the world, and it's possibly, you know, harder harder to black out I feel like that'll be easier for them in the future you know I don't know I feel like maybe we'll have like a mainstream trans artist and then they're gonna be the first artist to headline on Mars and they could be a trans artist and could not even be part of the narrative let's hope I'm the first artist to

headline on Mars okay speak it into into the universe, literally. Let's do it. That was NPR Music's Sidney Madden speaking with Lil Nas X. His debut album, Montero, is out now. You're listening to Consider This from NPR. I'm Ari Shapiro. Support for NPR and the following message come from the Kauffman Foundation, providing access to opportunities

that help people achieve financial stability, upward mobility, and economic prosperity, regardless of race, gender, or geography. Kauffman.org.