*Lil Nas X has revealed it used to concern him that his sexuality and gay lyrics would “alienate” his straight fans. But now he could care less if folks are offended by his artistry.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, the “Old Town Road” rapper opened up about his fear of not being accepted by heterosexual fans before he released his homoerotic Satan-themed “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” song.
“At first I was really afraid of alienating any of my straight fans,” he said. “But then it was kind of like, if they feel offended, they were never really here for me. They were here for whatever version of myself they made up in their head.”
The 21-year-old hip-hop star said he is not here to please everyone.
“Looking back on history, the biggest icons, the biggest artists, are the ones who aren’t trying to always make everybody happy and who were doing themselves. I hope to do that at all times,” he said. “At the end of the day, you are the main person that has to depend on you before anybody else. You have to love and nourish yourself.”
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CALL ME BY YOUR NAME ☎️❣️ pic.twitter.com/Za6UU63oSh
— nope 🏹 (@LilNasX) July 9, 2020
Lil Nas X actually enjoys the criticism he receives because it brings attention to his branding efforts.
“But now it’s like, okay, cool. For me, I would rather somebody hate the s— out of me when they’re talking about me rather than not say anything at all, because that’s giving more power to my name,” he said.
The rapper previously opened up about how he was taught from a young age that homosexuality “is never going to be OK.” But during Pride Week in 2019, he felt as if the “universe” was pushing him to open up about his sexuality.
“I never would have done that if I wasn’t in a way pushed by the universe,” he said in an interview with Time. “In June, I’m seeing Pride flags everywhere and seeing couples holding hands — little stuff like that.”
Nas X first hinted about his sexuality when he told fans to listen to his song “C7osure (You Like),” and noted the gay rainbow on his album cover. At the time he tweeted: “Wow man last year I was sleeping on my sisters floor, had no money, struggling to get plays on my music, suffering from daily headaches, now i’m gay.”
Since coming out, he has received some backlash from music fans and the hip-hop community.
Lil Nas X penned a letter to his younger self in March, in which he explained why he decided to embrace his sexuality with his song “Montero.”
“You see this is very scary for me, people will be angry, they will say i’m pushing an agenda. but the truth is, i am,” he wrote. “The agenda to make people stay the f— out of other people’s lives and stop dictating who they should be.”
