For years, society has told LGBTQ people that our very existence would send us straight to hell. Evangelicals and bigots alike have often used religion to shame homosexuality and queerness as routes to total damnation. In a now-viral music video, 21-year old Black queer musician Lil Nas X has confronted them—brilliantly.
In “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” Lil Nas X gives his own provocative spin on biblical references and condemnation as he navigates through the garden of Eden, slides down a stripper pole as he descends to hell, and gives the devil a seductive lap dance. To suggest the rapper, whose real name is Montero Lamar Hill, is playing with fire is an understatement. Lil Nas X co-directed the raunchy video and has spent his time on social media since its release trolling critics and doubling-down on his magnificent LGBTQ pride.
Since its release last Friday, the video has already garnered nearly 30 million views on YouTube, with its single climbing up the Spotify charts, and a “Satan Shoes” collaboration with the streetwear company MSCHF that has already sold out within minutes of its release.
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The latter deal has already brought on its own unique controversy after some consumers thought the Luke 10:18-modified Nike Air Max 97s (that contain a drop of human blood in the sole) was an actual partnership with the “Just Do It” brand itself (Nike had to clarify that this wasn’t the case). But it didn’t stop conservatives, such as right-wing talking head Candace Owens and Trump-loving South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, from suggesting that such merchandise proves “we are in a fight for the soul of our nation.”
“Ur a whole governor and u on here tweeting about some damn shoes,” the singer tweeted in response. “Do ur job!”
Lil Nas X has only continued to clapback at the haters (he responded to Owens’ diss of his shoes with a snappy “you know you did something right when she talks about it”), while reminding all of us how liberated he has been in the process.
“I know we promised to never come out publicly,” the rapper wrote in an open letter he posted on Twitter to his younger self following the video’s release. “I know we promised to never be ‘that’ type of gay person, I know we promised to die with the secret, but this will open doors for many other queer people to simply exist.”
After taking the music industry by storm in 2019, Lil Nas X has continued to break barriers for Black queer musicians in hip-hop. His chart-topping single “Old Town Road” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus broke Mariah Carey’s record for the longest-running #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. He won two Grammy awards for his work in 2020, after earning six nominations total (which impressively included Album of the Year, Best New Artist, and Record of the Year).
While some LGBTQ superstars choose to come out later in their careers, Lil Nas X decided to do so at the start of it—making it very clear he was gay during Pride Month 2019, while “Old Town Road” continued to top the charts.
As a Black queer millennial, it was inspiring to see Lil Nas X not only be out in the industry so early in his career, but also to watch him embrace his sexuality and youth. Too often, Black artists who we often assumed were queer or came out later never spoke much about it to their fans.
In contrast to musicians like Frank Ocean, who was more subtle about coming out in 2012 during his Channel Orange album release, Lil Nas X kicked the door open with full-fledged audacity and confidence. And while every person has a right to determine how open they choose to disclose their sexuality to the public (it’s still very much none of our business), it’s something to admire in Lil Nas X’s unapologetic approach altogether.
“I spent my entire teenage years hating myself hating myself because of the shit y’all preached would happen to me because I was gay,” Lil Nas X tweeted over the weekend. “So I hope you are mad, stay mad, feel the same anger you teach us to have toward ourselves.”
I, too, know what it was like to struggle in my own skin as a queer teenager. The trauma of hearing those around me denounce homosexuality without considering my identity made me feel uncomfortable about fully disclosing until I was in college. The anger I felt at sometimes having to suppress my joy, power, and identity for the sake of acceptance was real. This year, as I prepare to marry the love of my life and turn 30, I’m grateful to see a new generation of Black queer youth demand better for us, faster.
If there was ever a time for us to stand up and protect an artist, it would be Lil Nas X. His creative expression is a revolution against the societal oppression that has forever suppressed LGBTQ+ people. “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” is an intentional, pointed middle-figure to every hate group who told queer people to die, every conservative lawmaker who continues to legislate discrimination, and every bigot who actively disrupts the humanity of LGBTQ culture.
It personally tickles me that the same detractors who have trolled queer people forever got a dose of their own medicine from an outspoken Black queer Gen-Zer who doesn’t give a fuck.
Lil Nas X might have landed on the conservative’s “most wanted” list, but he also just made himself a queer icon. The LGBTQ community needs to wholeheartedly support this culture-resetting artist who is creating art that is seeking to free us all.
