Each year, we see new stars being made and this year, it seems Lil Nas X was the chosen one. The 20-year-old rapper was a crossover success from the start, charting songs on Billboard's country charts, the hip-hop charts, the rock charts and, of course, the Hot 100. His hit single "Old Town Road" is the biggest song that has released this year, serving as one of only a couple tracks to have gone multi-platinum. The country song is eligible for Diamond certification, which is astounding if you truly think about how quickly it took Nas X to get here. The singer recently came out as gay on social media, using the final day of Pride Month to do so, and since his announcement, he's gotten a ton of backlash in his comments. Being the happy-go-lucky guy that he is though, LNX has just been brushing off the backlash and trolling people right back. As reported by Variety, he spoke with BBC earlier today in an interview where he addressed the response to his coming out.
"I kinda revealed it," said Nas X about his coming-out experience on Twitter. When asked about the negative response he's gotten from some fans, the rapper said that he expected the backlash. "Oh, I’m already getting it," he said. "I used to be that person being negative. I’m not angry or anything [about it], because I understand how they just want that reaction."
In the same sit-down chat, Lil Nas X revealed that he didn't previously consider coming out to his fans, changing his mind at the last minute. "I don’t want to just live my entire life, especially how I got to where I’m at, just not doing what I want to do. I’m also, I feel like, opening the doors for more people."
This is a big step forward for hip-hop and if LNX can continue his success, hopefully more artists will feel comfortable enough to be authentic with their audiences.