Protect Lil Nas X at all costs!
The 21-year-old rapper just dropped the new song and music video for "MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)" and it's already making shockwaves on social media.
While the song asks a lover "to stop pretending with his significant other and act on a first-name basis," according to Genius, the video depicts X in the garden of eden being tempted by sin, being stoned for acting on his desires, having the option to go up to heaven and instead taking hold of a stripper pole where he descends into hell, meets Satan, and then proceeds to ride him.
The video from the Grammy-winning artist is already pissing off conservative viewers, but X knew exactly what he was doing. "Y’all love saying we going to hell but get upset when I actually go there lmao," he tweeted. And in anticipation of the outrage, he joked "I’m gonna be so pissed if I don’t get any Illuminati conspiracy videos. I worked so hard for this."
Even through the ridiculousness of it all, it's definitely a moment for Lil Nas X and gay representation in pop culture at large. The song and video is unabashedly queer (one of the lyrics reads "shoot a child in your mouth while I'm ridin"), and watching a Black pop star strut around in underwear and heels and be embraced by much of the public and his fans feels momentous.
X wrote an emotional letter to his younger self. "I know we promised to never come out publicly, 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."
X also shared a supportive and encouraging text from his father.
The internet has exploded with reactions and memes:
Lil Nas X's debut album is excepted this summer. We'll be streaming "MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)" on repeat in the meantime!