Lil Nas X Has the Audacity to be Free
I’ll be the first to admit that on first listen, I was not feeling “Old Town Road.” Then I saw a young black man in boots, a cowboy hat and basking in his freedom - so I listened again.
For the last month or so, I’ve found myself “taking my horse to the old town road” in the middle of Dallas’ mad Interstate 75. With one song, this young man yanked back the very existence of country music that was cultivated by black people.
Montero Lamar Hill may never have another hit like “Old Town Road,” but the 20 year old has done something incredibly powerful with his quick surgence of fame.
In a Twitter post, the country singer asked fans to re-listen to a track off of his recent EP, 7, with more intentional ears.
"Some of y’all already know, some of y’all don’t care, some of y’all not gone fwm no more. but before this month ends i want y’all to listen closely to c7osure," he said in a tweet that ended with rainbow and sparkle emojis.
World stop.
Not only did this young black baby have the never to commender country music in the middle of 2019, but this ***** has the nerve to be gay.
That’s exactly how you sound if you have a problem with Hill right now.
Perhaps it would be more fitting if Lil Nas X rapped about f**king h*es in the trap, and all of the stuff he stole on his plight out of the hood.
Take a listen to “7.” It’s simple, very matter of fact and effective. With seven tracks, Lil Nas X is fairly innocent, jovial and definitely tap dances across several musical genres. Sounds like what we need in music right now. I may even use the EP and all of its literary devices in my English classes this coming school year.
"Old Town Road," which features Billy Ray Cyrus has topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 13 weeks.
Lil Nas X needed something good to happen in his life and he needed it to happen quickly and get him off of his sister’s couch. A $30 Youtube beat and the willingness to get himself mocked afforded him a world of new opportunities. Love “Old Town Road” or hate it - it worked for him and has him living his best life right now. Rebelling against the song at this point is like fighting air.
Before the world could dive into a full on dissection of his sexuality, he told you that he’s gay and he doesn’t realize why it took you so long to realize it.
In essence Lil Nas X represents everything that the world is dead set on being uncomfortable with about many black men. He doesn’t live in a glass house, enveloped with a rooftop of machismo. He’s comfortable being corny. And baby, he’s rich.
