Lil Nas X: I feel like all of them – but especially, 'Lost in the Citadel.' I went back and rewrote that one a million times, because the situation kept changing. Sidney Madden, NPR Music: What's one song on the album that we can hear that went through a change? To hear the broadcast version of this story, use the audio player above. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. The artist joined NPR's Sidney Madden to discuss the road to this release and how his approach to music has changed over the years. 17, Lil Nas X dropped his debut studio album, Montero, a project that has been two very eventful years in the making. 'I'm not like trying to comfort anyone, or their children.'
'My intention was always to be as entertaining as possible,' he says. It's a position the 22-year-old doesn't take lightly, but he's not trying to let his entire artistic narrative be defined by it, either. The rap-pop star is openly gay and, through his lyrics, music videos like 'Montero (Call Me By Your Name)' and comedic clapbacks to critics, he's using his platform to generate new conversations about representations of Black queerness and dismantling homophobia in hip-hop. Not only has Lil Nas X broken Billboard records, he's breaking barriers.
