Author : Jennifer Stone
Image Source : people.com
Since the explosion of “Old Town Road” in 2018, Lil Nas X made it clear that he is here to stay. He is a reliable hitmaker and a rapper who knows no boundaries. Being an icon in the music industry, Nas X also created a unique style with his individuality. Whether it is creating a buzz in the world of Vogue or setting a benchmark in the hip-hop and R&B industry, Lil Nas has aced in everything. However, he has made this significant improvement at a very young age as the rapper is only 23 years old now. Let’s find out more amazing facts about this unwavering Grammy-winning rapper who became a role model for many.
1. His Stage Name is Inspired by a Twitter Fan Account
Montero Lamar Hill, better known as Lil Nas X was born in in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia. His stage name Lil Nas X was a result of his fan account on Twitter where he had the username @nasmaraj. It was a fan account for Nicky Minaj from where he took the name ‘Nas’ by which most people know him. The rapper started the fan account in his teen years and since his teenage, Nicky has always been a role model for him. The rapper was found telling in an interview with Variety, “I felt like Minaj was unique to the rap industry—somebody who is super talented but didn’t get all the credit because of her being a woman.” he further added that, “She’s super outspoken, she’s a boss and she goes after what she wants. I love all those attributes.” Evidently, Lil Nas X carries that creative boujee aura as well. Some also claim that it is a tribute to the famous rapper Nas who dominated the hip-hop industry.
2. Family Enriched His Musical Talents
Lil Nas X is highly influenced by his family as music runs among them. His father R.L. Stafford is one of the well revered gospel singers who helped him pursue his passion in music. Stafford could be heard in a choir on the Montero song “Dead Right Now”. Not just his father but his brother CloudJay has also played a vital role in his musical career who is an emerging music producer. Nas explained, “It’s insane ’cause we were together for the first five months of me making music,” and then his brother had to join the military. Nas further added, “Boom, he leaves; two months later, I put out my first hit song.”
However, his parents were divorced when he was only 6 years old. Due to the split between his parents, Nas moved into the Bankhead Courts Housing Project back in 2005. He lived with his mother and grandmother for three years until he finally started living with his father in Austell, Georgia.
3. Nas X Loves Self-Help Books
Self-help books have helped a lot of people including the artists and Lil Nas X is one of them. He appreciates a good self-help book that can help to proceed in life and loves to read it. In an interview last year, Lil Nas X offered a long list of self-recovery books that he really loved reading. The list includes, “The Rose Effect: Eight Steps to Delivering the Performance of Your Life” by Keana Henson, “The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom’ by Don Ruiz, and lastly, the “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck” by Mark Manson.
4. Mushrooms of Creativity
Lil Nas X has been working hard with the producing partners Denzel Baptiste and David Biral for Montero during the pandemic. They have been making day trips in different Airbnbs and in an interview with the WSJ. Magazine, Nas revealed that he has tried psychedelic mushrooms for the first time. It helped him become bolder with his songwriting skills and creativity. He said, “I was able to open up a lot…I was able to write actual stories about my life and put it into my music. I actually did that for the first time.”
5. The Layered Origin Story of His Debut Album
If you remember the artwork from Montero, it was actually inspired by artist John Stephens’s computer-generated Genesis II. The rapper said that he first encountered the picture “in this guy who I was dating’s dorm room.”The title refers to a chapter in the Bible and the rapper read it. “I read it and it’s the final day of God making his work and he’s resting,” Nas said. According to him, it was fitting as he said, “That, for me, it’s like, ‘Okay, I’ve been making this album. I’ve been creating this. This is the final day and it’s out to the world.’” Who would have known that classics have this much influence in the modern world?
6. His Success Started with Memes on TikTok
When Lil Nas X first released Old Town Road back in December of 2018 he was only 20 years old and the popularity of this only one track helped him reach newer heights of success. He bought this song’s beat anonymously online, from a Dutch producer named YoungKio. You would be surprised to know that he bought the beat for only $30 and earned millions. Now that’s a great deal! The reason behind his unbridled success was not only the song but also the promotional strategy which was outrageously good. Instead of advertisements and promotions, the rapper utilized TikTok to create memes and share among the users. These memes quickly went viral and the song was buzzing through every listener. He created the #Yeehaw Challenge meme which quickly garnered a lot of attention from around the world.
7. A Proud and Openly Gay Rapper
June is the global Pride Month and there is no better time than this to come out. In June 2019, Lil Nas X came out as an openly gay proud person who first came out to his parents and then made the big announcement on Twitter. Making this fair bold move by the rapper well-received and appreciated by his fans and the media. He is the first openly gay black performer who received a CMA Award.
8. Lil Nas X is Perhaps Not So ‘Lil’
Lil Nas X once said that he noticed a bunch of other new rappers would add “Lil” to their stage names and he also wanted to do it because it seemed fun. The X was to help listeners distinguish and quickly recognize him. However, when it comes to height; Lil Nas X is not so ‘Lil’ or little after all. He performed at the Grammy Awards alongside rapper Nas and Nas is 5 feet 7 inches tall. Lil Nas X appeared to be much taller than him as in reality, he is more than 6 feet.
9. Advocacy and Efforts for HIV/AIDS Awareness
Despite being young and famous, Lil Nas X knows power comes with responsibility, and with the power of his fame and position in the music industry; he is putting a lot of effort into spreading more awareness regarding HIV/AIDS. He is good at speaking about the matters that are important to him and he efficiently did that in the 2021 MTV VMAs. During his performance with Jack Harlow, he brought a special guest on stage named Mardrequs Harris who works for the Southern AIDS Coalition. He was standing out in a black shirt with the number 433,816 printed on it in red at the back. It is the number of how many people are currently living with HIV in the American south. LNX had no obligation to bring Harris but he did it because such sensitive issues require more attention and awareness and he is all for it.
10. Cooking Panini with Ramsey to Modeling for Coach, He is Internet’s Most Influential
Starting from learning Panini from Gordon Ramsey to showing a stylistic muse for clothing and apparel brands like Coach, Wrangler, Crocs, and many others; Lil Nas proved that his creative aura is not just limited to music and entertainment but he has a personality to be a part of everything. Back in 2019, he became the Internet’s Most Influential person by the Time Magazine. He was also featured on Forbes’ Highest-Paid Country Acts in 2019 as well as Forbes 30 under 30 list the next year.
11. From Six Flags to Six Figures and Becoming a Millionaire
Before Lil Nas X became the famous music artist whom everybody loves and appreciates today, he used to supervise kids’ rides at the Theme Park. He told his father and stepmom that he was going to take some time off to focus on music and he really did that with all the savings he made from the Six Flags. And that is the beginning of his successful musical journey. He is currently one of the most talented music artists in the industry whose net worth is more than $9 million.
Stay tuned to find out more about LNX!
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