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Lil Nas X thinks it is “dangerous” for him to speak about homophobia within rap.
The ‘Montero (Call Me By Your Name)’ hitmaker is one of very few openly LGBTQ artists working within the genre and he admitted he has to be careful about criticising others for anti-gay remarks – including DaBaby, who was recently embroiled in a scandal over remarks he made on stage at Rolling Loud Miami – because he’s concerned about his safety.
Asked about such comments, he told Variety: “The honest truth is, I don’t want to speak on a lot of the homophobia within rap because I feel like this is a very dangerous playing field. It’s more for my own safety rather than anything else.”
And pressed as to whether the comments made him feel unsafe, the 22-year-old star said “absolutely” and admitted he’s had to hire security because of a backlash to his ‘Montero’ video.
He said: “[There was] literally someone who chased my car a few days after that video came out, yelling, ‘F*** you!’ or something. And that’s when I actually started getting security.”
The ‘Industry Baby’ singer – whose real name is Montero Lamar Hill – had a crisis of confidence during lockdown but is in a much better place now and has vowed to be “even more authentic” than ever.
He said: “Honestly, I believe the pandemic helped me get out of the idea of trying to please everybody, and the idea of ‘He’s a cool gay person; he’s an acceptable gay person.
“I used to see things like that as a compliment, but it’s not. It just means you’re a people pleaser, and they never become legends. I wanted to be even more authentic in my music and let people into my life. I’m much more confident now — in my music, myself, my sexuality, the things that I believe that I stand for.”
