Lil Nas X has penned a letter to his 14-year-old self about coming out publicly.
To mark the release of the music video for his song ‘Montero (Call Me By Your Name)’, the ‘Old Town Road’ hitmaker – who came out publicly as gay in 2019 – has reflected on how “scary” it was coming out, but how important it was to “open doors for many other queer people to simply exist.”
The Grammy-winner – whose real name Montero Lamar Hill – wrote: “Dear 14-year-old Montero, I wrote a song with our name in it. It’s about a guy I met last summer. 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. You see this is very scary for me, people will be angry, they will say I’m pushing an agenda. But the truth is, I am. The agenda to make people stay the f*** out of other people’s lives and stop dictating who they should be. Sending you love from the future. -LNX.”
In the striking promo, which is full of references to Greek Mythology, the 21-year-old star shares a kiss with an alien and dances with the devil as he shares his “personal story of temptation, judgment, and standing in the full power of his sexuality”.
The rapper previously recalled how he didn’t tell anyone – including his managers and record label – about his sexuality and told his father first.
Speaking about his relationship with his parent, he said previously: “We have become closer. I mean, especially now because I don’t have anything to hide. It was a shock for him. It’s still the beginning phase. I’m not comfortable bringing a guy around yet.”
Last summer, Nas X shared a teaser clip of himself lip-syncing to ‘Montero (Call Me By Your Name’).
He simply wrote: “CALL ME BY YOUR NAME”, and added the telephone and love heart exclamation mark emojis.
The track also pays homage to the blockbuster ‘Call Me By Your Name’, in which Timothee Chalamet’s character Elio falls in love with Armie Hammer’s American graduate student alter ego Oliver when he comes to his family’s home in Italy to help him with his studies.
‘Montero (Call Me By Your Name)’ is out now.