Lil' Nas X - "Old Town Road"
Normally during PRIDE month (June) I do my best to post only or mainly LGBTQIA+ Artists. In light of the civil unrest around the nation and the injustices that have been forced upon the Black Community through years of enslavement, systemic racism, widespread oppression, and a set of generational socioeconomic traps, I thought this year it would be important to spotlight just how many QUEER BLACK ARTISTS changed and shaped the world through music, arts, culture, and activism.
So this June I will spotlight all Queer Black Artists to show you one more way in which we should be grateful for to the Queer Black Community and how without them we would not have the world or nation that we love so much. We should be grateful and proud.
BLACK LIVES MATTER + PRIDE (LGTBQIA+ Allies)
From a meme connoisseur to a Grammy-nominated paradigm, Lil Nas X fiercely became an internationally recognized phenomenon. With the Billy Ray Cyrus-featuring remix of his "Old Town Road," Lil Nas X climbed the charts with relentless speed. "Road" broke an abundance of records, notably becoming the longest running No. 1 in Hot 100 history (a record previously held by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men's "One Sweet Day," recently equaled by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee's "Despacito"). With a 2020 Grammy nomination for album of the year, Lil Nas X's 2020s are looking bright as well.
Montero Lamar Hill (born April 9, 1999), known as Lil Nas X (/nɑːz/ NAHZ), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He came to international attention for his country rap single "Old Town Road", which first achieved viral popularity on the micro-platform video sharing app TikTok in early 2019, and was diamond certified by November the same year. The song reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, following the first of several remixes, and remained at the top for nineteen weeks, the longest for any song since the chart debuted in 1958. Nas X also came out as gay, becoming the only artist to do so while having a number-one record. "Old Town Road" earned him two MTV Video Music Awards including Song of the Year; the American Music Award for Favorite Rap/Hip Hop Song; and Nas X is the only openly LGBTQ artist to win a Country Music Association award. He won two Grammy Awards, for Best Music Video and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, along with being nominated for a total of six, the most for any male artist in 2019 , Time named Nas X one of the 25 most influential people on the Internet in 2019. Nas X was also named by Forbes on their 2020 30 under 30 list.
His debut EP, 7, was released in June 2019 with its second single, "Panini", peaking at number five on the Hot 100 and three on Rolling Stone's Top 100. Its third single, "Rodeo", also proved successful on the charts. As of September 2019, his songs have been streamed over 2.3 billion times
So today, blazing trails down old roads I choose Lil’ Nas X’s “Old Town Road” as my, be the brightest version of you, show them just how bold you can be, dare them to tell you otherwise, song for a, rise up, break out, burn them down, Thursday.