Lil Nas X explains why he felt it was his 'duty' to come out during height of his 'Old Town Road' fame

By Megan Stone

Lil Nas X burst onto the scene in 2019 with his smash-hit "Old Town Road," which spent a historic 19 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was nominated for three Grammy Awards.

That June, the rapper revealed he was gay. Speaking to XXL, the 22-year-old explained why he decided to come out during such a pivotal moment in his career.

"I honestly felt like it was kind of my duty ... Especially if I wanted to move forward," he said, admitting that he once thought he'd never come out. "And what I was doing, because authenticity is very real, and I feel like people can see right through that. And that’s a part of me."

Lil Nas X said he also worried how people would judge him after he came out, adding, "For me, I felt like [my insecurity with my sexuality] was my fear of people judging me for how I would act post-coming out."

"I used to ‘like’ comments where people were like, ‘Oh, I like him, because he’s not all in your face about it.’ And then I realized kind of what that was," he continued. "It’s kind of like when people say, ‘Oh, I have a Black friend,’ and that kind of sits on everything that have to do with their Black history and culture, whatnot. I’m kind of like, I'm not that person, you know?”

Noting how the hip-hop community has treated him since revealing his sexuality, he admitted, "Honestly, I don’t feel as respected in hip-hop or many music places in general."

"But these are communities that I am a part of, whether people would like it or not," he continued. "This is something that I wanted to do because, not that my entire album is rap, but there are rap tracks on my album. I am a rapper. I am a pop star. I am a gay artist, I belong in these places, you know?"

Lil Nas X has spoken previously about his feelings on finding a place for himself in the rap community.

In an interview with Out magazine, released in August, he described that trying to fit in in the genre can sometimes be "really draining."

"The pressure of living your entire life knowing the identity of what a rapper is supposed to be, what rappers [are supposed to] do, and going out there in front of all these people, it’s terrifying," he told the outlet.