Lil Nas X Shares Hip-Hop Community's Response to His Coming Out

Lil Nas X
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The overnight hitmaker is sharing the positive feedback he's gotten since revealing his sexual identity.

Lil Nas X is discussing how the rap community reacted to his decision to reveal to his fans that he's gay.

The hip-hop artist covers the new issue of GQ Hype, the magazine's new digital-first brand, and in the paired interview, he readily admitted that he's overwhelmed at the idea of being of "having to be a voice" for the LGBTQ community. However, he also shared how his courage has been rewarded by hip-hop fans.

"Since I came out, people have been coming up to me saying, 'You're making a way for us,'" he proudly shared with the outlet.

Nas -- whose real name is Montero Lamar Hill -- also shared his staunch intent to be true to himself through his life and career, no matter what.

"Live your life to its fullest potential and don't really care too much about what other people think of you. I used to say that cliché, but I never really lived by it, until now," he said. 

At the end of June, Nas revealed his sexual identity by way of a tweet. He has since received some backlash from the hip-hop community over the revelation.

Elliot Morgan

Speaking with BBC Breakfast, he said he didn't "have anything to hide" and had "kind of revealed that I am gay."

"I used to be that person being negative," he said of the pushback he's received. "I'm not angry or anything, because I understand how they just want that reaction. So, I'm just going to joke back with them."

While talking with GQ Hype, the 20-year-old rapper also chatted about his hit single "Old Town Road," which has ruled the Billboard Hot 100 chart for a whopping 18 weeks.

"I'm happy it's become a part of so many people's lives. Kids are going to grow up with that song and play it to remember these times, which makes me feel amazing," he stated, adding that he recently heard about a fan wanted it played on the way to their funeral. "It was in the hearse with them, one last ride."

Nas largely credits viral culture for helping his genre-bending track find such a massive audience.

"It'd never have made it out there without the meme culture that embraced it," he said. Nas himself created countless videos and images to help promote the track long before labels came calling.

See more on the hitmaker below.

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