Elton John has heaped praise on his friend and collaborator Lil Nas X. (Getty)
Elton John has heaped praise on his “intelligent” friend and collaborator Lil Nas X for coming out in a “homophobic area of the music community”.
During an appearance on Capital FM, John was asked what it was like working with Lil Nas X, the trailblazing rapper who has dominated the world with his addictive, subversive songs.
“Well, I loved him anyway when he did ‘Old Town Road’ and he came out,” John said. “This is very unusual for a Black hip-hop artist to come out in a very homophobic area of the music community.”
John went on to praise Lil Nas X as “very intelligent” and “stoic”, adding that his videos are “outrageous and brilliant”.
“I got to meet him at the iHeartRadio awards in LA. We just did an advertising campaign in America which was very funny. So we’ve become quite close, and I just love what he does.
“I like hip-hop music with rapping and vocal chords and he just does that so brilliantly.
🥺🥺🥺 “fate brought us together” 🥺🥺🥺 @eltonofficial @LilNasX pic.twitter.com/HcAfqpVDFR
— Capital (@CapitalOfficial) September 24, 2021
“I admired him from afar and then fate brought us together. I think being two gay men in the business – one white, one Black – and he’s got a great sense of humour which you can tell by watching his videos.
“We just hit it off straight away.”
Elton John and Lil Nas X tried on each other’s clothes in a hilarious advert
John’s comments come just after the pair collaborated on the song “One of Me”, which was released on Lil Nas X’s debut album Montero.
The pair first met at the iHeartRadio Awards in Los Angeles in May. They later worked together on an instantly iconic advertising campaign for Uber Eats, which saw them trying on each other’s most famous looks.
They appeared to hit it off behind the scenes too. Lil Nas X released behind the scenes footage on social media which showed them having the time of their lives, while John heaped praise on Lil Nas in a statement issued through Uber Eats.
In that statement, John described Lil Nas as “one of the most influential voices in pop culture”, adding that working together had been “a blast”.