Lil Nas X at the Tom Ford AW20 Show at Milk Studios on February 7, 2020. (Mike Coppola/FilmMagic/Getty)
Lil Nas X has described how the bravery of artists like Frank Ocean and Tyler, the Creator “made it easier” for him to come out.
The “Old Town Road” singer, who came out as gay in July 2019, said in an Apple Music interview with Zane Lowe: “I think artists like Frank in general and, like, Tyler and whatever, they made it easier for me to be where I am, comfortably.”
He added that “Provider”, Ocean’s 2017 single, was “a very special song to me during this relationship I was in”, and added: “So yeah, go Frank, he’s amazing.”
Reflecting on coming out, Lil Nas X said: “I was just getting signs, ‘OK. It’s time we do this thing.’
“Because it’s like I’m already moving forward and I’m becoming more free with everything I do, so let’s take this to the next level and do this.
“Because I mean, it was either going to be that or what? Pretend this for the rest of my entire life?”
He added that his coming out was important not only for him, but also for those who come after him in the music industry.
He said: “Being one of those people that was like, ‘OK, I want to make room for you now.’ So everybody who’s coming behind me, ‘OK. This is going to be cool. It’s going to work out fine.’”
He continued: “That’s another reason why I knew that I had to do it. Because the day before I was like, ‘Damn, should I really do this? Is this what…’ And I’m like, ‘No, this is definitely what I should do.’
“Especially given my platform, where I am, the communities that I stand in between. It’s like little s**t like this shouldn’t be a problem.”
The artist came out in a series of cryptic tweets on World Pride Day 2019, and later confirmed that he identifies as gay during an interview with BBC Breakfast on 5 July.