Lil Nas X: Small Town Kid to a Barrier-Breaking Superstar

In only a few short years, Lil Nas X has risen from an unknown internet personality to one of the world’s biggest music superstars, shattering records, boundaries, and barriers across the entertainment industry. His catchy, genre-bending songs and bold persona have catapulted the young artist into the pop culture stratosphere, accruing him millions of devoted fans.

Some Details About Lil Nas X

Early Life in Georgia

Montero Lamar Hill was born in Lithia Springs, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta, on April 9, 1999. He was named after the SUV Mitsubishi Montero. After his parents divorced when he was six, he lived with his mother and grandmother in Atlanta and his gospel singer father in Austell. Lil Nas X realised he was gay at 16 but hoped it was a phase. He disguised his sexuality from his family for years. When he was 19, the aspiring musician began writing and recording songs in his closet in 2018.

Journey to Viral Stardom

The journey towards meteoric stardom began innocuously enough in late 2018 wheSet featured imagen Lil Nas X purchased a country trap beat for $30 from Dutch producer YoungKio. He recorded his breakout smash hit “Old Town Road” at a small Atlanta studio using the beat that sampled Nine Inch Nails. Releasing the song independently in December 2018, Lil Nas X shrewdly started creating memes to promote the track across social media. Soon, “Old Town Road” exploded in popularity on TikTok’s video-sharing app, starting the viral #YeehawChallenge meme.

Controversy: Lil Nas X’s Record Triumph

Despite Billboard’s contentious removal of “Old Town Road” from its Hot Country Songs list for “not embracing enough elements of today’s country music”, it was a huge hit. Lil Nas X signed to Columbia Records in March 2019. Country music legend Billy Ray Cyrus remixed the breakthrough single in April. This drove the track’s success, setting the U.S. streaming record at over 143 million in one week. The longest-running number-one song in contemporary history, “Old Town Road”, topped the Billboard 100 for 19 weeks. To close Pride Month 2019, 20-year-old Lil Nas X came out as gay, cementing his position in music history. His groundbreaking success inspired LGBT musicians and fans in country and hip-hop, where he was still not fully embraced.

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Lil Nas X expanded his music after the success of “Old Town Road”. He launched his debut EP 7 with songs like “Panini”, “F9mily”, and “Rodeo”, which blended pop, rock, hip hop, and country. Lil Nas X worked hard remixing hits and designing for Wrangler. The teenage musician partnered with The Trevor Project to promote suicide prevention and LGBT rights, which helped his career. Lil Nas X released his highly awaited debut full-length album Montero in September 2021 after teasing fans with samples throughout 2020 and 2021. The album featured his mega-hits “Montero (Call Me by Your Name)” and “Industry Baby” and explored his stardom, self-identity, religion, and sexuality through pop, rap, and rock.

Net Worth Of Lil Nas X

Celebrity Net Worth and Forbes put Lil Nas’s net worth at $7–14 million. Nas makes most of his money from music, social media, endorsements, and merchandising.  Lil Nas’s music career has made him rich. According to Forbes, Old Town Road’s 19-week run on Billboard’s Hot 100 was the longest in history, earning Lil Nas $14 million pretax in 2019. Old Town Road alone has sold 18.4 million copies and downloads.

Apart from record sales, Lil Nas makes money touring and selling merchandise. After a bidding battle with Columbia Records, Lil Nas rejected Amuse’s $1 million offer to sign him. This means Columbia had to give more than $1 million, which would have helped Lil Nas earn more. Net Worth Spot puts Lil Nas X’s YouTube earnings at $6.2 million. He makes hundreds of thousands from royalties and Spotify, Apple, and Amazon Music streams. Besides album sales, Lil Nas is Spotify’s Most-Streamed Male Rapper with 47 million monthly listeners, surpassing DaBaby.

Conclusion

Lil Nas X has achieved unprecedented success and recognition in the music industry in just a few short years. With his catchy country-rap hits, record-setting #1 song “Old Town Road,” openly gay identity, and eclectic personal style, he has become an inspirational pop culture icon for millions worldwide. Though still in his early 20s, Lil Nas X has broken down barriers across music genres and cultures to blaze his trail. His ambitious creativity, bold persona, and tireless drive seem destined to keep catapulting him to new creative heights for years.

FAQs

Where is Lil Nas X from?

Nas was born in Lithia Springs, Georgia. He later split his childhood years living between Atlanta and the city’s northern suburbs.

What was the breakout hit song that brought Lil Nas X fame?

His claim to fame was the viral country-rap tune “Old Town Road” first released independently in late 2018. It exploded in popularity online the next year.

What record did his hit song “Old Town Road” set?

The mega-hit song broke records by remaining number one on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart for 19 weeks straight during 2019.

When did Lil Nas X decide to come out as gay publicly?

He came out openly in June 2019, coinciding with Pride Month celebrations, as his smash song continued its historic run, topping the music charts.

What significant awards and honours has Lil Nas X earned so far?

Despite his young age, Lil Nas X has already won two Grammy Awards and American Music Awards, MTV Video Music Awards, and Billboard Music Awards.