Rapper Lil Nas X is gushing about his new relationship, revealing he met his boyfriend around the time of his performance on Saturday Night Live in May.
In a cover story interview with VMan magazine published on Thursday, the 22-year-old Grammy Award-winner called the relationship “effortless.”
“I feel like this is one of the best [relationships] yet,” he said. “I’m really happy about it, and it all just feels natural.”
This is the second interview in which Lil Nas X, whose real name is Montero Lamar Hill, spoke about his latest love.
In Variety‘s “2021 Power of Young Hollywood” issue, he said, “I’ve had some good boyfriends and some bad ones. A lot of them were emotionally unavailable or had a lot of insecurity and whatnot.”
“I’ve found someone special now,” he admitted. “I think this is the one. I can’t explain it — it’s just a feeling.”
Lil Nas X came out to the world during Pride Month of 2019. He told Variety the decision was challenging.
“That was a heavy month,” he admits. “I definitely knew that I would lose a lot of the fans that I was gaining, but I also knew that others would [be supportive]. And having that release helped me so much creatively — I probably wouldn’t even be here right now, talking about the things I’m talking about and being that voice for so many people. It’s so much more of a journey when there’s more to it than just making catchy songs, you know?”
He added that the coronavirus pandemic helped him find his voice as a pop star who happens to be gay.
“I think I spent all of the pandemic making music and crying — no in-betweens,” he said. “For the first month or so, I did not leave my house, and once I did, I was super overly critical of everything I was making. I was letting everything online get to me and feeling like things were over for me.”
Since his debut album, the pop star has become a master at creating online content and keeping his name in the media zeitgeist.
His single, “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),“ became an instant hit and has over 300 million views on YouTube. The song’s controversial video and subsequent merchandise — including a custom Nike shoe — sparked a backlash from conservatives and even a lawsuit by the shoe giant.
Lil Nas X told VMan that as an artist, he tells himself to “just write” down his ideas, saying if he changes his mind, then so be it — “Although,” he added, “I almost never change my mind.”
Of his smash song, he said, “Nobody can actually see what’s in your head. But it always comes out better than I expected. I’m learning to trust myself and my vision. I think the [‘Montero’] video was just the start.”
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