As the beginning of July marks the end of Pride Month, Lil Nas X took the opportunity on the last day to come out himself.
The rapper announced the news on Twitter, pointing to the lyrics of his track C7osure from his recent 7 EP, and throwing in a rainbow emoji.
Posting online, he wrote: ‘some of y’all already know, some of y’all don’t care, some of y’all not gone fwm no more. but before this month ends i want y’all to listen closely to c7osure.’
For those who haven’t got the lyrics off by heart just yet, the track begins: ‘True say, I want and I need to let go, use my time to be free.’
Lil Nas X continues:
Ain’t no more actin’, man that forecast say I should just let me grow / No more red light for me baby, only green, I gotta go / Pack my past up in the back, oh, let my future take ahold / This is what I gotta do, can’t be regrettin’ when I’m old.
The rapper also pointed to the artwork on the cover of the EP, saying: ‘deadass thought i made it obvious’, and zooming in on a skyscraper lit up with the colours of the rainbow.
While they’re not the most explicit lyrics ever heard, it’s easy to see how Lil Nas X is using the song to address something he has wanted to tell people for a while.
The song continues: ‘Brand new places I’ll choose and I’ll go, I know / Embracin’ this news I behold unfolding / I know, I know, I know it don’t feel like it’s time / But I look back at this moment, I’ll see that I’m fine.’
Naturally, the rapper’s fans were wholly supportive, saying: ‘We knew, you good,’ ‘We love you,’ and ‘Makes absolutely 0 difference, do your thang!! If you happy, that’s all that matters,’ among thousands of other messages.
Lil Nas X’s track Old Town Road has been number one in the US since April, holding off two new songs from Taylor Swift, and breaking streaming records previously held by Drake, in the process.
His EP, 7, debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 this week, just behind the new LP from Jack White’s band The Raconteurs, according to Pitchfork.
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.