Lil Nas X Believes Conservatives Would ‘Kill’ Him Over Past Music

Lil Nas X is no stranger to creating controversy with his music and art.

In 2021, the singer, who rose to fame with his viral hit “Old Town Road,” sparked controversy after releasing a pair of Nike Air Maxes called “Satan Shoes,” which also featured a drop of human blood.

Years later, other religious zealots fired back at the performer for his 2024 single “J CHRIST” — a song that features a lyric likening himself to Jesus Christ.

Today, however, Lil Nas X is done trying to make waves by way of his music. In fact, he opened up about today’s political climate during a recent interview and revealed that if he tried to test the boundaries the way he did in the past, conservatives would likely try and “kill” him.

During his interview with Paper, Lil Nas X reflected on the previous controversies his music and art caused. In addition to the instances mentioned above, another song from the Georgia native, whose real name is Montero Lamar Hill, that rubbed people the wrong way is his popular 2021 single “Call Me By Your Name.”

In the video, the singer clearly incorporates religious messaging, like the Garden of Eden and Satan.

About his past work, Lil Nas X admitted the world was “shifting” at the time. “Even right now, [there’s] everything with the young males being taught these super conservative ways,” he said.

Lil Nas X continued, acknowledging that today’s political climate has grown increasingly toxic since the last election cycle. According to him, there’s no way he could make the same sort of moves today as he did when he first stepped onto the scene.

“[If I did that today,] they’d actually try to kill me, like I’m not kidding,” he said.

In 2021, Lil Nas X dealt with a wave of homophobic behavior from the hip-hop artist Boosie Badazz. After going back and forth with each other online, Boosie shared a post to X, formerly Twitter, that many agreed took it too far.

When Lil Nas X joked that he would be collaborating on a song with the rapper, Boosie wished death upon the singer before calling him a “fa-ot.”

“STOP TROLLING ME, F—T LOL!” he wrote in a since-deleted post. “IF YOU #COMMITSUICIDE YOU WOULD DO THIS WORLD A HUGE FAVOR. NOBODY WANTS U HERE.”

Rapper T.I. is another hip-hop artist who seemed to take an issue with Lil Nas X and how he expressed himself through his art.

After a homophobic rant from DaBaby, in which he shamed people with “HIV [and] AIDS” and men “sucking d-ck” went viral, T.I. defended the “Levitating” artist while shading Lil Nas in the process.

“If Lil Nas X can kick his shit in peace… so should DaBaby [shrug emoji],” T.I. wrote in a comment on one of DaBaby’s videos. “#Equality.”

Lil Nas X’s new project, “Days Before Dreamboy,” is available to stream on music platforms today. It features the songs “Need Dat Boy,” “Hotbox,” and “Lean on My Body.”

Although he’s used to making waves with his music in the past, during this era, Lil Nas X said he wants to be “carefree.”

In a previous interview, Lil Nas X reflected on the way he’s released his music before and said he’s ready to switch things up for a change of pace.

“It’s gonna be fun. I’ve always been the girl to rile everybody up. I don’t want to do that this time. I want to have fun,” he admitted.

Another song from the “Panni” singer that would’ve gotten everybody talking is the one he was supposed to record with Taylor Swift. However, it never came to be because the “Industry Baby” singer couldn’t “catch a vibe for it.”

Despite that, though, Lil Nas admitted he’s a massive fan of Swift and thanked her for even considering him to be on one of her tracks.

He teased that when their collab does come to fruition, the music industry should be prepared for “global” domination.

“Tay-tay and Nassy,” he joked.