Rapper Lil Nas X, best known for his viral rap-country hit 鈥淥ld Town Road,鈥� has come out of the closet.
The rapper, whose real name is Montero Lamar Hill, publicly came out Sunday in a .
鈥淪ome of y鈥檃ll already know, some of y鈥檃ll don鈥檛 care, some of y鈥檃ll not gone fwm no more. but before this month end i want y鈥檃ll to listen closely to c7osure,鈥� he tweeted on, alluding to a song from his debut EP, 鈥�7EP.鈥� He also attached a rainbow emoji.
In the song, the rapper doesn鈥檛 explicitly say that he is gay. But he does allude to feeling of wanting to 鈥渓et go鈥� and 鈥渂e free.鈥�
鈥淎in鈥檛 no more actin鈥�, 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鈥檛 be regrettin鈥� when I鈥檓 old,鈥� he raps.
Lil Nas X followed up with a that zeroes in on a tower lit up in the colour of the rainbow.
鈥淒eadass thought i made it obvious,鈥� he tweeted.
The rapper鈥檚 announcement coincided with the last day of Pride month as thousands of revellers in New York City marched in the streets to mark the 50th year anniversary since the Stonewall riots.
The announcement is major news for the rap and hip hop industry, where few musical artists have come out as gay or bisexual. Frank Ocean made headlines back in 2012 when he revealed in that his first love was a man.
Lil Nas X was relatively unknown before he dropped 鈥淥ld Town Road,鈥� a track he recorded earlier this year with Billy Ray Cyrus. The song, which fuses elements of country and rap, became an overnight sensation and shot to the top of the U.S. charts.
The song also launched debates about race and country music after Billboard ejected the song from country charts, saying it didn鈥檛 fit within the genre. The move prompted backlash, with critics saying that Billboard made the decision because Lil Nas X is black. Billboard denied those allegations.
