If You’re Sleeping On Lil Nas X It’s Time To Wake All The Way Up
Some have been calling 2019 the year of Lil Nas X and yeah, they would be right. 'Old Town Road' has stayed at the top of the Billboard Top 100 for 13 straight weeks beating classic Drake slaps like 'In My Feelings' and 'God's plan' for the title. Kiki, do you even stream?
If you've been living under a rock and away from literally every radio station and Instagram meme then you don't know about this kid and his cowboy vibes. But if you do know, then you know. Here are just a few more things to know about him.
Country-Rap Wasn't Happening Before Him
When we all heard Billy Ray Cyrus hop on this track and harmonize with rapper Lil Nas X, we were all into it. It feels just as natural to bump this in the car as when you're on your way to your uncle's cookout in the country. Save a plate for ol' Bobby Ray.
Country-rap didn't always have this kind of staying power though. Musicians have tried and tried again to make the genre crossover work. Both country and rap, while their audiences are different, have a reputation as American pop culture's punching bag.
Nelly And Tim McGraw Tried To Sell The Collab Before Him
Lil Nas X was the first to make the underdog crossover work, but he wasn't the first to attempt it. In 2004, Nelly and Tim McGraw released the single 'Over & Over' that made it to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Not bad, but do you remember the track at all?
Nelly also hopped on Florida Georgia Line's 'Cruise' and similarly pushed it to #4. However, when Nelly tried to reinvent himself as a country star it flopped. It's a similar story for rapper turned country artist Bubba Sparxx whose 2003 album Deliverance failed.
He Was Cool During The Hurricane That Was The 'Old Town Road' Drama
As you may remember, the hit that made Lil Nas X famous originally debuted at no. 19 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart before Billboard slashed the track off, saying it didn't have enough 'elements of today's country music.' Right, that's the reason.
Anybody else would've popped off but Lil Nas X handled it like a gentleman. He told Genius lyrics that he 'was just happy to be on Billboard at all.' After he thought about the situation though he realized 'something wasn't right.' Lil Nas X has better media savvy than most CEO's.
He's A Gordon Ramsay Certified Panini Master
Before Lil Nas X dropped his debut Ep '7' (which you should listen to right now, just saying) he released a new song called 'Panini.' He says it's 'not about a sandwich' but named after a character from the Chowder cartoon. Um.
So it only makes sense that while he was in London he tweeted Gordon Ramsay to 'teach him how to make paninis while I'm still in London.' Gordon responded by asking Lil Nas X to 'name the day.' So they made paninis. Lil Nas X made his with a battleaxe. Paninis were consumed that day.
Lil Nas X Did A Surprise Performance At An Elementary School And It's The Purest Thing You'll See Today
Just in case you thought our down to Earth king was done making your heart smile, here's another wholesome fact to make your day. Lil Nas X performed a free concert at an elementary school in Ohio for the kids. He then threw stuffed animals into the crowd. It's okay to cry.
Kids are huge fans of 'Old Town Road.' The song has blown up and inspired the hugely popular Tik Tok 'yeehaw' challenge and multiple singalongs. In the video, you can hear the kids singing along to every word while they go buck-wild for Lil Nas X.
'Old Town Road' Inspired Tik Tok's 'Yeehaw Challenge' And It's A Confusing Cultural Moment
Sometimes you hop on Tik Tok expecting to see videos of people dancing to their favorite songs and other times you watch a 3-minute skit of someone drinking 'yeehaw' juice and slowly turn into a full-blooded cowboy while listening to 'Old Town Road.' It's typical, it's normal, it's Tik Tok.
Fans of 'Old Town Road' have taken their own spin on the popular challenge and have used live chickens and alpacas, green screens, and all sorts of cowboy finery to complete the transformation. Lil Nas X is out here inspiring wholesome memes.
Lil Nas X And Billy Eilish Are Friendos And That's All You Need To Know
Some friendships are too pure and holy for this world. Peanut butter and jelly, Wayne and Garth, black jeans with holes at the knees are just a few that come to mind. But Lil Nas X and Billy Eilish? Together they're everything.
This is a powerful photo right here. Two young musicians out here doing what nobody's done at their level before and killing the game. They're sitting on a couch like friends at a sleepover. They're also wearing matching white sneakers. You've been officially revived by this photo.
The Way He Came Out As Gay Was Amazing
When he announced he was gay through his song 'C7osure' off of his ep '7', Lil Nas X thought he was genuinely making it crystal clear what his sexual preferences were. Genuinely. He tweeted photos of the rainbow album art and said he 'thought I made it obvious.'
After that legendary coming out, Lil Nas X responded to the homophobia he received by saying the next person to say 'something offensive to me getting kissed.' If that ain't it, I don't know what is. He just can't do anything that's not legendary.
He Done Did This
Our cultured king is out here living his best Instagram vacation life in Paris dressing the part in his cute beret and getting selfies with the big metal triangle thing they have there. Not featured is the baguette we all know he definitely ate.
Lil Nas X tweets this with the caption 'me & the mona lisa.' Haha Lil Nas X you're such a jokester. You don't have to drag the joke on though, we all know that's the Arc de Triomphe you silly rascal.
He Was Sleeping On His Brother's Floor Before He Took Off
Another thing to know about Lil Nas X is that he's a humble king. He was only 20 when 'Old Town Road' blew up but before that, he was a college dropout sleeping on his siblings' floors pursuing his dream.
Lil Nas X says that 'right before the song came out, I was at my brother's house, after leaving my sister's house, just, you know, staying up all night trying to push songs on the internet. Just back-to-back headaches, sleeping on the floor.' Lil Nas X you deserve that Caspar mattress now baby.
His First Musical Instrument Was A Trumpet
Lil Nas X didn't start off making the 'hick hop' that he's now known for. Instead, he was a band kid like the rest of us. But cooler probably. So much cooler.
Lil Nas X got his musical beginnings playing the trumpet in the 4th grade and was in the highly honored 1st chair position by the time he was in junior high. He quit by high school because he was afraid of being bullied for his love of music. Let Lil Nas X's story teach you to protect our young musicians at all costs.
He Might Have Ran A Popular Nicki Minaj Twitter Fan Account
Listen Lil Nas X, nobody is saying you did it, but it would be a lot cooler if you did. He denies his involvement in the fan page empire, but rumor has it Lil Nas X created and ran the 'NasMaraj' and 'FactsAboutNM' fan pages.
He reportedly ran these two accounts because he had an abundance of unfulfilled creative energy in high school and the desire to build an internet personality. He did just that. The two pages were immensely popular for their flash-fiction style scenario threads. All bow down to the *alleged* meme lord.
He's Inspired By Nine Inch Nails And Nirvana
On the first listen you might not see the connection, but once you notice it, it's the only thing you'll be able to hear. Our country-rap king also dabbles in the punk and rock scene and nobody should be surprised because he's just that talented.
Lil Nas X has said that parts of his song 'Panini' 'interpolates parts of Nirvana's 'In Bloom" and Kurt Cobain is credited as a co-writer on the track. Lil Nas X also jumps into rock territory with 'Old Town Road' since it was built from a sample of Nine Inch Nails' '34 Ghosts IV.'
Lil Nas X Is Sick And Tired Of Climate Change
Lil Nas X has spoken out about how he feels about this planet getting warm and it is not good. Lil Nas X has said no more and no thank you to global warming and that's all the reason you need to start reducing your carbon footprint.
Haters will say that this is just a silly tweet and not real action but you should disagree. Lil Nas X has a huge voice and influence with the younger generation - and the more they know the better.
His Manager Bought Him A Panini Maker To Celebrate
To celebrate his new album '7' coming out, Lil Nas X said his tour manager bought him a new Cusininart panini maker. Just like a parent giving their college student a weird household appliance, Lil Nas X is now the proud owner of an appliance he might never use. At least it's not a snowcone machine.
What's even funnier is that Avril Lavigne commented on this post completely out of the blue saying that she 'just got this EXACT one. Ha. Amazing.' Yes, amazing indeed Avril, I mean Melissa.
He Annoys His Dogs By Dancing With Them Just Like Us
We didn't think it as possible, but Lil Nas X has just become even more relatable. Seriously, this video will short out your cuteness sensors and make your heart smile a lot.
Dancing with your dog in your kitchen is a right of passage for anyone alive today. The dog always seems to hate it or at least feel no certain way about the ordeal. Lil Nas X captioned the photo saying he thinks his dog is 'tired of' him because of this. I'm sure he'll turn around.
BBC Camera Shots Cannot Stop Him
This fumble just proves how cool this guy is that he's willing to laugh at himself and post the blunder all over Twitter and Instagram. He's a relatable non-breakfast-television-frequenter like the rest of us. The camera was in front of a freaking coffee table. How was he supposed to know?
The best part of this video is seeing how distraught the BBC hosts faces were and that he casually did it again on accident. Never change Lil Nas X, not even for ridiculous camera angles.
Mike Tyson Doesn't Stand A Chance
Lil Nas X stepped into his troll boots again to deliver one heck of a challenge to the one and only 'Iron' Mike Tyson to a fight in the ring. Judging by how much of a beefcake Lil Nas X is looking like in this photo, Tyson had better throw in the towel now.
There's literally no reason he's doing this except to troll around and be ridiculous. 'Tieson' is mulling this challenge over since he commented on the photo with a series of thinking emojis, and Dennis Rodman even offered to train Lil Nas X. This is real and it's spectacular.
Even Lil Nas X Makes Ridiculous Purchases Like Us
We've all done the Amazon sprint in the middle of the night where we fill out carts and then forget about what we ordered until it shows up the next day. Sometimes it's a new mop and sometimes it's a giant automated Thanos glove from Avengers End Game.
Lil Nas X definitely knows this struggle. Actually, it's not even a struggle. This is a complete flex and we're all here for it. The only explanation we're given is that he's 'childish.'
He's Got Wild Stuffed Animals Just Like Us
We've all turned around at some point in our homes because we go the feeling eyes were following us across the room. It was usually the cabbage patch kid you had when you were 8 though. That thing was so weird.
Looks like Lil Nas X has the same problem as all of us because his Elmo has come to life a little. Except maybe his is less creepy and more hype-beast. The rapper captions the photo 'the bro Elmo posted,' and yeah, Elmo's posted up here outside a party waiting for his connection to come through.
