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Lil Nas X graced the cover of Variety's special 'Power of Young Hollywood' issue. While chatting with the outlet for his wide-ranging cover story, the 'Montero' rapper opened up about coming out, his love life, and what the future holds for him.
"I was 18, I believe,” Nas says of meeting first "real" boyfriend. “Before that, there was a guy who wasn’t my boyfriend, but we met in middle school and we talked, after we both found out that each other were gay. But I didn’t act on anything until high school — well, middle school, but then high school.”
He went on to reflect on having had "some good boyfriends and some bad ones" over the years. "A lot of them were emotionally unavailable or had a lot of insecurity and whatnot," he added.
Nas also confirmed for the first time that he's currently in a relationship—and it's getting serious. “I’ve found someone special now,” he revealed. “I think this is the one. I can’t explain it — it’s just a feeling.”
The 22-year-old rapper also opened up about what it's really like to be out in the rap music industry. “Honestly, I believe the pandemic helped me get out of the idea of trying to please everybody, and the idea of ‘He’s a cool gay person; he’s an acceptable gay person,’” he explained. “I used to see things like that as a compliment, but it’s not. It just means you’re a people pleaser, and they never become legends. I wanted to be even more authentic in my music and let people into my life. I’m much more confident now — in my music, myself, my sexuality, the things that I believe that I stand for.”
Nas first came out during Pride Month back in 2019. “That was a heavy month,” he said of that time. “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?”
As for what the future holds for Nas? “I see myself as a self-made-legend kind of situation, icon — all the great words to describe someone,” he declared.