Lil Nas X - ‘MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)’

Montero Lamar Hill, or more commonly known as Lil Nas X, released his single ‘MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name),’ arriving with a lot of controversy. 

The 21 year-old ‘Old Town Road’ singer has made some drastic changes to his image after his last hit release back in 2019. The careless-country persona that Nas displayed a couple years ago has transformed into a new devilistic act.

The song itself is upbeat and Lil Nas’s voice compliments it nicely. He sings “was hoping I could catch you throwin’ smiles at my face,” which clearly hints to innocence and positivity; however, the music video pairing completely alters the true meaning of the song. 

After coming out as gay back in 2019, Lil Nas has been on a journey to be free, and the music video definitely represents how free he finally is. He mocks biblical references – shocking them as the gay black man that some people are so afraid of. He talks to the fearful teenage boy he once was, now embracing who he is as an adult.

The music video travels from the garden of Eden to the underworld, with various depictions of Lil Nas dressed up as different and wild biblical characters. He emphasizes that just because the bible reinforces sin those who are different, it is more important to embrace who you are.

The video ends with Lil Nas seducing the devil, eventually killing him and stealing his horns. Here, Nas is screaming that the bible told him to go to hell, so he ultimately takes control and rules hell himself.

Lil Nas X grew up in a community confined by religion, and he never felt truly accepted. In an interview he stated “I wanted to use these things that have been around for so long to tell my own story, and the story of so many other people in the community- or people who have been outcast in general through history.” 

 Lil Nas works so hard to embrace and inspire the LGBTQ community.

However, did his use of expression go too far? Lil Nas released his music on the eve of Holy week, which led to many negative connotations from people who worship religion. He also advertised a pair of sneakers that he created along with his release that display satanic symbols and claim to hold a drop of real human blood. These “Satan Shoes” have been discontinued after  Nike filed a lawsuit; the shoes showcased their branding but were not actually affiliated with Nike. 

I’m going to leave it up to you to interpret the video – is it expressing freedom or is it just plain disrespectful to religion? Check it out below.