Save the penance for Sunday because today we're going to Montero, baby. In the wee hours of Friday morning, Lil Nas X released the video for his long-anticipated single "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)." The catchy hit sees the young rapper at the crossroads of hip hop and sexuality like few have attempted before. The track and its accompanying CGI-heavy video are unapologetically queer, doused in the equal parts angelic fluff and demonic eroticism, and drawing the opinions of just about everyone online.
In the video, Lil Nas X, who was born Montero Lamar Hill, finds himself an object of desire of an alien-snake hybrid in a Garden of Eden-type situation. Pulled in by the tempter, he stands on trial before a coliseum of protesters before being damned to hell by way of a pole dance which he says made him bleed on set.
Once there, he seduces Satan himself and the two of them have a grand old time before our hero murders (!) him and steals his horns. A Genesis to Revelation narrative, if we've ever seen one. The lyrics are equally spicy, with Lil Nas X getting to the point, real quick:
You live in the dark, boy, I cannot pretend
I'm not phased, only here to sin
If Eve ain't in your garden, you know that you can
What makes the video impactful beyond the narrative is the note that the rapper posted on Twitter soon after the video's release. In a short letter to his 14-year-old self, the singer writes: "You see this is very scary for me, people will be angry, they will say I'm pushing an agenda. But the truth is, I am. The agenda to make people stay the fuck out of other people's lives and stop dictating who they should be."
The video is rife with Biblical and classical references, but full of symbology though it may be, the message is very clear: That Lil Nas X guy who came out with "Old Town Road" is Queer as Fuck. The man literally went to hell to grind on the devil in thigh high boots. There is not a huge amount of nuance here. And you can damn him if you want and you can cast judgment, but he's going to go to hell and steal the crown from the very entity you're threatening him with. Lil Nas X is getting laid in hell before he snatches that crown. If that's religion, so be it. If it's hip hop's history of homophobia, fine. But long story short, Lil Nas X is going to release this banger about queer sex. He's going to wreak havoc on the music industry's expectations. And it's going to be set to the beat of a certified bop.
Naturally, the video has drawn the ire of those on the conservative side of things with "Montero" becoming today's target practice for why America is on the downslide. But for those with even a cursory knowledge of the rapper, they know that if you want to come for Lil Nas X, you better not miss and you better be ready for the return. I mean, if you watched the video, you should know what comes next.
Best of luck to his detractors. They'll need it.
