Lil Nas X gave birth to his album, “Montero” at 12 a.m. on Sept. 17. It is his long-awaited album, coming with much anticipation and hype surrounding the 22-year-old artist.
His breakout single, “Old Town Road,” took the music industry by storm. Some people have called him a one-hit wonder. He even referenced the hate that he heard in his song with Elton John on the album, “One Of Me,” “Word on the block is you fell off and I’m just sayin’. If it ain’t Old Town Road, Lil Nas, you ain’t playin.”
The first song on the album is one that was previously released, being “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” which received a lot of attention for the music video in which he has sexual relations with the devil. This was a great opener for his album because he wrote the song to his younger self who had not yet come out as gay.
Lil Nas X showcases not only his talent with this indie pop, but also his emo and grunge side. This can be seen in “Dead Right Now,” in which he details the lows of his life. In this song, he recaps his journey to the moment he released his debut album and how all of his fame almost didn’t happen. “If I didn’t blow up, I would’ve died tryna be here/If it didn’t go, suicide, wouldn’t be here,” he sings. He continues on with how he struggled mentally and with his music, “2018, I was in my sister’s house the whole summer. Songs wasn’t doing numbers; whole life was going under.” I think these are very moving for Lil Nas X to open up on his depression.
He highlights how he sees the light at the end of the tunnel and how his hope is not misplaced. In the song, “Sun Goes Down,” he sings, “And I’m happy by the way. That I made that jump, that leap of faith. I’m happy that it all worked out for me. Imma make my fans so proud of me.” Also, in “Don’t Want It,” he sings, “Tell the reaper he don’t want it, he don’t want it, oh. I know everything’s gonna be alright.” These are special to me because he details how despite the lows he’s been through he remains hopeful and happy.
The album ends with another feature that just makes sense: Lil Nas X calls on Billy Ray Cyrus’s daughter, Miley, to feature on his last song of the album, creating an important addition because Billy Ray featured on Lil Nas X’s first hit song “Old Town Road.” The two of them, Miley and Lil Nas X, being some of the biggest pop stars to embrace who they are and finding themselves after stardom. They sing, “As I’m singing, I rewrite my story. Oh, never forget me. And everything I’ve done. Oh, never forget me.” In my opinion, this was a fitting piece at the end of the album. The song was a little bit more slow-paced, but was sharing his important message to his fans and all who were listening.
Overall, the album was full of tracks that were catchy, but with meaning and that could also be a push for others to be confident in being themselves no matter what. I often found myself nodding my head up and down to every song that came on. Listening to his words, I could vividly imagine the trials and tribulations he went through on his way to stardom. There were many songs that described what someone with depression goes through, but also how to get out of that hole. This is a very upbeat album, with lyrical genius behind it that everyone should listen to.
