HAPPY MF PRIDE YA'LL!!! I thought it was only befitting to show love and appreciation to the young, black, queer icon, Lil Nas X. Now, I know the black community fake love black queers so I'm not interested in knowing if you are a fan of Lil Nas X or not tbh, if you are a true music connoisseur you can always respect the work ethic of an artist over anything. What I really want to highlight is how a 19 year old blew up off of hope and a $30 beat. Talk about breaking generational curses man. For the past few years black wealth has been on the rise and while the racial wealth gap is still very much lacking black presence, the percentage of our black artists obtaining and maintaining millionaire status is inspiring.
This documentary was so beautiful. I loved getting to see Lil Nas X in his element, as an artist, a son, brother, uncle but most importantly as a free, black queer man. Black people in all spaces deserve this kind of love, joy and freedom that seemed to exude from his life in this documentary. The tears wouldn't stop flowing, I felt so proud and happy for Lil Nas X, his journey of self discovery through life and music was really beautiful to see especially for someone his age, now 24.
Within the documentary he addresses the negative press, regarding his sexuality and the "satanic imagery." He even states how at times he questions if he is a bad person and if he's doing the right things or not. He expressed wanting to be this toned down gay artist at first. However, Lil Nas X is not the first black, gay artist nor is he the first male artist to show feminine attributes. Within the documentary Lil Nas X referenced Little Richard as an old school artist he resonated with. As a child, I too loved Little Richard. He came off so fearless and authentic. Within history, I have always been drawn to those who went against societal norms; the rebel I guess you could say. No matter how much we shout the importance of individuality, it is interesting to see how we continue to treat our black, queer artists like pariahs instead of the unique individuals they are. The trendsetters, innovators and in many cases originators.
Within the documentary Lil Nas X highlighted Christians who protested against his concert in almost every city he went to. It was hard to gauge his true feelings towards it all visually, if you know what I mean. However, he said something interesting, he said, he thought it was cool that they could all be apart of something they felt strongly about and feel like they are truly making a difference in the world. I really love black people man, even through our tribulations we still manage to give grace and find the bright side in things, in people. In my opinion, I feel like Lil Nas X is making a difference. There have been so many black queer icons in which who have had to hide their queerness due to the fear of harm coming to them or not being accepted as a whole; artists we admire such as James Baldwin, Langston Hughes and Luther Vandross, all hid their sexuality in order to survive in this world.
This documentary only further proved how unique, inspiring and strong Lil Nas X truly is, it also showed the black family in a beautiful and real way. I highly recommend checking this documentary out for yourself, even if you aren't a fan, I look forward to more of what he has to offer the world and If interested, you can check out the documentary on HBO!
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