MONTERO
Lil Nas X is nothing if not a testament to the power of being true to yourself. His breakthrough single, “Old Town Road,” forced the industry to revisit old conversations about the limitations of genre, race, and who is kept out (or locked in) by the definitions we use to talk about music. The Georgia-born singer-rapper responded in kind with a remix and remixes to that remix that rocketed him up the charts and simultaneously highlighted the fickleness of the entire endeavor—did Billy Ray Cyrus suddenly prove his country bona fides any more than the addition of Young Thug proved his trap ones or Diplo his electronic? But that\'s the magic of Lil Nas X and of his debut album *MONTERO*: He knows that pop music is whatever the artist creating it wants it to be, an exercise of vulnerable imagination packaged as unyielding, larger-than-life confidence. “I feel like with this album, I know what I wanted,” he tells Apple Music\'s Zane Lowe. “I know what I want. I know where I want to be in life. And I know that\'s going to take me being more open and bringing it out of myself no matter how much it hurts or feels uncomfortable to say things that I need to say.” But any such ambivalence doesn\'t explicitly manifest in the songs here, as Lil Nas X roams his interior spaces as openly as he does assorted styles—which span everything from emo and grunge to indie pop and pop punk. On “DEAD RIGHT NOW,” a thunderous track complete with choral flourishes, he recaps the journey to this moment, how it almost didn\'t happen, and the ways his personal relationships have changed since. “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, adding, “Now they all come around like they been here/When you get this rich and famous everybody come up to you singing, \'Hallelujah, how’d you do it?\'” All throughout—on songs like “SUN GOES DOWN” or “DONT WANT IT”—the weight of his burdens exists in contrast to the levity of his sound, a particular kind of Black and queer disposition that insists on a joy that is far more profound than any pain. And make no mistake, there is plenty of joy here. On “SCOOP,” he finds an effervescent kindred spirit in Doja Cat, while “DOLLA SIGN SLIME,” which features Megan Thee Stallion, is a trapped-out victory lap. Elsewhere, the dark riffs on the outstanding “LIFE AFTER SALEM” bring him to new creative lands altogether. The album brims with surprises that continuously reveal him anew, offering a peek into the mind of an artist who is unafraid of himself or his impulses, even with the knowledge that he\'s still a work in progress. “Don\'t look at me as this perfect hero who\'s not going to make mistakes and should be the voice for everybody,” he says. “You\'re the voice for you.” And to that effect, *MONTERO* is a staggering triumph that suggests not just who Lil Nas X is but the infinite possibilities of who he may be in the future, whether that falls within the scope of our imaginations or not.
On his melodious debut album, the pop-rap icon flaunts his verve and star power, all while a sense of isolation lives at the music’s brighter edges.
A portal into future pop history, Lil Nas X's iconic MONTERO is written for our younger selves
It’s refreshing to see him in a reflective light, but when he's upstaged by Megan Thee Stallion, the gulf between them become apparent
Forget all the memes and internet chatter - Montero Lamar Hill has a long, bright career ahead
A triumphant debut that sees the once-considered one-hit-wonder proving he’s got what it takes.
Close your eyes, and you can almost feel the rainbow confetti falling from the ceiling and sticking to your tears
On Montero, Lil Nas X proves his staying power with an album made up of the superstar wit, flair, and fun that made him famous.
When he moseyed onto the scene in 2019, conquering the charts and mainstream conversation with his country-rap novelty "Old Town Road," Lil Nas X could have been relegated to a pop culture footnote or trivia night as a one-hit wonder.
When Montero Lamar Hill burst onto the music scene as Lil Nas X in 2018 with "Old Town Road," his country-rap song about cowboys and horses,...
Boasting features from Jack Harlow, Doja Cat, Elton John, Megan Thee Stallion, and Miley Cyrus, Lil Nas X has not come to play on this album. Out today,
The Old Town Road rapper grabs freely from pop, trap and rock on his full-length debut
The boundaries between earnestness and camp are blurred on Lil Nas X’s ‘Montero,’ but the album retains the rapper’s personality.
This blockbuster debut album matches its eclecticism and broad emotional range with high-quality hooks throughout – and all with the rapper’s sexuality front and centre
Lil Nas X is good at being a pop star. Like, what could pop culture need more than a young, flamboyant, witty gay rapper from the deep south who can top the US country charts then just when it appeared he might not be able to live up to the success of “Old Town Road” lap dance Satan in the video for the Latin-tinged “Call me by Your Name” and storm to mega sales all over again?