In the new July/August issue of Out magazine (digital drops today with newsstands August 17th) cover star Lil Nas X shares his journey and bares his authentic self in his first LBGTQ cover ever.
Lil Nas X spoke about performing at spaces such as the BET Awards:
“And [people always say] go where you’re accepted and stuff like that, but you can’t always just go where you’re accepted. You’ve got to go and break down those walls and say, ‘This is my space now too.
As it relates to this, Lil Nas X Said: ““Mentally, it’s really draining and straining sometimes,” Nas says. “The pressure of living your entire life knowing the identity of what a rapper is supposed to be, what rappers [are supposed to] do, and going out there in front of all these people, it’s terrifying. [The BET performance] was like jumping in a lake full of sharks and piranhas — and I’ve had to do that so many times within these last three years. Even coming out, that was terrifying. When I put on the costume of Nicki, terrifying.” (He dressed in drag as rapper Nicki Minaj for Halloween.)
He also spoke on his upbringing in Atlanta with Out Magazine.
“Growing up in the Atlanta area, I [saw] a lot of microaggressions towards homosexuality,” he recalls. “Little things like going into an IHOP and hearing one of your family members say, ‘Look at those faggots’ to two people eating or even just a small [statement like] ‘Boys don’t cry.’ Little shit like living in the hood, not being super into sports, and then having to go outside and pretend that I was.”
Lil Nas X also speaks on stand out from everyone else in the industry.
“I was looking to blend in when I first started, but now I genuinely don’t mind and wish to do my own thing and stand out. I wanted to just
