Montero Lamar Hill (born April 9, 1999), known by his stage name Lil Nas X (/nɑːz/NAHZ), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter.[4] Hill came to international attention for his country rap single "Old Town Road", which first achieved viral popularity on the micro-platform video sharing app TikTok in early 2019, and was Diamond Certified by November the same year.[a][5][6][7] The song reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and remained there for nineteen weeks, the longest for any song since the chart debuted in 1958.[8][9][10][11] He produced the original version song by buying a $30 beat off of the internet and paying $20 to record for an hour in a discount Atlanta studio.[12]
In June 2019, Nas X came out as gay, the only artist ever to have done so while having a number-one record.[13][14] "Old Town Road" earned him two MTV Video Music Awards including Song of the Year and the American Music Award for Favorite Rap/Hip Hop Song. Nas X is the only openly LGBTQ artist to win a Country Music Association award.[15][16][17] He won two Grammy Awards for Best Music Video and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, along with being nominated six others, the most for any male in 2019.[18][19]TIME named him to their inaugural TIME 100 Next list.[20]
His debut EP, 7, was released in June 2019 with its second single, "Panini", peaking at number five on the Hot 100 and three on Rolling Stone's Top 100.[21] Its third single "Rodeo" with Cardi B, peaked at number nine on the Rolling Stone Top 100. As of September 2019[update], his songs have been streamed over 2.3 billion times.[15]