Lil Nas X

Montero Lamar Hill, known professionally as Lil Nas X, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Born on April 9, 1999, he rose to international prominence following the release of his 2018 country rap single "Old Town Road." The track spent a then-record 19 weeks at the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. Around the same time, he came out as gay, becoming the first artist to do so while holding a number-one record on the chart.

Hill was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and was named after the Mitsubishi Montero. Following his parents' divorce when he was six, he lived in Atlanta's Bankhead Courts housing project before moving to Austell, Georgia, to live with his father. As a teenager, he turned to social media and meme creation to cope with isolation. He played trumpet in school and graduated from Lithia Springs High School in 2017. He briefly studied computer science at the University of West Georgia before dropping out to pursue a music career while working service jobs.

Before his musical breakthrough, Hill built an online audience by creating content across platforms such as Facebook, Vine, Instagram, and Twitter. In 2018, he adopted the stage name Lil Nas X as a tribute to the rapper Nas and began writing and recording songs in his closet. He released his debut mixtape, Nasarati, on SoundCloud in July 2018, though it was later removed from streaming platforms following copyright conflicts.

In December 2018, Lil Nas X independently released "Old Town Road," utilizing a beat purchased from Dutch producer YoungKio that sampled Nine Inch Nails. After he created numerous memes to promote the song, it gained widespread popularity through the #Yeehaw Challenge on TikTok and eventually topped the Billboard Hot 100. Despite Billboard controversially removing the track from its Hot Country Songs chart, a remix featuring country singer Billy Ray Cyrus helped further its massive commercial success. The song went on to achieve 17 platinum certifications, becoming the second highest-certified song in the United States.

Following his breakthrough, Lil Nas X signed with Columbia Records and released his debut extended play, 7, in June 2019, which featured the top-ten single "Panini" and the single "Rodeo." In 2020, he held a virtual concert on Roblox and announced his debut studio album, Montero. Released in 2021, the album reached number two on the Billboard 200 and earned a nomination for Album of the Year at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards. It produced the Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)" and "Industry Baby," alongside the top-ten hit "Thats What I Want." He also published a children's book, C Is for Country, in early 2021.

Throughout his career, Lil Nas X has received widespread recognition for his music and queer visuals. His accolades include two Grammy Awards, five Billboard Music Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards, two BET Hip Hop Awards, two iHeartRadio Music Awards, and two American Music Awards. Additionally, he was featured on Forbes' 30 Under 30 list in 2020, named one of Time's 100 most influential people in 2021, and became the youngest honoree in the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2022 upon receiving the Hal David Starlight Award.