But Nas - who came out in June 2019, midway through the record 19-week reign of “Old Town Road” at No. Rap and R&B artists from Frank Ocean and Tyler, the Creator (both of whom Nas acknowledges as inspirations) to Azealia Banks, Le1f and Janelle Monáe have announced, acknowledged, kind of acknowledged or simply not denied being gay or bisexual.
It’s all leading up to “Montero,” his long-awaited first full-length album - which he says will be out before the end of the summer, and will be “much more personal” than his pre-pandemic work and of a piece with the unapologetically LGBTQ-themed singles he’s released this year.
This year alone, Nas (real name Montero Lamar Hill) has released one video that features him giving Satan a lap dance - for “ Montero (Call Me by Your Name)” - and another, prison-themed one that has him and several male dancers gyrating nude, albeit with their privates pixelated, in a shower ( “Industry Baby”) delivered a sexually loaded performance on “Saturday Night Live” during which he split his pants and finished the song holding his crotch (that was an accident) and most controversial of all, kissed one of his male dancers full on the mouth on the BET Awards (that was no accident). And while he avoids making grandiose statements about being a pioneer or a trailblazer for the LGBTQ community - “Let’s f-’ go, gay agenda!” he wrote last month, tongue firmly in cheek, when retweeting that he had the top two videos on the YouTube U.S. 1 hit in Billboard Hot 100 history, Nas’ recent lyrics, videos, TV appearances and especially public statements are exponentially more honest, autobiographical and queer. What a difference a few traumatic months can make: The Nas who has reemerged is, he says, “a totally different person” - an outspoken and empowered gay man unafraid to express truth in his art.įar from “Old Town Road,” the rap-country earworm that famously was recorded for $50 in a small Atlanta studio and has become the longest-running No.