LIL NAS X SHARES "MONTERO" WITH THE WORLD

With his highly anticipated single "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)," Columbia's Lil Nas X shares his journey of self-discovery with the world. The song—its title is the artist's birth name—and video take up sexuality, expression and Satan, with Lil Nas X balancing the seriousness of the story with the brand of levity that launched him to stardom.

“It's brought a new confidence out of me. To be able to say, 'You know what? I want to do this. And I don't give a fuck who's upset about it,'" Lil Nas X told Zane Lowe. "I feel like the moment I put out this snippet of the song, I ... started to see a shift in myself. The world's going to keep spinning. But I can do what I want in my own artistic career at all times or I'm going to fail, for me at least. That's how I feel.”

The record-breaking rapper also shared a letter to his 14-year-old self:

“Dear 14-year-old Montero,

I wrote a song with our name in it. It’s about a guy I met last summer. I know we promised to never come out publicly. I know we promised to never be 'that' type of gay person. I know we promised to die with the secret, but this will open doors for many other queer people to simply exist. You see, this is very scary for me. People will be angry. They will say I’m pushing an agenda. But the truth is, I am—the agenda to make people stay the fuck out of other people’s lives and stop dictating who they should be. Sending you love from the future."

Watch the video for "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)" below.