Washington: American rapper Lil Nas X, who rose to fame with his smash hit ‘Old Town Road’, recently opened up about his journey to coming out as a homosexual.
It took some time before the rapper was able to accept his sexuality. In a preview of his upcoming interview with CBS This Morning, the star, who came out as gay in June, opened up to Gayle King about struggling with his sexuality, reported People.
“Did you know as a little boy that you were gay? Did you think that as a youngster while people were telling you it’s not a good thing, were you thinking, ‘Yeah, but I think I am?’ ” King asked Nas X.
The 20-year-old rapper said that he “knew” he was gay during his teenage years but prayed that his homosexuality was just “a phase.”
“Yeah, definitely. I knew. Especially around my teenage years,” the rapper said, adding that at that time he would “pray, pray and pray” that his sexuality was just “a phase.”
Continuing he said, that he prayed “it would go away.”
The ‘Rodeo’ hitmaker went on to explain that coming out can be “easy” when you have a big platform, but not everyone is so fortunate. He spoke about how fame helped him feel stronger about coming out than it would for someone with less support.
“Me being in this position, like, it’s easy for me. But some little boy 10 miles from here. It’s not gonna be good for him,” he said.
“But don’t you think you coming out, could probably help others who are struggling the way you were struggling with it?” King asked.
The rapper later told King that while he knew his story would help others in coming out, “there’s still a lot to be done” when it comes to how society treats the LGBTQ community.
The rapper said, “We still have a long way to go. It’s not like everybody is messing me with me now. ‘Cause of course you know, for somebody listening to me in school right now, it’s like, you know, you’re listening to — you’re gay, ’cause you’re listening to him.”
“There’s still a lot to be done, of course. But I — I do believe it’s helping,” he added.
Nas X, who recently announced that he is “ready to take a little time off” from music, first came out to his father and sister in early June before letting his fans know about it a few weeks later.
The rapper shared the news on World Pride Day by posting a video of his track ‘C7osure’, which is about his desire to live a more real life, and urging his fans to listen to its lyrics again.
“Some of y’all already know, some of y’all don’t care, some of y’all not [going to f– with me] no more. But before this month ends I want y’all to listen closely to c7osure,” he wrote, adding a slew of emoji including a rainbow.