Lil Nas X shot to fame in 2018 and 2019 with his hit song Old Town Road. In addition to marking Billy Ray Cyrus’s final moments of normalcy, it was also the first time the rapper gained significant exposure in magazines and websites worldwide. Since then, the Grammy Award winner has experienced a considerable loss of privacy, prompting him to adopt a more private lifestyle– that is, until now.
Since his fame, a lot has happened: Music.ly turned into TikTok, a worldwide pandemic happened, Donald Trump won the presidency again, and, most importantly, Lil Nas X’s fame waned. Now, he feels comfortable walking around publicly without anyone recognizing him. Five years is a long time to remove yourself from the limelight and, clearly, enough time to be a normal citizen. He used TikTok to express his happiness at this freedom, captioning the video with,
“How it feels to be in my flor era and finally be able to exist as a human being again.”
The short video only shows the rapper walking through the streets of Union Square in New York City, wearing a blue hoodie and black beanie with cat ears. However, you can see the happiness in his eyes and smile as he spends time in one of the busiest places in the country.
For context on Lil Nas X’s fame, the song Old Town Road is just a single from the rapper’s second EP, 7. Its massive recognition earned it two Grammy awards: one for Best Music Video and another for Best Pop Duo/ Group Performance with Billy Ray. It is also the longest-running number-one song in the existence of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100’s nearly 70 years of operation. Honestly, I’d be surprised if anyone who was living in the United States the year it was released didn’t know about it in some shape or form.
Commenters were quick to notice Lil Nas X’s smile and how content he genuinely seems to be. Regardless of who you are as a person in your career or otherwise, you still deserve to have time and space to be yourself without people shoving a camera in your face or asking you to sign an autograph.
I’m personally very excited to hear any new music that Lil Nas X might be cooking up in the lab. However, I won’t be upset if he decides to take a little more time to himself instead.
