Lil Nas X says he has been living life to 'its fullest potential' since coming out as gay
Rapper went public with his sexuality on final day of Pride Month
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Your support makes all the difference.US rapper Lil Nas X says he has been living life to “its fullest potential” since coming out as gay.
The 20-year-old, who shot to fame with his hit "Old Town Road", went public with his sexuality on 30 June, which also marked the final day of Pride Month.
Speaking to GQ Hype, the Atlanta-based artist said that since coming out he has begun living his life by a mantra he previously disregarded.
“Live your life to its fullest potential and don’t really care too much about what other people think of you,” Lil Nas X said.
“I used to say that cliché, but I never really lived by it, until now.”
The star also revealed that he has been approached by a number of gay men in the hip hop community who said he was making strides for representation.
However, he admitted that he still strugges with “having to be a voice” in a rap landscape often associated with entrenched homophobia.
“Since I came out, people have been coming up to me saying, 'You're making a way for us'.”
The rapper added that he is still “in the first stage” of figuring out who he is and how his music will evolve in the coming months.
Lil Nas X first opened up about his sexuality in a post on Twitter, where he told fans he wanted to be honest with them before the end of Pride Month, which marks the Stonewall riots of 1969.
“Some of y’all already know, some of y’all don’t care,” the singer tweeted.
“But before this month ends I want y'all to listen closely to c7osure.”
“C7osure (You Like)” is a song from the rapper’s EP 7 that talks about needing to be free.
It includes the lyrics: “This is what I gotta do, can't be regretting when I'm old.”
Lil Nas X later posted a second tweet which focused on the artwork for the EP, zooming in on a part that shows rainbow colours on the side of a building. The rainbow is the symbol of gay pride.
“Thought I made it obvious,” he tweeted.
Last week, "Old Town Road" broke the Billboard record set by Mariah Carey's "One Sweet Day" for most weeks at US number one.
The rapper accomplished the feat as the country-trap song spent its 17th week on top of the Hot 100 chart. In the UK the track has spent 16 weeks in the top 10.
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