MONTERO

Lil Nas X

I'm sure many people doubted Lil Nas X could ever reach the level of success he did with his record breaking single Old Town Road. Especially after releasing his 7 EP and then dropping the bomb that he was a gay man, I anticipated that many people would turn their back on the 'country rapper.' And to a certain extent, I guess people did turn their back on him, at least to the extent that Lil Nas X felt it pertinent to discuss it on his new record MONTERO. However, while one subset of his audience turned away, X seems to have found a new audience, somewhat becoming a new champion for the LGBTQ+ community with his unapologetic stage presence and visuals. This certainly generated a lot of buzz and if you intersect at all with 'gay twitter,' then it was impossible to not get sucked into the hype machine. I felt it was necessary to at least give the record a shot despite me being more a fan of his spirit than his music.

I didn't have high expectations for the record, but it turned out to be pretty good. Lil Nas X is making an honest bid for pop superstardom as MONTERO contains very catchy songs with expensive production, great performances that feel very personal, high-profile guests, and adventurous genre hopping across the pop spectrum. Not every track was a hit for me but there was a handful of tracks that I thought were pretty strong. ONE OF ME I thought had really strong writing, covering the topic I previously mentioned concerning audience pressures to make another Old Town Road or calling out his success as a fluke. The instrumental has these wonderful piano flourishes provided by the one and only Elton John which counterbalances X's spiteful verses. The spiteful bars also pop up on DEAD RIGHT NOW as he calls out everyone who said he wasn't going to make it, and are now asking for a handout; going as far to say that these people are dead to him.

My absolute favourite song on the record has to be SCOOP. I understand that the instrumental isn't as lavish as the other songs here, but I just find the plucky synth arpeggios so pleasing. X delivers provocative bars about being too busy to be tied down and looking for just a quick fling to satisfy his needs; no names, no games, and you can cut the conversation. Doja Cat also appears on the song, and I just love her style. It's tough, but also cute and quirky. She's such a unique voice and performer.

There were a handful of songs that didn't really capture me but I acknowledge that they were executed fairly well, so I can't really hate on them. Tracks like INDUSTRY BABY and DOLLA SIGN SLIME I found to be pretty run-of-the-mill pop rap numbers, and TALES OF DOMENICA I also didn't find all that compelling with X's performances in his lower register and uninteresting sounds. The one track I really did not like was LIFE AFTER SALEM which has this dark, dirgey, rock sound that feels out of place for X. His performances are generally really good on the record, but the choruses on this track easily feature some of his worst vocal performances.

I anticipated a very trendy pop rap record that would most likely leave me feeling indifferent, but I gotta say that I was somewhat surprised. I appreciated the different sounds and genres he tried to hop on, and even some of the trendy stuff was executed so well that the appeal is undeniable. I am also appreciative of how forward Lil Nas X was in regards to his sexuality and his feelings on his critics. Everything felt very genuine, personal, and authentic to X and not something prefabricated for the masses. While I didn't love it, I have seen a fair share of love for this record, and it makes me glad that so many people have connected with it and continue to have Lil Nas X's back.