For much of his nascent career, breakout star Lil Nas X has denied or avoided questions about his alleged Nicki Minaj stan account, @NasMaraj. Although many of his fans have assumed and accepted that before he was Lil Nas X, creator of “Old Town Road,” he was @NasMaraj, Nicki Minaj superfan. Nas himself has always played coy though — and today, he finally revealed why.
On Tuesday evening, after Nas sent Nicki Minaj a tweet requesting a feature verse, one of her fans asked him, “How come you never claimed her when people asked if you were a Barb? We all knew who you were.” The question seemed fair enough; after all, the question has been pretty thoroughly researched and once even got Nas in hot water for collaborating with Cardi B, Nicki’s assumed rival. There have also been some questionable tweets, which Nas has since apologized for.
Nas explained that he hid his past because, “I didn’t want people to know I was gay.” When the fan responded again to interrogate that claim, Nas pointed out the way fans online jump to conclusions and the hostile climate against gay men within hip-hop. “People will assume if you had an entire fan page dedicated to Nicki you are gay,” he said. “And the rap/music industry ain’t exactly built or accepting of gay men yet.”
However, since Nas and other prominent performers such as Tyler The Creator and Kevin Abstract have come out, it’s probably fair to say that this is changing. As rap and the music industry become more accepting, the narrative can change, and fewer young people may feel the need to hide parts of themselves.
Check out Nas’ tweets above.
