Arguably one of the biggest names in Hollywood today, the gay Grammy winner has redefined what it means to be a Black man in music. From his fabulously flamboyant performances to his unapologetic singles about same-sex love like “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” Lil Nas X never shies away from putting his sexuality front and center in his art—and the masses can’t get enough.
Having started as a SoundCloud artist, his 2018 breakthrough rap-county hit “Old Town Road” spent 19 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming the longest-running number-one song since the chart debuted in 1958.
In July 2019, Time named the record-breaking rapper as one of the 25 most influential people on the Internet for his “global impact on social media.” And having just celebrated his 23rd birthday last month, he’s already amassed two Grammy Awards, five Billboard Music Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards, two BET Hip Hop Awards, two iHeartRadio Music Awards and two American Music Awards.