You just knew Lil Nas X was going to bring some drama to the premiere of his concert documentary, Long Live Montero, at the Toronto International Film Festival. According to Variety, not even a bomb threat could stop the Grammy winner from taking over the red carpet in all black with an open shirt and flawlessly laid hair.
After enjoying a screening of the film, which chronicles his 2019 Long Live Montero world tour, Nas had a Q&A alongside the doc’s directors Carlos López Estrada and Zac Emanuel.
The “Industry Baby” artist admitted that he initially wasn’t interested in having his every move followed and his private moments put out there for the whole world to see.
“I’m going to be honest. I was like, ‘I don’t want to do this at all. This is a terrible idea,’” he said. “But then I was like, ‘Fuck it, let’s do it anyway.’ I hate people knowing about my life because I can’t keep my funny persona. Now people know I’m all serious.”
Before the premiere he told Variety that he understands how important the project and his success are to young Black queer people. He does not take his representation for granted,
“I know in my lifetime, while I’m here, I’m going to do my best to make the ceiling unreachable to where we can go as Black queer people,” he said. “I feel like we live in a generation where Black queer people really control culture, and they’re helping really take the world to the next level. And I think that’s going to have an effect on our youth watching us.”
On stage in Toronto, the conversation inevitably turned to new music, where the Georgia native revealed that he’s looking to explore different genres “like folk music…like Brazilian funk” on his next album. I don’t know how that’s going to sound, but I definitely want to hear it. His desire to expand into new territory speaks to Nas’ fearless approach to life.
“If you’re scared to do something, you probably should,” he said during the Q&A. “Like a lot of times, when you feel stuck in life, do the thing that you’re most afraid to do.”
Lil Nas X is not only out here destroying red carpets and taking over the entertainment world, he’s also dropping these beautiful nuggets of wisdom and showing the haters that they can’t break him. He’s really embracing his life as a role model.