Lil Nas X’s Liberation Agenda Rides Again
‘Montero (Call Me By Your Name)’ is the perfect reintroduction
I watched the “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” video no less than five consecutive times when it dropped at midnight last Friday, March 26.
When I randomly couldn’t sleep at 6 a.m. later that morning (symptoms of surviving a pandemic), I rolled over and watched it some more. I won’t go over all of the dope little nuances and easter eggs Lil Nas X packed into three minutes and 10 seconds; Mikelle Street did, and you should go read about them. Instead, I want to give appropriate language to the immediate impact this video is sure to have on both viewers and the industry, putting to rest any ideas that Nas X is just a one-trick pony.
Because of the scarcity of public-facing Black queer men in music, the very presence of this song will draw direct comparisons to Frank Ocean’s 2012 Channel Orange release. I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing. After reading Nas X’s letter to his 14-year-old self noting that the song is about a guy he met last summer, I don’t think he does either. Beyond that, there are enough aural and aesthetic differences for the comparisons to end there; the two artists can exist solidly in their own lanes.
