What Lil Nas X Shows Us About Our Society

Most Americans actually haven’t heard of the talentless, childish clown known as Lil Nas X (birth name Montero Lamar Hill). Sure, he had that insipid pile of dung “Old Town Road” a few years ago where he took the worst parts of rap and country and put them together in a putrid bucket of awful for all but the most braindead of our society to ignore, but in truth, he was (and is) nothing but a flash-in-the-pan fad in a world of Instagram “stars” and digital attention whores.

His rise to “fame” came on the back of the popularity of TikTok, the Chinese-sourced social video platform that runs a 24/7 contest for who can be the most self-exploitative for the sake of getting ever-shorter video views from tweens and Kardashian clones. While his career saw him nominated for (and winning) several awards including (largely ignored) Grammys, the splintering of media culture in the age of the internet means that most people could care less about what he says or does. Nas X, just like any internet celebutard, is easily muted and as easily disposed of as a wet Kleenex.

His stupid song was created from a beat he bought for $30 anonymously online, which itself was sampled from a 2008 Nine Inch Nails song. Lil Nas X made (according to him) roughly 100 TikTok memes to promote the “song,” which (according to Quartz.com) owes its success to the [child] demographic, and notes they are attracted to the song being repetitive, easy to sing along to, and using lyrics about riding horses and tractors, which kids can relate to.”

Lil Nas X copied his name from the far more talented Nas. He copied his beat, which itself was a derivative. He decided to be gay because it was attention-grabbing. Even his birth name was taken from the Mitsubishi Montero (not joking). Everything about him is a copy of a copy of a copy. And yet so-called “respected” journalists treat him as some sort of trailblazer – which he is if the trail being blazed is being a wildly successful clone of everything wrong with vapid, disposable popular culture.

Enter Satan. Yes, Lil Nas X (on top of being an internet copycat, fad homosexual, and cultural grifter) has now decided to make and market $1000 Nike sneakers featuring pentagrams, depictions of tortured souls on the bottoms, and supposedly real human blood inside the soles. And he wins the internet again, which continues to be a cesspool for all horribleness and debauchery. Conservatives are freaking out at the offensiveness of the devilish depictions (and the fact that apparently Nas X still seeks the attention of children). Liberals are celebrating “free expression.” And now Nike is suing the company that made the atrocious decision to partner with Montero Lamar Hill for trademark infringement. Here’s hoping they sue Lil Nas X into oblivion.

What’s the answer to this kid’s putrid attention-whoring? Ignore him, and keep your children away. If you find his garbage in your schools or workplace, shame those in charge. Plaster their names and images all over the internet to shame them into removing this filth. Lil Nas X is a poster child for everything that is wrong with America – evil, talentlessness and unoriginality, and shock culture. He makes Miley Cyrus seem like Shakespeare by comparison.