.

.

 LIL NAS X
 ‘Montero’
Album Review

(27th September 2021)

Interview by Setha Sivashanmugam

.

.

“If it aint ‘Old Town Road’, Lil Nassy, ain’t playin” –  ONE OF ME (Lil Nas Feat. Elton John)

Lil Nas X debut album ‘MONTERO’ wastes no time proving that he is more than a ‘one track wonder’, climbing the Australian charts on music streaming services within days of its release.

The album is perfect mixture of upbeat tunes that you can’t help but dance to, and really mellow renditions which, when combined with hard hitting lyrics, will put one ‘in their feels’. Despite being short and sweet, the album boasts numerous big pop/rap artists collaborations, including Miley Cyrus, Megan Thee Stallion and Jack Harlow. The album fuses classic with contemporary as we also see a piano-playing Elton John make an appearance on a track.

MONTERO starts off strong with ‘MONTERO’ (Call Me By Your Name). Released earlier and made famous by its controversial music video, it’s one of the couple songs released prior to the album, along with ‘INDUSTRY BABY’ and ‘SUN GOES DOWN’. Next, we have ‘DEAD RIGHT NOW’, which starts to explore Lil Nas X’s music journey and about people reaching out to him after fame when they did not believe in him initially. The song has a sense of finality about it that is powerful and resonating. The third track on the album ‘INDUSTRY BABY’ (feat. Jack Harlow) is undeniably the pinnacle of hype, as Lil Nas X is adamant that he always knew he was going to make it.

“I’m the industry, baby” –  ‘INDUSTRY BABY’ (feat. Jack Harlow)

The next track, named ‘ART OF REALISATION’, is a spoken one, and distinguishes the rest of the songs to come from the previous. The focus of the album shifts from chasing love to chasing success, but also explains the rocky road to fame. Some of the tracks that follow, such as ‘ONE OF ME’, ‘TALES OF DOMINICA’ and ‘VOID’ explore some of the darker times of Lil Nas X when he was either clouded by the doubt of making it or the unfulfilling nature of fame. These songs deviate away from Lil Nas X iconic instrumentals, and are a lot more mellow with a focus on vocals and resonance, which allows these tracks to almost linger in the atmosphere after they are done playing. The album draws to a close with ‘AM I DREAMING’, featuring Miley Cyrus. It truly feels like Lil Nas X has ended up where he had started, especially considering the single that threw him into his initial, yet rapid fame –  ‘OLD TOWN ROAD’ with Billy Ray Cyrus.

This fame is only to be duplicated, or increased exponentially with the release of MONTERO. There is something that screams ‘HYPE’ about Lil Nas X, and this album is a perfect embodiment of contemporary pop culture, as he continues his mission to re-write the sound of pop music today. 

.

.

Follow Lil Nas X
Website – Facebook – YouTube – Instagram

.

.

AMNPLIFY – DB