MONTERO

"So in the beginning when they were cut in two, they yearned for each other’s half"

So, when was the last time you were aware a recording artist was quoting Plato's Symposium in the same song where he was talking about boning someone and at the same time, recreating the Garden of Eden and hell? Well, if it's been only a few weeks for you, you're lucky. When Lil' Nas X came up with Montero (Call Me By Your Name) it was the first time I saw all these things together. For real. And I'm a better gay for it.

Yeah, i know it's not the kind of song for everybody, but the video is sick. I secretly laugh (well, not secretly) when people miss out on something because of their ‘likes’. Like the masc 4 masc crowd. Their loss. The video and the song kind of go together. It looks like LilNasX has a vision and is able to execute it. Apparently, the video is meant to represent his fighting his attraction for men and coming out true to himself at the end. It’s a struggle for many. After LilNasX posted the video for Montero, he did a follow up with a post on Instagram talking about his motivation to have created the track: 

 

The Montero LilMasX is talking about is himself. Montero is his given name and in the song he talks about a man he had an affair with but the guy was in the closet (oh, yes, THAT kind of situation). The note is written to his younger self, a reminder to himself that things do get better and that the closet is a prison. Montero also seems to be the land in which the video for the song takes place, a place that is going to make many a zealot unhappy. Mission: accomplished. After the video dropped Twitter was fucking AFLAME with religiosity and its side effect: pearl clutching. LittleNasX knows how to use the ten million combined followers he has on Twitter and Instagram for his benefit. The kid is all right. (Please notice that between taking that screenshot and posting this entry, that Instagram post has amassed more than six hundred thousand likes, which is not too shabby). 

By harnessing the power of social media, LilNasX has managed to write the script on his own musical production and deliver the message he wanted to deliver: the closet is toxic and living his life as he sees fit is nobody's business but his. Also, his song has been streamed more than twenty eight million times, has been liked more than 1.4 million times on youtube and is on the top five on iTunes. Not shabby for the out singer who has broken records before with Old Town Road, no? The closet is not what it used to be, let's say, fifty years ago.

In the video he is Adam AND the snake. He wrestles with himself. He then visits ancient Rome, where he is judged and killed. He dies and goes to heaven and then falls from grace. He falls to hell in a stripper pole sporting fantastic hair and thigh-high boots and a pair of Calvins. And nothing else. Once in hell (he teases the religulous with a 'well, they all want the gays in hell and when a gay man goes to hell, they complain!). Once in hell, he gives Satan a lap dance before killing him and taking his horns. How's that for a journey?

I liked the video, of course. The imagery is dope and the song is a bop. And no, you won’t have to rush up on your art appreciation classes to be able to enjoy the references..But there's much more there: there's a declaration of independence from what's expected of him (remember, hip-hop/rap, just like rock and roll, are very homophobic an toxic masculinity reigns supreme in them. But those two things more often than not go hand in hand, right?). There's also a message of hope for queer kids everywhere: it gets better. You don't have to hide who you are until you are seventy five and retired. You can be out of the closet when you're young and establish the rules of the game yourself. You also can do as you please (and be naked, give yourself a good lick or a lap dance) and then wear horns AND grow wings. Who said a boy cannot have it all? 

Also, LilNasX has BDE. And for the sight of those Calvins, in more ways than one. We could have that jet lag from fuckin' and flyin' and he could shoot a kid in my mouth while he's ridin' any day. 

XOXO

BIEL@AFTERGRAPHCS

P.S. his dad is cool with the whole thing, too!