The rapper who made headlines in 2021 for a satanic-themed music video in which he pole-danced and gave a lap-dance to the prince of darkness is apparently thirsty for attention again. Thus, he’s making a “comeback” — by putting himself in the role of Jesus Christ.
And for some reason, he seems both shocked and irked that people consider this blasphemous. Welcome to 2024, ladies and gentlemen.
Perhaps you’ve heard of Lil Nas X. He first rose to prominence with his first (and biggest) hit “Old Town Road” back in 2018. At the time, there was a minor kerfuffle over whether the song belonged on the country charts since it was a hybrid of rap and country. This seems positively anodyne in light of what was to come.
In 2019, while the song was at the top of the Billboard charts, Mr. Nas X came out as gay. This being the entertainment industry, he might have shocked more people by coming out as straight. However, since this didn’t quite stir the controversy pot as much as he would have liked, one would presume, he released the single “MONTERO” — so named because the rapper’s legal name is Montero Lamar Hill — which was purportedly a letter to his 14-year-old self in which he raps about the myriad forbidden joys of drinking and snorting cocaine with one’s friends.
Just in case this needed an exclamation point, Lil Nas X’s video for “MONTERO” included him getting kicked out of Heaven, descending on a stripper pole to Hell and then giving a lap dance to Satan. A promotional tie-in involved a limited-run production of 666 pairs of “Satan Shoes,” sneakers with a drop of human blood in them. (Great belated Christmas gift for the grandkids if you haven’t bought anything yet, BTW.)
MSCHF x Lil Nas X “Satan Shoes” 🏹
👟Nike Air Max ’97
🩸Contains 60cc ink and 1 drop of human blood
🗡️666 Pairs, individually numbered
💰$1,018
🗓️March 29th, 2021 pic.twitter.com/XUMA9TKGSX— SAINT (@saint) March 26, 2021
Do you read the Bible?
Once you’ve embraced the root of all human evil within the Christian framework, there’s really lower you can go. After all, Satan is the avatar for our fallen, sinful selves — and that includes all sins by all wretched individuals living or dead, from Idi Amin to Mark Zuckerberg — which gives one limited remaining avenues for commercially viable shock value.
So, why not do an end-around and put yourself in the place of Jesus Christ, instead?
WARNING: The following contains an image that some readers may find offensive.
MY NEW SINGLE IS DEDICATED TO THE MAN WHO HAD THE GREATEST COMEBACK OF ALL TIME!
J CHRIST
JANUARY 12, 2024
00:00 EST
BE THERE! pic.twitter.com/JEX6sSTft5— ✟ (@LilNasX) January 8, 2024
“MY NEW SINGLE IS DEDICATED TO THE MAN WHO HAD THE GREATEST COMEBACK OF ALL TIME!” he wrote, along with the release details of his latest track.
Yes, he’s attempting a rebrand as Lil Nas X-tian, apparently. Just in case you were unfamiliar with the 24-year-old rapper, that is him in Jesus’ place upon the cross. The new single is called “J Christ” (my words exactly, although spoken in a more exasperated register) and is due to drop on Friday. A follow-up response from Mr. Nas X featured a “Transformers”-like sequence in which he transforms from the crucified Jesus into an armored angel mecha-thing:
PRESAVE:https://t.co/LrFAtEUdzB pic.twitter.com/UGyNWbfUdG
— ✟ (@LilNasX) January 8, 2024
Now, the assumption is that this is some new volley of blasphemous rot from Lil Nas X, as judged by the social media response:
Can you make a song where you don’t mock any religion? pic.twitter.com/f6QzQMPptf
— ☆ (@ICONICBARBIE__) January 8, 2024
Lil Nas x releasing single “J Christ” mocking Jesus and Christians. #lilnasx #jesus #satan #spiritualwarfare #christians #idols #hollywood #awake #satanic pic.twitter.com/LRCy4cnzAc
— Kory Yeshua (@KoryYeshua) January 8, 2024
Singer @LilNasX MOCKS Jesus in a teaser for his new single ‘J Christ’ as he appears in underwear and silver boots in a video clip posted to his X.
The singer has previously courted outrage for promoting Satanic practices including selling sneakers containing human blood. pic.twitter.com/ljqphib4PK
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) January 8, 2024
Of course, this could be an about-face from the rapper, looking to atone for past sins. I doubt it, however, given his response to the controversy:
WARNING: The following tweet contains graphic language that some readers will find offensive.
the crazy thing is nowhere in the picture is a mockery of jesus. Jesus’s image is used throughout history in people’s art all over the world. I’m not making fun of shit. yall just gotta stop trying to gatekeep a religion that was here before any of us were even born. stfu
— ✟ (@LilNasX) January 8, 2024
“[T]he crazy thing is nowhere in the picture is a mockery of jesus,” he wrote in a Monday post. “Jesus’s image is used throughout history in people’s art all over the world. I’m not making fun of s***. yall just gotta stop trying to gatekeep a religion that was here before any of us were even born. stfu.”
Well, here’s a TL;DR on why this is so stupid:
- Sorry, but when someone’s last big hit involved him giving a lap dance to Satan, one can assume the picture is a mockery of Jesus — particularly when that someone is up on the cross.
- Yes, “Jesus’s image is used throughout history in people’s art all over the world” — without them putting themselves up on the cross in the place of Lord Jesus Christ, the son of God sent to atone for the sins that you seem to be committing more than your fair share of.
- Nobody said you were “making fun of” excrement, they were implying you were producing it. Big difference.
- “Yall just gotta stop trying to gatekeep a religion that was here before any of us were even born.” This is what you call “gatekeep[ing]?” OK. Try including a lap dance with Allah in your next video. See how that goes over.
I hope I cleared that up.
For all I know, “J Christ” includes some kind of pro-Jesus message hidden in there. And perhaps Madonna, realizing she’s passed her prime and needs a new vocation, will become a nun. I’d say the odds of the latter are better.
