My primary critique of most new artists is that they seem to create a void; they don't need to study music, art, and poetry. Due to the lack of nuanced references, the music comes across as shallow. That is why we have 35+ year-old artists still dominating.
There are Lots of multi-hyphenated vaguely influencer esque artists which isn’t inherently an issue but it does place less emphasis on the music perhaps. There are many younger/newer artists that are very learned students of past musical traditions, but I think music tends to be their main thing/vehicle vs one of many other things/ potential vehicles.
"Shallow" artists are less likely to challenge higher ups. Their lack of awareness of art history and cycles means they're more likely to obey trends and orders. The music business has always had a whole lot of power plays behind the scenes, and if shallow artists are wanted so that authority figures in the industry don't have to get challenged, then shallow art is what the public gets. That being said, Lil Nas X is a hard worker. I went to his concert, it was lit, dude even told us he was throwing up before he got on stage. He is human and may be burnt out on following absurd trends and advice.
I can ~feel~ when entertainment (whether music or film) is created with bite-size virality in mind...which is partially a byproduct of the nature of the internet and information spreading...which is fine, although I wonder how many artists will have made enough of an impact to be art/music that's referenced later on. Most of the time it seems very fleeting and…not memorable.
I don’t think I’d be as critical about this if he didn’t knock it out the park so hard with Montero. Everything about that was so smart, so in your face, so well done… it kind of felt like a Disney straight to dvd sequel of Montero. And for some people that’d be fine but I know he’s capable of way better.
Honestly, the cheerleading was the best part. Basketball against the devil in heaven is a great concept on its own. I still like the video bc he served looks, and I find the song catchy. Not a life-changer, but not every video has to be.
You’re a pop culture connoisseur Kim of course Lil Nas’ antics would look tired to you when you’ve witnessed iterations of it already and viewed them analytically.
I'm a devout Christian and it always makes me cringe when I see other Christians take such obvious bait. Clearly Lil Nas is counting on us Christians to get up in arms and sell his content for him and we do it every single time. Just ignore him. I promise you all that life won't change because Nas was hooping against the Devil in a white dress.
I've said similar things. We need to teach children / teens that it's unacceptable, but we don't need to spend a lot of time with public expressions of outrage because that's what he wants.
I’m old enough to remember EXACTLY just how much controversy Madonna caused with that video. Loss of sponsorships, the violence. My mother banning us from watching MTV at the height of this song because blasphemy. Madonna is the blueprint!! That cannot ever be denied.
@@rerebrook5057I feel like ppl forget he’s like a celebrity and musician by accident. His meme song blew up and now he’s just reaction farming bc his heart isn’t into the musicality of a pop star career. He has an idea of what can make something viral but he’s not like a student of music in any way. I hate his songs but I find his presence in the pop culture landscape interesting bc it just shows how nuanced it can be now that social media is the powerhouse that it is.
He's a young guy processing his religious trauma and religious discrimination. There will always be young people who go through this phase after escaping their religious bubble. It may be a tired subject to older people who've seen it already but we should give every new generation of young people space to process this religious belief transition in their life
Exactly, the " adultification" of Lil Nas X is not surprising at all. If he was a White/Caucasian Cis-Het male, he would have been shown more grace for sure. People have been intentionally attacking him with a vengeance since he was 19.
i'm a big fan of Lil Nas X but I was also disappointed by this, felt too much like treading old ground and the music was not as compelling as I expect from his singles. Still looking forward to the rest of this era as some of the clips he shared previously were great.
This alongside Doja cat Scarlett era and Olivia roderigo guts and Harry styles David Bowie cosplay is why I’ve been gravitating towards niche/alternative music genres and artists I mean I always had but there was always a balance between that and mainstream pop music but now it feels like a lot of pop artists today like nas x, Doja, Harry and Olivia among others want to be edgy, provocative, alternative etc in their persona and visuals and marketing but they keep it safe and stale in the music and I feel a lot of them do that bc they know niche/alternative music genres are now starting to dominate the charts and landscape now and it’s doing so without those genres dumbing down to appeal to mainstream audiences its the complete opposite and they want to adapt to that but a lot of them either don’t have the range to really go there in their music or they have to keep it safe to get play on top 40 radio. This is why underground hip hop/rap, R&B, alternative pop, indie rock, Latin American urbano, afro beat, KPOP etc have been my main playlists those artists within those genres walk the walk if I want something to be as wax, as avant garde, as thought provoking, as exciting I go straight to them the pop stars today want to have their cake and eat it too.
@@aspireistoinspirebeforewee3519it’s the alt-rock influences in her album guts I feel she tries a lot of alt rock influences of people like white stripes, country love, alanis moriesstte, etc but she end up coming off as a derivative to artists that authentically do it better, nothing I said being edgy is being demonic
@@niableeI like her music and I think she’s an outstanding lyricist but musically I’m not sure she reminds me alot of the R&B singer H.E.R. they both have the issue of talented lyricists and vocalists but underwhelming musicians
He reminds me of Doja Cat decinding to adopt this demonic persona, and it kinda fell flat. It's sanitized edginess. Not to mention the song itself isn't great and sounds similar to Kendrick's 'Humble'.
my only problem with it as a gay black man who doesn't care as much about religion is the song itself lyrically has nothing to do with religion , the imagery is just there for no reason . like if the song was about how people used religion to crucify him I would be going up but its like he only used the imagery to get us to look , which feel cheap and corny
music recently is SO tired and boring. like all these people think they're doing something new and edgy by ..... like mocking religion or something. like girl, its been done NEXT.
People will stop “mocking religion” when conservative Christians quit being god and people bothering control freaks who feel entitled to tell everyone how to live and who panic about stuff that doesn’t exist and jump at a shadows. You cannot be the dominant ideology of a region and not expect to have people of various ideas and understanding of said ideology NOT play with it in their art. But these people want to be culturally dominant, force people to live their way, make people’s lives miserable AND don’t want to see any take on their bs that’s not completely reverent. Amazing the hypocrisy and stupidity. Especially because it’s the most tepid “”mockery””, too.
@@LoXena Probably because its always the same religion. How come its always Christianity taking hits? I thought Islam was the top world religion now? Isn't it their turn now?
If I can offer perspective as a queer person, I did not find this to be a lazy song or MV. I think it's Lil Nas X's response to intense scrutiny from homophobic religious figures/institutions. Maybe it feels repetitive or literal for non queer folks, but being questioned about your queerness, coming out, defending yourself from homophobia is a continuous and unending process. It's tiring for queer folks to be looked at and loathed so intensely and so often so I see this as Lil Nas X turning back the lens on the people who want him to conform to cis-hetero and patriarchal structures. There's a lot more to be said about the music video but did not find it at all lazy or repetitive.
Queer 2 queer, all I can say is it would appeal to us on a personal level and I get the concept behind what he’s doing but it’s still not enough. Musically. If his songs were coming out with the beauty of a prince track that’s a whole different story but he’s giving us music lovers nothing….
Lil Nas X really needs to learn from his direct predecessor, Tyler The Creator, and focus much more on the artistry and talent than trolling. Yes, Tyler is a better artist with more palpable talent but LNX has potential. If you keep making music and videos strictly to make people upset, it will work too well and you won’t have an audience.
I just generally don't like when an artist tries to make the same thing happen twice. "Lick" and "Bongos" were clearly trying to recreate the success of "WAP," "Hold Me Closer" tried to recreate "Cold Heart," etc. I'm not interested in such similar material released so close together.
I think it’s funny how many people are pretty much calling lnx redundant and unoriginal (which I agree to an extent- many of his songs sound the same and videos feel the same), but at the end of the day people are still making think pieces and talking about it. That sounds like a win. Fans of his will support him.
J.Christ is Lil Nas X’s Applause (Lady Gaga). What I mean by that is that while both artists were seen as vacuous provocateurs during their time, to me everything they did had some sort of unique artistic vision to it even it was something as simple as a hip hop country about Horses would be funny. But with both J.Christ and Applause it felt like they were officially out of Ideas and were retreading old ground for no reason other than having another hit (and I say this as someone who like both songs).
People wouldn't be reading so much onto him using religious imagery if he wasn't gay. Popstars and rappers continuously refer christianism in the most superfluous way possible, even comparing themselves to Jesus or the virgin. And no one cares. I don't even think he tried to push anything here. it's just a fun video he knew would give him some publicity. it's not meant to be revolutionary or something. if the entire album is like this, them we can say he's lazy. but it's just one single
I was an older kid, not quite a preteen when Madonna's Like a Prayer video debuted - And you were absolutely right, it was certainly a freaking wild time. And yeah, it's wild to me how short our collective memory as a society is for these massive moments in pop culture - especially considering the fact that we used to live in such a monoculture prior to the internet - all these moments took on an even greater societal impact at the time then maybe they would today. But yeah, there was protesting and news articles and burning her albums and all kinds of well... The same kind of stuff that reactionaries keep pulling today. We live in a time of increased White Christian Nationalism and fascism, to a point that I could not possibly have imagined, so fast so quickly just in the years that I've been alive. I was born in 1978, so right before the start of the Reagan '80s, and these last nearly 46 years I've been alive have been bewildering to say the least. I feel in a time like this, we could use a whole lot more well thought out blasphemy, instead of, as one of your commenters above stated, the musical equivalent of fast fashion. All it does is just give more cheap ammo out for the culture war BS that the media keeps front and center, all about the War on Christianity and American Values and whatever, so all the focus goes on to that instead of the real oppression, injustice, and harms that are actually being perpetrated upon actual marginalized people.
@@minmeena people who’ve been reared with repressive xtianity do the most TEPID jokes about it and annoying, nosy evangelical xtians stupidly take the bait like starving dogs bc despite being the dominant class, they have a pitifully underdeveloped sense of security!
@@anastasiathehiphopfairy no, they’re easily triggered. Christianity is LITERALLY the dominant ideology of “the west”. Evangelicals and conservative christians especially pretend to be oppressed when they’re literally in charge. They feel victimized when anyone who isn’t them is acknowledge, which ISN’T the same as being “disrespected”. It deserves to be poked fun at. It’s not a big deal. Christians are just reared to believe the world is disdainful for not believing like them and are also reared to believe it’s their duty to make people like them. Of course they feel like people rebuffing them is a crime…
As Lil Nas X said, this video isn’t trying to make a point like Montero was. This video was just supposed to be fun and a play on his lyric, “Bitch, I’m back like J Christ”, hence the biblical imagery. As much as I enjoy art with a big statement, I don’t think every music video has to be that lol I think because of the teasers and his past work, people expected for this mv to have hard-hitting criticism against Christianity, but I don’t think that was the intention at all. Personally, I think Nas is very talented and has a lot more to give. I really enjoyed all his past eras and I only see him refining his art even more as time goes on.
i really agree with all the criticism I'm hearing from an artistic and growing standpoint. it's just nice seeing the tables turned, just a smidge cause this stuff isn't super satisfying, to see. i mean queerness was always the butt of the joke without any understanding of it and this shallowness bred so much viciousness. and then we just carry on with our day lol
Madonna’s Like A Prayer is a fever dream. Top tier pop artist 😂 I wish more in our generation realized that she is the master of provocation and her statements are still strong and poignant today. And she also knew how to give you something shocking and then bring you a legitimate bop or something beautiful and new after the controversy. We don’t have any artist that’s come close to her legacy, I think she’s excellent.
Lol “that’s some good blasphemy” yes, I have my beef with Madonna but there’s no denying the innovation in that moment. People have been trying to recreate it since
I agree with your thinking process. However, I think that you might have missed a few things: 1/ Lil Nas X by nature is a troll and trickster. It is that very quality that catapulted him to fame through that famous cowboy dancing to Old Town Road. 2/ If people really followed him, with the exception of Montero (Call me by your name), all his videos have nothing to do with religious themes (if you do not agree, name any other video or song that touches on religious themes besides Call Me by Your Name). 3/ Now, comes the question of " WHO HAS THE RIGHT TO GATEKEEP JESUS/GOD?" That is an important question. 4/ Finally, before releasing the video, he said this was the last video to transition from that " controversy" of Call Me by Your Name, to a new era. 5/ Most of all, for intellectual honesty, you should have also reference other review that are contrary to your opinion, instead of the one that agrees with you. 6/ He was in on The Spotify post. Check it out. 7/ Falling into the energy wave of " Bashing Lil Nas X" is equally intellectually lazy and unfair. 8/ Lil Nas X looks at his arts as a continuum. He thinks differently. He is not your typical artist who puts disjointed songs/projects. For him, it is important to close one chapter before starting a new one. Hence, this J Christ music video whereby he broke Satan's ankle and dunked on him. 9/ You, yourself, finally state that, " You can't be a Pop Star without being problematic." A statement that is contradictory to your take on Lil Nas X trolling. 10/ You also, profusely praise Madonna with the benefit of hindsight. I am sure you know that this music video by Madonna was considered " blasphemous" at the time. There will come a time when people will also appreciate LIl Nas X a few decades down the road. Peace
@@elioneil I did watch it. My critique actually stems from this concerted attempt to box an artist to "Just shut up and sing" a la Laurra Ingram's instructions to LeBron James to just, " shut up and dribble." What is happening with Lil Nas X is that White Evangelical are irked that a dark skin Black man says they identify with Jesus, and Black homophobes are equally dismayed that a " gay man" is saying he identifies with Jesus. That is why, I open my post with " I agree with your thinking process." I am a big fan of Kimberly and would equally defend her if I felt that someone or group pf people belittle her work and try to "box" her, especially if it comes off as joining a campaign against her. This young man was thrust into the public eye at the tender age of 19, and he is still continuing to grow in front of our eyes (reminds me of Justin Bieber and his wild days). It's just that Lil Nas X is literally not given a chance to even make the slightest mistake. I would like for a content creator to examine the unholy union of racists, Christian fanatics and homophobes as they crucify him (and yes, I know that Kimberly is an anti-racist person. So, I am not saying she is one of them). Anyway, lets agree to differ and move on. PEACE. www.huffpost.com/entry/lil-nas-x-not-mocking-christianity_n_65a931ebe4b00bbb446e3149#:~:text=Since%20the%20release%20of%20the,with%20Lil%20Nas%20X%27s%20catalog.
Most Christian influencers complain about popular culture and politics. It helps them go viral. Christian influencers and people like Nas X have a symbiotic relationship and I wouldn't be surprised if they were collaborating with each other.
I love Meg too, and all the hate "Bongos" is *STILL* getting is unwarranted. So many channels have crapped on the song as if it's the worst of 2023, which I find to be absurd. Cardi's 2022 song "Hot Sh*t" was worse than "Bongos". Also, I think Meg helped the song, and I like the hook. It's catchy. However, Cardi's verses were horrible.
Other artists can give Christian imagery a moment in their videos but its nothing about how the whole video was about that, it was just a part.... Let this young artist process their relationship with religion and also have stuff that's there because it is. It's not always that deep. It'll get the clicks from the bigots we expect but for the rest it's just a video.
I literally thought I was the only one who felt this way. I wasn't going being a hypocrite and fake outrage when so many music acts have done the Christ-thing before him Madonna & countless rappers (i.e.2Pac, Kanye, Kendrick Lamar, Nas), and I didn't bat an eyelash. I'm disappointed that the sucks. His last album was great but, this song is very short & just as pointless.
The disrespect of religion is something thats just crazy to me and it seems to almost EXCLUSIVELY happen for Christianity. People just let it happen? You dont see people making music videos like this disrespecting Judaism or Islam or Hinduism. Im not even Christian (Im a Muslim) but it's pretty crazy how people openly mock this religion for "art". It's 2024 what happened to being respectful towards peoples beliefs and inclusive? Or does that not apply for Christianity? I get Lil Gas X has his opinions towards it but it's just blatant disrespect. He can critique it all he wants but the visuals are tired and boring and I apply this opinion even artists who did it previously Doja, Madonna, Sam Smith etc.
As a sculpture student artist, I’ve been thinking about this a lot. I want to put pieces out that continue conversation but trailing differently. I don’t want to be tacky but I want to be honest in a visually compelling format using popular iconography that masses can initially taste to further digest-
The Christian faith is not monolithic. I’m deep within a few faith based spaces and sub genres and a lot of us ignored this release from him as well as Monterro. I hate saying stuff like this because I don’t like hierarchies within the faith and don’t believe that they should exist but a lot of Christians who get upset about this stuff tend to fall in the cultural Christian group rather than those who are sincerely devoted to living a Christ centered life. The only thing that mainly came up was the communion thing. I can’t speak for all Christians but I will say stuff like this isn’t personally offensive to us. But what we believe about communion and how we view it as sacred and dangerous to play with was super alarming.
I’ve been a big Lil Nas X supporter but seeing all the expected homophobia that followed this lil stunt was really unpleasant and I won’t be hyping him up this time around..
S/O to that incisive Jon Caramanica article, one of my fav music journalists! As for LNX, I think he should trust his talent more than gimmicks. His debut album showed so much promise. But he’s falling into the trap of letting the gimmicks overshadow the material. Eminem was a troll too, but there was always more to the story and he could easily ditch the gimmicks. I fear if Lil Nas X ditched them, he might struggle to stand on interest in his music alone, in which case, his reliance on outrage marketing and trolling actually reveals a *lack of confidence* in his music's appeal and selling power without the rage-bait. It becomes a crutch he leans on to prop up such a weak lead single as this one. Without the 7-figure budget video, this song would have missed the hot100 altogether, his fanbase didn’t show up! And as somebody who worked years in Music PR, that’s the grown-up business conversation I wanna have rn, not the Jesus stuff. 😅 We love to use the phrase “controversy sells” (and it usually does), except, what about when it doesn’t? 🤔
This is like a step backward. I'm with you, Montero was a great start to his last era. But this is the start of a new era, and he's back to trolling Christianity. I understand and appreciate his trolling, but there is so much more to troll about. Lets get something new before we go back to the same gimmick.
That’s unfortunately becoming more common amongst artists it seems. One thing capitalism will always do is find one way to optimize profit and that the becomes the standard for everyone and everything associated. It’s almost a cannon event with aging entertainers trying to get some eyes by adopting “anti woke” / anti PC personalities but it works 🤷🏾♂️
My only critique of the criticism is - he’s not doing nothing any different than many of his peers. I’m confused on why there should always be a think piece. But I do know why it’s cause he’s….
At first I was upset now I don't care. I ignore his music videos. Clearly he just wants attention and knows how to get it. He probably has trauma, church hurt etc. Interesting how celebs choose to make fun of Christianity but not many other religions who are also against the lgptq movement etc.
You can choose to think of it as Blasphemy and trolling OR a use of Biblical Allusion to represent the coming of a new Era in his career. I think that's what he was going for, the song was kind of boring but I liked the video for what it was, a branding tool. I don't think the goal was artistry.
The song itself is just so generic imo…the bar is literally in hell (no pun intended). Hopefully someone on his team, or close to him, helps him understand he doesn’t have to rely on gimmicks to sell, IF the art is strong enough on its own.
@devcam8843-thank you for your response. This may seem obvious, but can you give me a couple examples. As a Christian, I can understand why many people think there should be a “separation” of church and state, when I look at all that’s going on in every sector of life, none of them seem to be controlled by or even adhere to Christian (or any other religious) principles.
The music is horrible to me. I dont get it and the religious imagery seems forced. It all seems so performative. I think ive aged out at 33 so im probably not the target audience.
I have a really hard time believing that. I think trolling is a part of his artistry, but to troll the same group twice... it's clearly a marketing tool.
Yeah , he’s annoying. It seems like the same thing rebranded. It was done for shock factor but I was incredibly bored. He needs to work on the quality of his music.
Christians are not being gullible. Imagine the outrage if he mocked Jews or Muslims? Or imagine the outrage if someone else mocked gays? Ppl are ready to fight over pronouns?!?! So why can’t Christians be offended?
This title was my first thought when I saw the JC stuff. His trolling is usually a bit more complex. Either he is just a troll, or he does this as some wall to soften the blow to gay comments. Idk
I kind of took it two ways - 1. He’s testing the waters to see how people react to this to know how to navigate this new era or 2. He’s pulling a dua lipa with dance the night where he’s nodding to the last era he was in and this is the nail in the coffin and then he’ll completely switch sounds.
I can’t stress enough how much of a bad move it was for Lil Nas X to go the trolling route for his sophomore era. This is the time he should be at his artistic peak. He should be trying weird things musically and developing his craft, not rehashing old tricks. Also I’m so glad you showed Like A Prayer. It’s a masterpiece (the song, the video, and the album). All I’m gonna say is if Lil Nas X could ever make something anywhere near as good as THAT, he’ll have a very lasting career. Unfortunately for him, J CHRIST is just not that thing. Not even close.
I really think there's something to be said about him not being able to have his jesus era like so many rappers before him without it being dismissed as being for shock value. Why cant it be a queer black man expressing himself in his art and sharing that journey? I think this may just have to be something that's appreciated in hindsight eventually.
Maybe I'm coming at this from a metalhead perspective 🤘 ...but I love Lil Nas X and his epic trolling of Christians. Maybe because so many metal bands did it in the past so it made it hard to shock and really offend religious folk after awhile. It's like ppl got numb to it and stopped taking the bait (think Marilyn Manson back in the day). I kind of appreciate that people are offended again. Instead of the typical take, "This has been done before so it's boring", I have the opposite take, "I didn't think we could really make Christians upset anymore. Heck yes! They're mad again!" This could be the crap stirrer in me or maybe because I haven't believed in God since I was 8. Making fun of religion is perfectly normal to me... because religion is ridiculous. We have to put a mirror to it. I don't think Lil Nas X is any lazier than ur favorite gospel artist 🤷🏽♀️ Obviously, I'm in the minority...but that's my 2 cents.
There is a way to criticize religion as a queer man in America, and Lil Nas X's approach is not it. For instance, Yves Tumor, a queer artist, addresses similar issues, but he does it in a more subtle and artistic manner, without relying on cheap aesthetics and shock value. In contrast, Lil Nas X's approach lacks artistic interpretation and is solely based on shock value, which is not an effective way to critique religion.
Why is it not an "effective" way to critique religion? What is the "effect" you think he wants to have? To hand hold Christians and how they see the error of their ways?
@@125loopy It's not effective because it doesn't say much other than using blasphemy to incite uproar, it loses its impact. I'm all for calling out Christians but it just feels cheap and doesn't convey much other than trolling, like yes Christians can be hypocritical but what else do you have?
Absolutely he's resting on shock value at this point. His music isnt aligning like maybe it did at one point. Being blasphemous all the time only goes so far before everyone goes WHAT ELSE YOU GOT? Its lazy creativity for sure
My primary critique of most new artists is that they seem to create a void; they don't need to study music, art, and poetry. Due to the lack of nuanced references, the music comes across as shallow. That is why we have 35+ year-old artists still dominating.
Spot on. It’s the lack of reverence and study.
There are Lots of multi-hyphenated vaguely influencer esque artists which isn’t inherently an issue but it does place less emphasis on the music perhaps. There are many younger/newer artists that are very learned students of past musical traditions, but I think music tends to be their main thing/vehicle vs one of many other things/ potential vehicles.
"Shallow" artists are less likely to challenge higher ups. Their lack of awareness of art history and cycles means they're more likely to obey trends and orders. The music business has always had a whole lot of power plays behind the scenes, and if shallow artists are wanted so that authority figures in the industry don't have to get challenged, then shallow art is what the public gets.
That being said, Lil Nas X is a hard worker. I went to his concert, it was lit, dude even told us he was throwing up before he got on stage. He is human and may be burnt out on following absurd trends and advice.
I can ~feel~ when entertainment (whether music or film) is created with bite-size virality in mind...which is partially a byproduct of the nature of the internet and information spreading...which is fine, although I wonder how many artists will have made enough of an impact to be art/music that's referenced later on. Most of the time it seems very fleeting and…not memorable.
wait like 5-6 years
Can we also talk ab how this Lil Nas X song sound like a knock off of Kendrick Lamar’s Humble?
I'm not a big rap listener at all (have only heard Kendrick incidentally) and I heard the similarity right away
Exactly!!!!
The shein version
Teemu@@AngeBiampandou
That crown of thorns image as well.
I don’t think I’d be as critical about this if he didn’t knock it out the park so hard with Montero. Everything about that was so smart, so in your face, so well done… it kind of felt like a Disney straight to dvd sequel of Montero.
And for some people that’d be fine but I know he’s capable of way better.
THIS.
"A Disney straight to video sequel" is the perfect way to put it!
Religious aspect aside, He could've stuck with the basketball and cheerleading concept! He (or they) shoehorned multiple concepts for 1 SONG!
Honestly, the cheerleading was the best part. Basketball against the devil in heaven is a great concept on its own. I still like the video bc he served looks, and I find the song catchy. Not a life-changer, but not every video has to be.
The musical equivalent of fast fashion.
Wow. I like that
This comment is genius lol!
😮💨 a word !
Said perfectly
😂😂😂 great comment 👏🏿
You’re a pop culture connoisseur Kim of course Lil Nas’ antics would look tired to you when you’ve witnessed iterations of it already and viewed them analytically.
Pop stars have always done this. The ones that did it well just had more longevity.
wow, great point
Yes but those artists did it with intention. He himself did it with intention previously, now it was incoherent reaction farming
Also, when pop artists did it, they backed it up with a great pop song. The lil nas x song was not good.
They also could actually sing and had mad talent these new artist today do not big difference.
I'm a devout Christian and it always makes me cringe when I see other Christians take such obvious bait. Clearly Lil Nas is counting on us Christians to get up in arms and sell his content for him and we do it every single time. Just ignore him. I promise you all that life won't change because Nas was hooping against the Devil in a white dress.
If this ain't the truth👏👏💯💯
I've said similar things. We need to teach children / teens that it's unacceptable, but we don't need to spend a lot of time with public expressions of outrage because that's what he wants.
He is very boring to me. Just thrives off of shock value 🙄
I’m old enough to remember EXACTLY just how much controversy Madonna caused with that video. Loss of sponsorships, the violence. My mother banning us from watching MTV at the height of this song because blasphemy.
Madonna is the blueprint!! That cannot ever be denied.
Some christians are so gullible! like why do they fall for an artist trolling them just for them to give said artist youtube views and the attention
Exactly!
People forget how provocative Madonna was in her heyday. She was the blueprint for all of the "edgy" pop stars out today. Madonna IS pop music.
Yes and she had talent to back it up. Nas X does not
That like a prayer video had people losing their minds.. she knew how to push it
@@rerebrook5057I feel like ppl forget he’s like a celebrity and musician by accident. His meme song blew up and now he’s just reaction farming bc his heart isn’t into the musicality of a pop star career. He has an idea of what can make something viral but he’s not like a student of music in any way. I hate his songs but I find his presence in the pop culture landscape interesting bc it just shows how nuanced it can be now that social media is the powerhouse that it is.
@@jgirlinluv55losing their minds, even pepsi cola...😅
I wanted more from lil Nas x and yes this was lazy. We are so far from where we were two years ago. We needed a new era.
He's a young guy processing his religious trauma and religious discrimination. There will always be young people who go through this phase after escaping their religious bubble. It may be a tired subject to older people who've seen it already but we should give every new generation of young people space to process this religious belief transition in their life
I was looking for this comment 🙌🏾💯🎯
This comment here is what I wanted to see more understanding of.
Exactly, the " adultification" of Lil Nas X is not surprising at all. If he was a White/Caucasian Cis-Het male, he would have been shown more grace for sure. People have been intentionally attacking him with a vengeance since he was 19.
I love Madonna so much for being lit and understanding her assignment! I used to be glued to VH1 watching Pop-up video back in the day lol
i'm a big fan of Lil Nas X but I was also disappointed by this, felt too much like treading old ground and the music was not as compelling as I expect from his singles. Still looking forward to the rest of this era as some of the clips he shared previously were great.
This alongside Doja cat Scarlett era and Olivia roderigo guts and Harry styles David Bowie cosplay is why I’ve been gravitating towards niche/alternative music genres and artists I mean I always had but there was always a balance between that and mainstream pop music but now it feels like a lot of pop artists today like nas x, Doja, Harry and Olivia among others want to be edgy, provocative, alternative etc in their persona and visuals and marketing but they keep it safe and stale in the music and I feel a lot of them do that bc they know niche/alternative music genres are now starting to dominate the charts and landscape now and it’s doing so without those genres dumbing down to appeal to mainstream audiences its the complete opposite and they want to adapt to that but a lot of them either don’t have the range to really go there in their music or they have to keep it safe to get play on top 40 radio. This is why underground hip hop/rap, R&B, alternative pop, indie rock, Latin American urbano, afro beat, KPOP etc have been my main playlists those artists within those genres walk the walk if I want something to be as wax, as avant garde, as thought provoking, as exciting I go straight to them the pop stars today want to have their cake and eat it too.
How is Olivia Rodrigo being edgy she hasn’t added any of the weird demon stuff
@@aspireistoinspirebeforewee3519it’s the alt-rock influences in her album guts I feel she tries a lot of alt rock influences of people like white stripes, country love, alanis moriesstte, etc but she end up coming off as a derivative to artists that authentically do it better, nothing I said being edgy is being demonic
@@Kevin-rg3ycTHIS is why I can’t get into it! It feels like she’s playing a role 😂
@@niableeI like her music and I think she’s an outstanding lyricist but musically I’m not sure she reminds me alot of the R&B singer H.E.R. they both have the issue of talented lyricists and vocalists but underwhelming musicians
What sort of kpop are you listening to?
He reminds me of Doja Cat decinding to adopt this demonic persona, and it kinda fell flat. It's sanitized edginess. Not to mention the song itself isn't great and sounds similar to Kendrick's 'Humble'.
my only problem with it as a gay black man who doesn't care as much about religion is the song itself lyrically has nothing to do with religion , the imagery is just there for no reason . like if the song was about how people used religion to crucify him I would be going up but its like he only used the imagery to get us to look , which feel cheap and corny
It's a FUN SONG. It just isn't enough. It feels like it may be an intro to something deeper. Hopefully that's the case.
It definitely feels like an intro to a new era. I liked it.
I think this might be a intro to something different. Well I hope it is because if he stays on this path it’s not looking good.
Lil Nas X is more focused on trolling Christians rather than making good music. 🙄
music recently is SO tired and boring. like all these people think they're doing something new and edgy by ..... like mocking religion or something. like girl, its been done NEXT.
Exactly mocking religion is silly to make something controversial plenty of options in this world
But it's still funny to see religious people being constantly triggered by that. They are being trolled but they can't get past it.
People will stop “mocking religion” when conservative Christians quit being god and people bothering control freaks who feel entitled to tell everyone how to live and who panic about stuff that doesn’t exist and jump at a shadows. You cannot be the dominant ideology of a region and not expect to have people of various ideas and understanding of said ideology NOT play with it in their art. But these people want to be culturally dominant, force people to live their way, make people’s lives miserable AND don’t want to see any take on their bs that’s not completely reverent. Amazing the hypocrisy and stupidity. Especially because it’s the most tepid “”mockery””, too.
@@LoXena Probably because its always the same religion. How come its always Christianity taking hits? I thought Islam was the top world religion now? Isn't it their turn now?
If I can offer perspective as a queer person, I did not find this to be a lazy song or MV. I think it's Lil Nas X's response to intense scrutiny from homophobic religious figures/institutions. Maybe it feels repetitive or literal for non queer folks, but being questioned about your queerness, coming out, defending yourself from homophobia is a continuous and unending process. It's tiring for queer folks to be looked at and loathed so intensely and so often so I see this as Lil Nas X turning back the lens on the people who want him to conform to cis-hetero and patriarchal structures. There's a lot more to be said about the music video but did not find it at all lazy or repetitive.
Queer 2 queer, all I can say is it would appeal to us on a personal level and I get the concept behind what he’s doing but it’s still not enough. Musically. If his songs were coming out with the beauty of a prince track that’s a whole different story but he’s giving us music lovers nothing….
I'm a part of the lgbtq+ community and I found this lazy too. It's not a queer, non-queer thing.
Yup🎉
As a queer person myself, I find it incredibly lackluster and gimmicky.
I agree 💯
Lil Nas X really needs to learn from his direct predecessor, Tyler The Creator, and focus much more on the artistry and talent than trolling.
Yes, Tyler is a better artist with more palpable talent but LNX has potential. If you keep making music and videos strictly to make people upset, it will work too well and you won’t have an audience.
This. Tyler is a great example
I agree !
I love it because it's fun and cute and lil Nas X is gorgeous so I'm happy watching the video and listening to the song.
i'm not saying it's high art or anything but I like it regardless.
This is my feeling. It’s not high art but still enjoyable and fun.
I just generally don't like when an artist tries to make the same thing happen twice. "Lick" and "Bongos" were clearly trying to recreate the success of "WAP," "Hold Me Closer" tried to recreate "Cold Heart," etc. I'm not interested in such similar material released so close together.
It's the first song after a year break... it's an intro, and he's doing what he's always done best. Get people to watch and react.
I think it’s funny how many people are pretty much calling lnx redundant and unoriginal (which I agree to an extent- many of his songs sound the same and videos feel the same), but at the end of the day people are still making think pieces and talking about it. That sounds like a win. Fans of his will support him.
The music isn’t good so all this controversy has no pay off
J.Christ is Lil Nas X’s Applause (Lady Gaga). What I mean by that is that while both artists were seen as vacuous provocateurs during their time, to me everything they did had some sort of unique artistic vision to it even it was something as simple as a hip hop country about Horses would be funny. But with both J.Christ and Applause it felt like they were officially out of Ideas and were retreading old ground for no reason other than having another hit (and I say this as someone who like both songs).
Yes! And i also like both songs
I like both, had applause on repeat for days.
Anthony Fantano called it. The song sounds like a bargain bin “Humble”.
Lil Nas X is very much a product of the contemporary era in music, in maybe the worst possible way
That article was so phenomenally written!
I see this as a teaser. I also think the message was received by who it was supposed to be received by.
People wouldn't be reading so much onto him using religious imagery if he wasn't gay. Popstars and rappers continuously refer christianism in the most superfluous way possible, even comparing themselves to Jesus or the virgin. And no one cares. I don't even think he tried to push anything here. it's just a fun video he knew would give him some publicity. it's not meant to be revolutionary or something. if the entire album is like this, them we can say he's lazy. but it's just one single
I was an older kid, not quite a preteen when Madonna's Like a Prayer video debuted - And you were absolutely right, it was certainly a freaking wild time. And yeah, it's wild to me how short our collective memory as a society is for these massive moments in pop culture - especially considering the fact that we used to live in such a monoculture prior to the internet - all these moments took on an even greater societal impact at the time then maybe they would today. But yeah, there was protesting and news articles and burning her albums and all kinds of well... The same kind of stuff that reactionaries keep pulling today.
We live in a time of increased White Christian Nationalism and fascism, to a point that I could not possibly have imagined, so fast so quickly just in the years that I've been alive. I was born in 1978, so right before the start of the Reagan '80s, and these last nearly 46 years I've been alive have been bewildering to say the least. I feel in a time like this, we could use a whole lot more well thought out blasphemy, instead of, as one of your commenters above stated, the musical equivalent of fast fashion. All it does is just give more cheap ammo out for the culture war BS that the media keeps front and center, all about the War on Christianity and American Values and whatever, so all the focus goes on to that instead of the real oppression, injustice, and harms that are actually being perpetrated upon actual marginalized people.
I think he is testing the waters. Nothing about this was shocking. It was just imagery.
I actually like him stepping out side the box!! 🎶 🪩 🎶
Christian shouldn't be so easily triggered....
explain?
@@minmeena people who’ve been reared with repressive xtianity do the most TEPID jokes about it and annoying, nosy evangelical xtians stupidly take the bait like starving dogs bc despite being the dominant class, they have a pitifully underdeveloped sense of security!
@@anastasiathehiphopfairy no, they’re easily triggered. Christianity is LITERALLY the dominant ideology of “the west”. Evangelicals and conservative christians especially pretend to be oppressed when they’re literally in charge. They feel victimized when anyone who isn’t them is acknowledge, which ISN’T the same as being “disrespected”. It deserves to be poked fun at. It’s not a big deal. Christians are just reared to believe the world is disdainful for not believing like them and are also reared to believe it’s their duty to make people like them. Of course they feel like people rebuffing them is a crime…
They are the most emotional clowns out there though, they’ve always been.
Okay make a mockery of others religion and let’s see what happens
As Lil Nas X said, this video isn’t trying to make a point like Montero was. This video was just supposed to be fun and a play on his lyric, “Bitch, I’m back like J Christ”, hence the biblical imagery. As much as I enjoy art with a big statement, I don’t think every music video has to be that lol
I think because of the teasers and his past work, people expected for this mv to have hard-hitting criticism against Christianity, but I don’t think that was the intention at all. Personally, I think Nas is very talented and has a lot more to give. I really enjoyed all his past eras and I only see him refining his art even more as time goes on.
i really agree with all the criticism I'm hearing from an artistic and growing standpoint. it's just nice seeing the tables turned, just a smidge cause this stuff isn't super satisfying, to see. i mean queerness was always the butt of the joke without any understanding of it and this shallowness bred so much viciousness. and then we just carry on with our day lol
Reminds me of Katy Perry swish swish 🫣
Madonna’s Like A Prayer is a fever dream. Top tier pop artist 😂 I wish more in our generation realized that she is the master of provocation and her statements are still strong and poignant today. And she also knew how to give you something shocking and then bring you a legitimate bop or something beautiful and new after the controversy. We don’t have any artist that’s come close to her legacy, I think she’s excellent.
Lol “that’s some good blasphemy” yes, I have my beef with Madonna but there’s no denying the innovation in that moment. People have been trying to recreate it since
I agree with your thinking process. However, I think that you might have missed a few things: 1/ Lil Nas X by nature is a troll and trickster. It is that very quality that catapulted him to fame through that famous cowboy dancing to Old Town Road. 2/ If people really followed him, with the exception of Montero (Call me by your name), all his videos have nothing to do with religious themes (if you do not agree, name any other video or song that touches on religious themes besides Call Me by Your Name). 3/ Now, comes the question of " WHO HAS THE RIGHT TO GATEKEEP JESUS/GOD?" That is an important question. 4/ Finally, before releasing the video, he said this was the last video to transition from that " controversy" of Call Me by Your Name, to a new era. 5/ Most of all, for intellectual honesty, you should have also reference other review that are contrary to your opinion, instead of the one that agrees with you. 6/ He was in on The Spotify post. Check it out. 7/ Falling into the energy wave of " Bashing Lil Nas X" is equally intellectually lazy and unfair. 8/ Lil Nas X looks at his arts as a continuum. He thinks differently. He is not your typical artist who puts disjointed songs/projects. For him, it is important to close one chapter before starting a new one. Hence, this J Christ music video whereby he broke Satan's ankle and dunked on him. 9/ You, yourself, finally state that, " You can't be a Pop Star without being problematic." A statement that is contradictory to your take on Lil Nas X trolling. 10/ You also, profusely praise Madonna with the benefit of hindsight. I am sure you know that this music video by Madonna was considered " blasphemous" at the time. There will come a time when people will also appreciate LIl Nas X a few decades down the road. Peace
this is a reasonable critique. thank you for this.
Agreed.
agree especially about the hindsight.
It seems you completely missed the point. Maybe a second watch, because there’s a disconnect in your commentary on her critique.
@@elioneil I did watch it. My critique actually stems from this concerted attempt to box an artist to "Just shut up and sing" a la Laurra Ingram's instructions to LeBron James to just, " shut up and dribble." What is happening with Lil Nas X is that White Evangelical are irked that a dark skin Black man says they identify with Jesus, and Black homophobes are equally dismayed that a " gay man" is saying he identifies with Jesus. That is why, I open my post with " I agree with your thinking process." I am a big fan of Kimberly and would equally defend her if I felt that someone or group pf people belittle her work and try to "box" her, especially if it comes off as joining a campaign against her. This young man was thrust into the public eye at the tender age of 19, and he is still continuing to grow in front of our eyes (reminds me of Justin Bieber and his wild days). It's just that Lil Nas X is literally not given a chance to even make the slightest mistake. I would like for a content creator to examine the unholy union of racists, Christian fanatics and homophobes as they crucify him (and yes, I know that Kimberly is an anti-racist person. So, I am not saying she is one of them). Anyway, lets agree to differ and move on. PEACE.
www.huffpost.com/entry/lil-nas-x-not-mocking-christianity_n_65a931ebe4b00bbb446e3149#:~:text=Since%20the%20release%20of%20the,with%20Lil%20Nas%20X%27s%20catalog.
"kai...worry about yourself"
He has always been a troll first. A musician last
Haha! My Black gay coworker and I were talking about this just the other day. It feels like he’s trying to be Madonna but 40 years late.
Most Christian influencers complain about popular culture and politics. It helps them go viral. Christian influencers and people like Nas X have a symbiotic relationship and I wouldn't be surprised if they were collaborating with each other.
i really hated that i agreed with the haters about bongos bc i love meg. it was so terrible. 😕
I love Meg too, and all the hate "Bongos" is *STILL* getting is unwarranted. So many channels have crapped on the song as if it's the worst of 2023, which I find to be absurd. Cardi's 2022 song "Hot Sh*t" was worse than "Bongos". Also, I think Meg helped the song, and I like the hook. It's catchy. However, Cardi's verses were horrible.
I like the song but I still think the song was doing too much I only love it for Megan’s verse tbh
Megan always gives it her all, even on songs that are disjointed and mid
@@larissabrglum3856 Right! That's what I'm saying!
Other artists can give Christian imagery a moment in their videos but its nothing about how the whole video was about that, it was just a part.... Let this young artist process their relationship with religion and also have stuff that's there because it is. It's not always that deep. It'll get the clicks from the bigots we expect but for the rest it's just a video.
Kim! I would love you to do more deep dives on pop legends because I really thought like a prayer was about someone who just really liked praying...
It’s getting boring. Lil Nas needs to do something normal. That will shock the world 😂
idk about this but i loved his last album
Now THIS is a conversation worth having! He’s done this rollout before and it doesn’t have the same effect
I literally thought I was the only one who felt this way. I wasn't going being a hypocrite and fake outrage when so many music acts have done the Christ-thing before him Madonna & countless rappers (i.e.2Pac, Kanye, Kendrick Lamar, Nas), and I didn't bat an eyelash. I'm disappointed that the sucks. His last album was great but, this song is very short & just as pointless.
As someone who grew up catholic I love a little jab at organized religion, but this was too "try-hard" to enjoy.
He’s boring and predictable.
It's a catchy song, but only for the moment, not gonna be a song we play years from now.
The disrespect of religion is something thats just crazy to me and it seems to almost EXCLUSIVELY happen for Christianity. People just let it happen? You dont see people making music videos like this disrespecting Judaism or Islam or Hinduism. Im not even Christian (Im a Muslim) but it's pretty crazy how people openly mock this religion for "art". It's 2024 what happened to being respectful towards peoples beliefs and inclusive? Or does that not apply for Christianity? I get Lil Gas X has his opinions towards it but it's just blatant disrespect. He can critique it all he wants but the visuals are tired and boring and I apply this opinion even artists who did it previously Doja, Madonna, Sam Smith etc.
Have you read up on your History? You must live under a rock if you think the Christian church isnt due it's scrutiny.
Never liked Lil Nas X, but I'm glad he _truthfully_ portrayed Jesus as black.
As a sculpture student artist, I’ve been thinking about this a lot. I want to put pieces out that continue conversation but trailing differently. I don’t want to be tacky but I want to be honest in a visually compelling format using popular iconography that masses can initially taste to further digest-
The Christian faith is not monolithic. I’m deep within a few faith based spaces and sub genres and a lot of us ignored this release from him as well as Monterro. I hate saying stuff like this because I don’t like hierarchies within the faith and don’t believe that they should exist but a lot of Christians who get upset about this stuff tend to fall in the cultural Christian group rather than those who are sincerely devoted to living a Christ centered life. The only thing that mainly came up was the communion thing. I can’t speak for all Christians but I will say stuff like this isn’t personally offensive to us. But what we believe about communion and how we view it as sacred and dangerous to play with was super alarming.
He reminds me of Ava Max "Heaven and Hell" concept album. I'm curious to see how it's going to be received.
I never thought he was nothing but a gimmick.
I still don't see the hype.
He’s been lazy , love you Kimberly 💋💋💋💋💋💋💋💋
Yup
I’ve been a big Lil Nas X supporter but seeing all the expected homophobia that followed this lil stunt was really unpleasant and I won’t be hyping him up this time around..
S/O to that incisive Jon Caramanica article, one of my fav music journalists! As for LNX, I think he should trust his talent more than gimmicks. His debut album showed so much promise. But he’s falling into the trap of letting the gimmicks overshadow the material. Eminem was a troll too, but there was always more to the story and he could easily ditch the gimmicks. I fear if Lil Nas X ditched them, he might struggle to stand on interest in his music alone, in which case, his reliance on outrage marketing and trolling actually reveals a *lack of confidence* in his music's appeal and selling power without the rage-bait. It becomes a crutch he leans on to prop up such a weak lead single as this one. Without the 7-figure budget video, this song would have missed the hot100 altogether, his fanbase didn’t show up! And as somebody who worked years in Music PR, that’s the grown-up business conversation I wanna have rn, not the Jesus stuff. 😅 We love to use the phrase “controversy sells” (and it usually does), except, what about when it doesn’t? 🤔
Shout out to semiotics! I knew that a speech comm degree would pay off one day 😂🤓
It's giving one trick pony.
that play bar in the video is kind of distracting, esp bc it’s not moving
i'm so over the "controversial" era's. like you're an artist, why is everything a reply to the media. music should speak for itself and yourself
"Good ol fashion blasphemy from Lil Nas X" my same explanation. Weird to redo the same concept years later, but worse
This is like a step backward. I'm with you, Montero was a great start to his last era.
But this is the start of a new era, and he's back to trolling Christianity. I understand and appreciate his trolling, but there is so much more to troll about. Lets get something new before we go back to the same gimmick.
Even if he is trolling, it's giving Kidz Bop level of trolling. Who is his audience?
Trolling Christians
That’s unfortunately becoming more common amongst artists it seems.
One thing capitalism will always do is find one way to optimize profit and that the becomes the standard for everyone and everything associated.
It’s almost a cannon event with aging entertainers trying to get some eyes by adopting “anti woke” / anti PC personalities but it works 🤷🏾♂️
My only critique of the criticism is - he’s not doing nothing any different than many of his peers. I’m confused on why there should always be a think piece. But I do know why it’s cause he’s….
At first I was upset now I don't care. I ignore his music videos. Clearly he just wants attention and knows how to get it. He probably has trauma, church hurt etc. Interesting how celebs choose to make fun of Christianity but not many other religions who are also against the lgptq movement etc.
You can choose to think of it as Blasphemy and trolling OR a use of Biblical Allusion to represent the coming of a new Era in his career. I think that's what he was going for, the song was kind of boring but I liked the video for what it was, a branding tool. I don't think the goal was artistry.
The song itself is just so generic imo…the bar is literally in hell (no pun intended). Hopefully someone on his team, or close to him, helps him understand he doesn’t have to rely on gimmicks to sell, IF the art is strong enough on its own.
"i love a budget" LMAO
@devcam8843-thank you for your response. This may seem obvious, but can you give me a couple examples. As a Christian, I can understand why many people think there should be a “separation” of church and state, when I look at all that’s going on in every sector of life, none of them seem to be controlled by or even adhere to Christian (or any other religious) principles.
The music is horrible to me. I dont get it and the religious imagery seems forced. It all seems so performative. I think ive aged out at 33 so im probably not the target audience.
Have yall ever considered that this may be his actual artistry?
I have a really hard time believing that. I think trolling is a part of his artistry, but to troll the same group twice... it's clearly a marketing tool.
@@anastasiathehiphopfairyyup
I mean, it can be his actual artistry and still be meh or bad lol. It’s kinda surface level/superficial.
It can be lol but it’s still getting boring
Two things can be true simultaneously: it can be his artistry and it can be lazy/bad.
Wonderful article. On point.
Yeah , he’s annoying. It seems like the same thing rebranded. It was done for shock factor but I was incredibly bored. He needs to work on the quality of his music.
The way I had no idea that was the context of Madonnas song ☠️☠️☠️
Christians are not being gullible. Imagine the outrage if he mocked Jews or Muslims?
Or imagine the outrage if someone else mocked gays? Ppl are ready to fight over pronouns?!?! So why can’t Christians be offended?
This title was my first thought when I saw the JC stuff. His trolling is usually a bit more complex. Either he is just a troll, or he does this as some wall to soften the blow to gay comments. Idk
I kind of took it two ways - 1. He’s testing the waters to see how people react to this to know how to navigate this new era or 2. He’s pulling a dua lipa with dance the night where he’s nodding to the last era he was in and this is the nail in the coffin and then he’ll completely switch sounds.
Like a Prayer was my jam!
Tho I would have been way too young to understand any of the controversy at the time.
He was a novelty act from the beginning. He was never an artist. Hopefully, he'll get a music education and grow.
I can’t stress enough how much of a bad move it was for Lil Nas X to go the trolling route for his sophomore era.
This is the time he should be at his artistic peak. He should be trying weird things musically and developing his craft, not rehashing old tricks.
Also I’m so glad you showed Like A Prayer. It’s a masterpiece (the song, the video, and the album). All I’m gonna say is if Lil Nas X could ever make something anywhere near as good as THAT, he’ll have a very lasting career.
Unfortunately for him, J CHRIST is just not that thing. Not even close.
I really think there's something to be said about him not being able to have his jesus era like so many rappers before him without it being dismissed as being for shock value. Why cant it be a queer black man expressing himself in his art and sharing that journey? I think this may just have to be something that's appreciated in hindsight eventually.
I loved it 🤷🏼♀️. Love the Kendrick Lamar vibes in the beat.
Like a prayer was about giving dome???
I love the song n video, I'm an athiest tho so. It filled my boat lol
Maybe I'm coming at this from a metalhead perspective 🤘 ...but I love Lil Nas X and his epic trolling of Christians. Maybe because so many metal bands did it in the past so it made it hard to shock and really offend religious folk after awhile. It's like ppl got numb to it and stopped taking the bait (think Marilyn Manson back in the day). I kind of appreciate that people are offended again.
Instead of the typical take, "This has been done before so it's boring", I have the opposite take, "I didn't think we could really make Christians upset anymore. Heck yes! They're mad again!"
This could be the crap stirrer in me or maybe because I haven't believed in God since I was 8. Making fun of religion is perfectly normal to me... because religion is ridiculous. We have to put a mirror to it.
I don't think Lil Nas X is any lazier than ur favorite gospel artist 🤷🏽♀️ Obviously, I'm in the minority...but that's my 2 cents.
There is a way to criticize religion as a queer man in America, and Lil Nas X's approach is not it. For instance, Yves Tumor, a queer artist, addresses similar issues, but he does it in a more subtle and artistic manner, without relying on cheap aesthetics and shock value. In contrast, Lil Nas X's approach lacks artistic interpretation and is solely based on shock value, which is not an effective way to critique religion.
Why is it not an "effective" way to critique religion? What is the "effect" you think he wants to have? To hand hold Christians and how they see the error of their ways?
@@125loopyIn my opinion, because it losses it's impact.
@@125loopy It's not effective because it doesn't say much other than using blasphemy to incite uproar, it loses its impact. I'm all for calling out Christians but it just feels cheap and doesn't convey much other than trolling, like yes Christians can be hypocritical but what else do you have?
Absolutely he's resting on shock value at this point. His music isnt aligning like maybe it did at one point. Being blasphemous all the time only goes so far before everyone goes WHAT ELSE YOU GOT? Its lazy creativity for sure