Lil Nas X told fans over the weekend that he is sitting on a pile of unreleased material before previewing an eclectic handful of the unnamed tracks in his backlog. “been hoarding music for years smh i hate my relationship with fear of my songs not doing well and perception,” Lil Nas wrote in a post that featured bits of seven songs ranging from moody acoustic ballads to electro dance bangers.
“i wish i could just release music and not give af!. anyways enough venting…what’s you guys top 2 of these snippets ??” he asked in soliciting feedback on which ones he should consider officially releasing.
The first offering, the slow grinder “Trust Me,” appeared to be a autobiographical tale of middle school life, with Nas rapping, “Cap and gown, I graduated and got out of town/ Went to colleg where I had no one around/ Grindr sessions sexing with faceless accounts,” over a spare, bass-heavy beat.
The gospel-rap “Right There” features Lil Nas dropping hyped up bars over a church choir, while the dance-y, AfroBeats-ish “Light Again” is a bouncy pop tune with the refrain, “F–k up the night/ What a hell of a life.” Things get introspective on the meditative, acoustic guitar ballad “Angels,” on which Lil Nas croons, “Father stretch my hands/ The lonely road seems to last the longest/ Help me with my plans/ Everything seems to go to nowhere/ Free me from worry and wanting pity/ Free me from all this envy in me.”
A song that has been widely leaked, the hard-hitting “Down Souf Hoes,” was also included in the dump, as was the straight ahead rhyme “Lean on My Body” — performed shirtless while walking on a treadmill while playing keyboard — and the propulsive pop rap “Batty Boy.”
It’s the first taste of new music since Lil Nas stirred up his usual hornet’s nest of controversy with his January single “J Christ” and its button-pushing video.
Check out Lil Nas’ unreleased song snippets below.