Lil Nas X drops scathing new diss track calling out BET Awards and homophobia in Black community
Lil Nas X posted a video on Twitter dissing the BET Awards. (Credit: MONTERO Twitter)
Lil Nas X has called out the BET Awards in scathing new diss track “Late to Da Party” after not receiving a single nomination for the second year in a row.
The 22-year-old rapper didn’t hold back, sharing a video to Twitter on Tuesday (7 June) of him sitting shirtless in a car, dancing along to the song and miming along with the lyrics “f**k BET”.
The defiant “Late to Da Party” continues with Nas rapping: “F**k BET, f**k BET/ Lick it on up, slurp it/ Make it sloppy, OK, OK, OK, OK/ Look at how I top s**t/ I just put like three up in the top 10/ And I don’t need nobody/ I just need these ccs on my body/ Everything I do be tryna run, go make a profit/ Read about it.”
https://twitter.com/LilNasX/status/1534276413863256064
In follow up tweets, Lil Nas X revealed that rapper YoungBoy Never Broke Again would have a guest verse on the track, and explained that the song was also about homophobia in the Black community.
“This is not over no BET Award,” he said. “This is about the bigger problem of homophobia in the Black community. Y’all can sit and pretend all you want but I’mma risk it all for us.
“How can I get acknowledged by the most acclaimed award show in the world and then not even just one nomination from my own people? Is that not crazy? Am I really tripping?”
Lil Nas X has been nominated for 11 Grammy Awards in his career, winning two in 2020 for Best Music Video and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. In contrast, he has only been nominated for one BET Award – in 2020, for Best New Artist – something which the award show was quick to point out in its response to Lil Nas X’s diss track.
In a statement to Deadline, BET Awards said: “We love Lil Nas X. He was nominated for a Best New Artist BET Award in 2020, and we proudly showcased his extraordinary talent and creativity on the show twice: he performed ‘Old Town Road’ with Billy Ray Cyrus at BET Awards 2019 and his BET Awards 2021 performance was a highlight of our show. No one cheered louder that night than BET.
“Unfortunately, this year, he was not nominated by BET’s voting academy, which is comprised of an esteemed group of nearly 500 entertainment professionals in the fields of music, television, film, digital marketing, sports journalism, public relations, influencers, and creative arts.
“No one from BET serves as a member of the voting academy.
“At BET, we are passionate advocates for the wonderful diversity that exists within our community. We are committed to using all of our platforms to provide visibility and inclusion for all of the many intersections of the Black community.”
BET also posted a video of Lil Nas X on their Instagram with the caption: “This is bigger than the #BETAwards. This is real life and we will always rock with Lil Nas X and stand for our people.”
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Lil Nas X came out as gay in June 2019 but his image and music became explicitly more queer with the release of 2020 single “Holiday” and, of course, 2021’s iconic “Montero (Call Me by Your Name)”. The rapper suggested this is why he hasn’t been nominated for a BET Award since his first, following the breakout success of “Old Town Road”.
When a Twitter user pointed out that Black LGBTQ+ artists Frank Ocean and Tyler, the Creator had both been nominated in the BET Awards in recent years, Lil Nas X replied: “Love Frank and Tyler to death but can we admit queer men are more respected when they do less feminine things or am I making that up?
“Gay men should continue making being gay their whole personality as long as we are still being jailed and f**king killed in countries for it.’
He also dismissed BET’s statement, saying: “These are literally just buzz words placed together.”
The 2022 BET Awards will take place on 26 June in Los Angeles.
