Lil Nas X on ‘Dreamboy’ Era: ‘I Wanna Be Myself More’

Lil Nas X no longer seeks acceptance on his upcoming sophomore album, Dreamboy.

At the GLAAD Media Awards on Thursday (March 27), the rapper spoke with People on the red carpet, sharing his decision to unlearn wanting to be liked. On Friday, Nas released his second EP, Days Before Dreamboy, which includes singles “Hotbox” and “Light Again.”

“I wanna be myself more than ever this era,” the two-time Grammy winner told the publication. “I want to be completely free out there, only doing the things that I wanna do. If I do not want to do it, I’m not doing it.”

“If I don’t want be there, I’m not gonna be there,” he continued. “I think it’s more important than ever to really stand in myself and my power and recognize where I’m taking my energy and where I don’t want to take it.”

Nas also recalled the need for wanting “everybody to like me before.” “When I started to let go of it more, I would still hold onto to it. And now I’m here and I’m just… I’m showing up as me. I’m existing,” he continued.

The Georgia native, who hasn’t released a full-length album since his 2021 debut Montero, also recalled having to “experience a mundane life” to readjust to fame.

“I jumped straight into adulthood with extreme fame around me. So it was really nice to be just outside walking and meeting people in the streets and eating at restaurants, just even alone, spending a lot of alone time in solitude,” he shared.

But in his Dreamboy era, Nas stressed that he doesn’t “give a fuck who’s watching.” “I’m not trying to start anything. I’m not trying to step on toes. If it happens, it happens.”

Last year, the artist was at the center of controversy for his depiction of Jesus in the music video for “J Christ,” which he later apologized for.