Lil Nas X
covered the latest issue of GQ as one of the magazine's Men of the Year. The rapper, dressed in a variety of outfits, including a pink, frilled dress, opened up about his efforts to challenge gender norms.

While opening up to GQ about his feelings on coming out as a gay rapper and the state of the music industry, he acknowledged the strides made so far to break down the "hypermasculine" image, but said that rap music still has a long way to go. In response to the cancellation of DaBaby due to homophobic comments he made during his Rolling Loud Miami concert, Lil Nas X says he hopes the "Rockstar" rapper can learn and "grow" from the incident.

"I think that’s certainly true," Nas said of his involvement in breaking through those "hypermasculine" barriers, according to GQ. "I’m not going to lie, I feel bad for DaBaby. I hope he grows from it. I hope he’s able to. But I don’t know. The whole landscape is very hypermasculine. It’s so great and so amazing that all these female rappers are breaking through. And, in a way, female rappers are the biggest rappers right now."

He continued, adding that the new trajectory for female rappers, gay rappers and members of the LGBTQ+ community looks promising for the next generation.

"I do feel like this newer generation of rappers who are coming in, and the ones who are here, are going to have to reshape their thoughts," he added, noting that  today's artists will have to move differently than the current industry greats like Kanye and JAY-Z.

"Because change is happening. There’s going to be so many gay rappers. There’s going to be more trans people in the industry and whatnot. Ten years from now, everything that I’m doing won’t even seem like it was shocking," he added.

While he's been promoting his latest album, Montero, Lil Nas X has made headlines for several wildly orchestrated stunts, some of which, have upset celebrities like Boosie Badazz. The "Set It Off" rapper has brought up his distaste for Nas' performances. Lil Nas X admitted there is a gay agenda, but said it's not as elaborate as many would like to think. 

"It's just acceptance of gay people. And they see that as a bad thing — Like, they're trying to normalize it. You know what? Yeah. That's actually what I'm trying to do," he said. 

"It looks like a little boy asking his parents at 8 years old, can he get some nail polish or try something, and it’s not even a question. It looks like two guys kissing during a performance and there not being anything crazy on Twitter about it the next day. It looks like a little boy who doesn't want to play f**king football and hang with the girls, and that just being a normal thing. Just letting people exist. Like, that's gay as f**k," he continued. 

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