As Lil Nas X readies the Friday release of his highly anticipated and equally controversial Montero album, he sat down with Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1 to discuss how music both saved his life and caused him some of the worst anxiety he's ever experienced.

The 22-year-old divulged that the death of his rap peers, mixed with the sudden success of "Old Town Road," made him fear for his life.

"The entire time I was making music, I thought soon I was going to die for some reason," he told Lowe. "I was like, 'Oh my God, everything's building up.' And then especially when "Old Town Road" blew up, I was like, 'Oh, I'm definitely dying soon.' All of these artists that were coming into, or starting to pop into the music industry, were passing away. I was like, 'What the f**k is happening?'"

The "Industry Baby" rapper said that when ignoring the noise wasn't enough, faith got him through the anxiety. 

"That's when I found belief in the universe, for sure," he recalls. "And I was like, 'Oh my God, I'm really not alone in this.' That's another thing music was for me, though. It was something I love, but it was also a distraction from those thoughts."

Although his sudden success brought about anxiety, he also credits music with saving his life.

"Music saved my entire life as all artists say, but I truly get it now," says Lil Nas X. "It gave me an outlet to just have more of a purpose, have something that I want to dedicate myself to, have something I love, have something that I'm not doing for somebody else. Because I felt like at some point I was doing college and s**t so one day I could say, 'Well, look, I have this diploma or whatever the f**k, I'm not a f**k up.'"

Also in his Apple Music 1 interview, Lil Nas X talks about coming out, mastering the internet and finding inspiration in Doja Cat. To listen to the entire interview, click here.