The holiday season is officially underway, and artists around the world are releasing covers of their favorite Christmas classics, as well as original songs. Although the coronavirus is still in the air, the holiday spirit is now, too.

On Friday, November 13th, Lil Nas X released his newest single, “Holiday.” The music video portrays a futuristic Santa’s workshop in the year 2220. His song is a celebration of his career, an ode to his haters, and shows that he is confident in his own skin, no matter what others may say. Several of his lyrics even refer to his hit single, “Old Town Road.” 

Nas sings, “They wanna know if I’ll be lastin’… even if I started floppin’, there’d be fashion.” This lyric refers to how many people question Nas’s ability to succeed when he has already produced such a smashing hit.

In a collaboration with makeup artist and influencer James Charles, Nas explains that when he reached the number one song with “Old Town Road,” he faced extreme pressure to make his upcoming songs even better. He didn’t want to be dubbed a ‘one-hit wonder,’ but Nas also describes that he doesn’t feel worried about continuing to produce amazing, unique music. 

Nas goes on to compare himself to the king of pop Michael Jackson, and sings, “Switch the genre on you…do a rock hit. I got the biggest damn song, f*** the charts, sis, I don’t need ’em.” Even if his songs don’t do as well as “Old Town Road” or last year’s “Panini,” Nas sings for himself and he knows his fans will support him no matter what the numbers say. He has experimented with different forms of rap and no two of his songs are the same.

In the music video, Nas drives a flying car past an animation of Mount Rushmore, but one where the carved faces are of him, including one wearing a cowboy hat as an homage to his 2019 hit.

Lil Nas X is an openly gay artist and unfortunately has faced discrimination from artists in the rapping community, especially when he dressed up as Nicki Minaj this past Halloween. Instead of trying to hide who he is, though, Nas wants to be a voice for the LGBT community and inspire his fans to be who they are and not to change for anybody.

Nas is an incredibly talented artist who brings diversity and flavor to the music industry. He shows an abundance of potential and an inspiring career in his future. If you haven’t already, you should go stream ‘Holiday’ and celebrate the season with your family and friends (safely, of course).