“Y’all mind if I enter my Christian era?” asked Lil Nas X on Twitter last November. Having lap-danced for Satan in an unforgettable video for his 2021 debut album, Montero, the country singer turned rap-popper now swaps his sexed-up horns for an equally suggestive robe and staff to return as “J Christ”.
The video’s visuals are so eye-bogglingly hallucinogenic that it takes the music a while to catch up. The short film that the 24-year-old star (real name Montero Hill) directed himself is loaded with intense biblical drama with conservative-baiting campness dialled up to 11.
It begins with a pastoral scene, in which Hill is shown ushering lookalikes of A-listers Taylor Swift, Mariah Carey, Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama into heaven. The holy harmony of a gospel choir swiftly makes way for a foreboding piano hook as the star struts centre stage in a wafty white chiffon number, accessorised with flowing crimped locks, football socks and a massive gold necklace spelling “SEX”. From there we slide down a pole into hell (where the devil’s making a warming winter broth with some disembodied limbs) and then up into a heavenly sports arena where Hill does some cheerleading, gets crucified, poses for the paparazzi, dances in a post-apocalyptic city strewn with neon crosses and then saves humanity from global floods in an arc. It ends with the Bible verse 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” Phew!
Raised in the American South, Hill’s father (who separated from his addict mother when he was six) is a gospel singer, so there’s definitely some church history for the star to rebel against. He is reported to have prayed not to be gay as a teen. But it’s not clear if this is the work of a queer artist celebrating a more inclusive interpretation of a Christian God or just sending up religion in general. He posted a photo of himself online in November wearing a T-shirt that read: “If God doesn’t exist then who’s laughing at us?” Make of that what you will, because the lyrics to “J Christ” are equally evasive.
There’s a little echo of Sam Smith’s “Unholy” to the sexy-sacred swagger of the beat as Hill brags of striding into a club popping pills “like it was Doublemint”. Then he hints at a deeper understanding of God with the lines “is he up to somethin’ only I-I know?/ Is he ‘bout to hit ‘em with the high-igh note? / Is he ‘bout to give ‘em somethin’ vi-iral?” The suggestion being that humanity has been punished for its transgressions (including homophobia?) with global warming and the pandemic.
Whatever you want to read into it, Hill delivers an infectious and confident end-of-days euphoria with a hooky chorus that sways between notes like a charmed snake. The melodrama of that piano riff keeps piling on the pressure as the singer promises his fans he’s “back like J Christ/ I’m finna get the gays hyped”. Although the sound can’t compete with the hyper-realism of the imagery, it’s still a strong, wild groove that’s come a long way from “Old Town Road”. Even if the song is pretty basic, Lil Nas X carries it on sheer charisma, swapping his twangy old horse for a pimped-up golden chariot. And it’s a crazy, hyped-up ride.
