Check out these exclusive photos from Lil Nas X’s new documentary
Long Live Montero is out now.
As Lil Nas X debuts his new documentary Long Live Montero, Rolling Stone UK can share our selection of exclusive photos from the powerful new documentary.
The film follows the 25-year-old singer-rapper on his Long Live Montero tour and offers an exclusive insight to him as a performer as he put the shows together. But on the other side, the film also shows a more open side to the celebrated performer.
In our exclusive photos, both sides are shown as the rapper – real name Montero Hill – relaxes at home and also on stage.
Speaking to Attitude Magazine recently, co-director Carlos López Estrada also explained how he had always intended for the film to shower a deeper look at the rapper.
“I admired Lil Nas X as a musician and as a public figure. I was curious to learn more about him, what was behind the music, what was behind this online persona he’s created,” he explained.
“The deeper that we got, we got to see the fabric of him as a person, activist, and icon to so many. It became clear that the story that we were telling had the potential to impact a lot of people. People who already looked up to him, but also people who maybe haven’t, and people needing a sense of community. The idea that through this movie, people going through that difficult process of transformation could see themselves and feel more comfortable filled us with purpose.”
Director Zac Manuel added: “Lil Nas X is black, he’s gay, he’s from the South. I’m black, I’m from the South. I feel like depictions of queerness within black masculine spaces are very limited, but the communities are very expansive. What he’s been able to do is carve out a space for black queer artists. For me, it was important to highlight that specific identity, that specific culture, to tell a story about a black man who’s coming into his queerness, figuring it out through his music, but also doing it with a sense of integrity and dignity because he’s very smart. He’s very funny. And there’s hardness. There’s things that are difficult to his story, but I think the way that he communicates those and handles them is very graceful.”
Long Live Montero is out now.