- It was so hard for me to not like say
“Billy Ray Cyrus is coming,
”Billy Ray Cyrus is --”
Like I wanted to say like so bad,
just having to hold it in.
But his is like, when I heard his verse
for the first time, it was just like,
I knew he was gonna
kill it but it was like,
Okay!
(laughing)
Can't watch me on my own song.
(laughing)
- You know a lot has
changed over the last year,
a year ago you put out the 'Naserati' EP.
You know fast forward, here we are
with the hottest song in the country,
what has changed from then to now?
- First you know, with
'Naserati' I was tryin' to
like a lot of times I was
tryin' to make the song like
this is what people's gonna wanna hear.
Ya know?
Especially like with my newer music
it's just whatever I feel
like makin' at the moment
and you know, I don't care
who likes it or who don't.
I mean, I want you to
like it but if you don't
oh well basically.
- I saw that you said you're
gonna put out a rock song?
Is that the goal?
- Yeah it's like an alternative
rock poppish type of song.
A lot of people don't realize
that when I release my album,
I'm not gonna ever have one sound
and it's not that I'm confused about
what I'm trying to be
it's that I'm not trying
to have one sound.
I don't want people like, “Okay,
“oh another Lil' Nas X song,” basically.
- You have a really strong
presence on Twitter, you know,
you have a prolific profile.
Talk about your relationship
with that platform.
- Even when I was younger
like maybe 11, 12ish
when I start to like get into the internet
and I would hop from
this place to this place.
Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and all that
and try to build myself up,
but with Twitter, it was
like where I kind of mastered,
but not mastered, but learned the ways
of how to go viral on
the internet basically
and you know I use that to my advantage.
- You love to troll here and there.
I saw that you tweet
you said you can't troll the troll.
Why is that important
to get that message out?
- Because it's just like a lot of people
seein' like my rise and they hatin' it
so it's like they're lookin' for some way
to get me to bite back or somethin'.
- Right.
- So it's like, I used to do
this, you can't do this to me.
You know, it's not gonna work.
You just gonna be building
my engagements basically.
- Let's talk about the record itself, man.
"Old Town Road" number one song
for four weeks on Billboard.
How does that feel?
- It feels amazing,
there's no other words.
- How did you feel when they
took it off the country charts?
- I was still happy to
just be on the charts.
- Just happy to be here?
- I was disappointed but it's not like, “Okay,
“oh, it's the end of everything,”
I'm still on the charts.
- You still here.
- I won.
- It's already a victory.
But when Billboard issued that statement
talkin' about missin' elements,
did you think it was missin' any elements?
- No, I don't know the reason.
I don't know “the reason.”
- It's a conspiracy (laughing).
- It definitely, that
definitely wasn't it.
'Cause there's already
songs on the country charts
with trap elements so.
- Right, who's idea was
it to get Billy Ray Cyrus
was that always your intention?
- It was mine.
Yeah literally, it's still
on my Twitter account.
I tweet, I was like, “Twitter, please help me
“get Billy Ray on this.”
- But why Billy Ray Cyrus?
- He's the perfect fit.
People know him for his music
especially older generations
and younger generations
knowin' him from the show,
and "Old Town Road" is touching
all these different people.
So it's like who else
but this country legend
to hop on this country drive song,
who's loved and known by everybody.
- Right, how was it
like performing with him
'cause we saw you and Diplo
together for the first time performing it.
What was that experience like?
- It was one thing 'cause it
was my first ever performance.
- Wow!
- And it was like, I'm doin' it with Diplo
and Billy Ray Cyrus.
And the crowd was like insane.
I could barely hear myself.
- What's it feel like to have the crowd
recite a song, your first
song which is a hit?
What does that feel like?
- It feels amazing!
It's like not even having to say,
if I mess up, they still going.
- They got your back.
What's also amazing is that
we're waiting for this video.
We saw that you just recently
wrapped it up in the can.
What can we expect from that?
- The video is the video of the year.
- The video of the year?
- And I'm not gassing myself.
I would never do that.
I mean the video has
an amazing story line.
It also fits into what actually
happened with the situation.
Maybe more subliminal but
the special guests, the acting,
the comedy in it,
it's an amazing video.
When it comes all together,
everybody's gonna love it.
- When's it gonna be released?
- It is gonna be released within a month.
(laughing)
- Nothing specific?
- Yeah, nothing specific.
- Before it drops, can you
give us a little snippet
or something, a tidbit
that's gonna surprise us
when it drops?
- Back to the Future 3.
- Oh wow, you got Michael J. Fox?
Or a DeLorean?
- That's all I'm sayin'.
(laughing)
