Lil Richard X

Time is a flat circle and LIL NAS X is LITTLE RICHARD. Conversations comparing the pop superstar and the rock progenitor—both Georgia natives— have become commonplace, for reasons that are obvious on the surface. Nas, like Richard, is a theatrical musician who combines sexualized Black art and gender-bending provocations. They both thrived in a time when the taboo nature of what they do had loud sociopolitical resonance. But there's more than that.

One of the most often asked questions about Lil Nas X is, exactly what type of music does he make? Little Richard was asked that, too. Just as "OLD TOWN ROAD" was a rap tune that aggressively interloped into country music, Little Richard's 1957 breakthrough, "TUTTI FRUTTI," blended piano boogie, sanctified gospel and rhythmic blues in a manner the pop marketplace had never heard. The song was so strange in its rhythmic construction and lyrical constitution that, when adding it to the U.S. Library of Congress National Recording Registry in 2010, the Library noted that the "unique vocalizing over the irresistible beat announced a new era in music."

Like Little Richard making everything from bluesy covers of WILBERT HARRISON's "KANSAS CITY" to seductive slow drags like "VALLEY OF TEARS," Lil Nas X's singles since his debut hit have expanded in a scattershot of directions. They've awed and frightened a lot of adults and served as a clarion call to free-thinking, progressive-minded ribaldry. The sounds, like Richard's, twist and turn in unexpected ways: 2021's most heart-stopping video is for devil-worship twerk-dancing anthem "MONTERO," composed as a SHAKIRA-recalling pop-tango. His current single, "SUN GOES DOWN," is introspective drum-machine R&B.

Asking Lil Nas X to settle on a genre classification for his sounds feels reductive. But it's a necessity in a pop marketplace that loves characterization and commodification in equal measure. Perhaps, as a homage to Little Richard, it's time to start thinking of Lil Nas X the latest in a long line of rock and roll stars. And to sit back, enjoy the ride and let rock and roll's nature take its course. Histrionic boogie-woogie blues, timeless gospel and a pounding rhythm yielded everything from hip-hop to house and more. Imagine where a meeting of country, 2000s pop, trap, and soul might lead. Calling Lil Nas X a rock star—and nothing more—feels ideal.

It's Friday

And that means AMERICANA MUSIC AWARDS Artist of the Year BRANDI CARLILE's seventh studio album, IN THESE SILENT DAYS, has arrived... LIL WAYNE just turned 39 and appears to be rapping as well as he did at 29 and 19. He joins emerging Queens emcee RICH THE KID on the mixtape TRUST FUND BABIES... TONY BENNETT and LADY GAGA singing the American songbook never gets old... George Strait and Willie Nelson are among the A-list guests joining Western swing icons ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL's on their 50th anniversary album, HALF A HUNDRED YEARS.

Plus, new music from MEEK MILL, ILLUMINATI HOTTIES, TIRZAH, BOOKA600, WIKI, JOJO, MINISTRY, ADRIAN YOUNGE & ALI SHAHEEN MUHAMMAD, KURT ELLING & CHARLIE HUNTER, BEN MARC, KEDR LIVANSKIY, MELISSA ETHERIDGE, COOKIN' SOUL, HEADIE ONE, THE BODY & BIG|BRAVE, BOY SCOUTS, STRAND OF OAKS, the SPECIALS, YES and the DOOBIE BROTHERS.