Lil Nas X's Real Name Is So, So Simple

Do you often wonder what your favorite rapper's real name is? I do, and often times it is so surprising. Like, 50 Cent's real name is Curtis James Jackson III. It sounds so... presidential. Naturally, I'm curious to know what is Lil Nas X's real name? Like, what could be the name of the person that dethroned one of Mariah Carey's songs from the Billboard Hot 100 records. Like, who really did that?

Well, Lil Nas X's real name is quite cool. It's Montero Lamar Hill. However, it doesn't seem to have any obvious ties to his on-stage moniker. But then again, neither does Snoop Dogg or 50 Cent's stage names. I figured Lil Nas X selected a few of his favorite rappers and slapped their names together. However, it turns out that's not even close to how he got his pseudonym. In May 2019, Lil Nas X revealed the origins of his moniker to BET.com.

"'Nas' is already my internet alias," he started, "and when I first started rapping, I wasn't being serious, so it's like, 'OK, what'll be funny? Lil, lil, lil, [for] every new rapper.' So, 'Lil Nas,' aha!" True, statistics show there's a new "Lil" rapper born every five seconds. Kidding.

Now that we know that the "Nas" part of his name is not referring to the "One Mic" rapper, what internet alias is Lil Nas X referring to? Well, it has been speculated that Lil Nas X ran the now banned, but incredibly popular Nicki Minaj stan account @NasMaraj. The account was known for Nicki Minaj stan activity as well as creating memes. It amassed a six-figure following, before being suspended from Twitter for violating the platform's spamming policies.

Lil Nas X addressed the rumors that he was behind the"NasMaraj" account in an April 2019 interview with NPR. "It's like a big misunderstanding and it's not one that I even want to give the time, because I'm never putting someone as the face of my career," he explained. "So I don't even speak on it. I just don't even acknowledge it, really. I know even more things are being made up and they're gonna be out there. It is disappointing when a big blog will post something without me talking about it but, I mean, it happens." So the "Nas" part is still a bit of a mystery, for now.

As for the X in his name, it's actually considered to be a Roman numeral by the Atlanta-based rapper, signifying his life plan.

"As I got more serious with music, I added the 'X' on, like, 'OK, this is the amount of time until I'm going to be, you know, at that mogul, legendary level," he said. "So basically, 'Lil Nas' and the 'X' is like, for 10 years. By that point, I'll already be there, [but] I'm not saying it's going to take 10 years." Brilliant. Putting a 10-year plan in your name is kinda genius really. Thinking about giving up on your goals? Oh wait, what's your name again?

Judging by the monumental success of "Old Town Road" I have a feeling we will be seeing Montero Lamar Hill, aka Lil Nas X, for quite some time. Probably until he can't "rap" no more.