Self-proclaimed controversy king Lil Nas X has once again stolen the limelight with his dreamy new single, the aptly titled “Dreamboy.”
Smoking a cigarette from inside the kind of box a doll might come in, Lil Nas X delivers lyrics about his struggles in the music industry, his rise against said adversity, and hints at a new, bigger and better-than-ever era of his career. “Yeah, I’m on the way, yeah, I’m on the rise,” he assures the listener. He goes on to reveal a bit of juicy information about his “infatuations,” proclaiming his love for “long black dick” and “boys who have a smell to ’em.”
“Controversy king, yeah, I love to raise hell to ’em,” he says, acknowledging his notorious status in pop culture while evoking the image of him sliding down the pole to hell. The lyrics continue over a spare-sounding beat, featuring only a snare drum and a dissonant, discordant piano melody. The lyrics get a little graphic with a line about “stanky booty bitches” ruining his fun … and scat porn. He goes on to brag on his icy, drippy jewelry and how everyone knows his name. The chorus comprises mostly of the mantra “dream on,” a self-fulfilling phrase of manifestation for the rapper.
The single premiered on Lil Nas X’s YouTube channel on Monday, already surpassing 100K views at the time this article was written. It comes after the year-long teasing of an album of which “Dreamboy” is the title track. Stereogum described the commercial reaction to the two previous singles preceding “Dreamboy” as “chilly,” and the reception to the new song has been admittedly lukewarm, although the track called some attention for suddenly dropping without warning in a midnight press release. Two singles released before “Dreamboy” were met with less enthusiasm than expected, and this new song doesn’t seem to have made much of an impact either. Lil Nas X may not have garnered such success as he had previously with “Old Town Road” and “MONTERO (Call Me by Your Name),” but we’ll still be keeping an eye out for this new era being harkened in with this track.
Photo courtesy of Instagram
