Music
Lil Nas X Thanks Frank Ocean And Tyler The Creator For Making It ‘Easier For Me To Be Where I Am’
The singer also showed love to Billie Eilish and expressed his hope to influence other queer artists during the interview with Zane Lowe. …
In just a matter of two years, Lil Nas X has become one of music’s most popular names, thanks to the smash hit “Old Town Road.” The track has currently sold 13X Platinum, and it holds the record for the longest streak at No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart, racking in nineteen weeks. The singer is rolling out his next project, but before it arrives, he took a moment to honor two artists who helped ensure he felt like he belonged in the music world.
During a sit down with Zane Lowe on Apple Music, Lil Nas X thanked Frank Ocean and Tyler The Creator for allowing him to express his true self to the world. “I think artists like Frank in general and, like, Tyler and whatever, they made it easier for me to be where I am, comfortably,” he said, adding that he hopes his coming out will push other queer artists to do the same.
I was just getting signs, “OK. It’s time we do this thing.” Because it’s like I’m already moving forward and I’m becoming more free with everything I do, so let’s take this to the next level and do this. Because I mean, it was either going to be that or what? Pretend this for the rest of my entire life? … And also being one of those people that was like, “OK, I want to make room for you now.” So everybody who’s coming behind me, “OK. This is going to be cool. It’s going to work out fine.” Yeah. But that’s another reason why I knew that I had to do it. Because the day before I was like, “Damn, should I really do this? Is this what…” And I’m like, “No, this is definitely what I should do.” Especially given my platform, where I am, the communities that I stand in between. It’s like little shit like this shouldn’t be a problem
He also showed love to Billie Eilish, calling her “f*cking amazing and talented,” saying she does “whatever the f*ck she wants” without “apologizing for it.”
You can watch the Lil Nas X interview above.
Artist Spotlight
“Subterranean Homesick Blues” finds a new direction through Ghost of Panama
Rearranging a song that carries six decades of cultural weight is a creative challenge, but Ghost of Panama approaches “Subterranean Homesick Blues” with clear purpose. The rock band radically reworks Bob Dylan’s counter-culture hit, reshaping its identity while keeping its rebellious spirit. It’s a tribute to musical heritage and a statement of artistic independence all in one.
This new interpretation is very much shaped by the production, made at Ghost of Panama’s home studio in West London. The setting allows an intimate approach to reinterpreting a familiar song and lets the group engage directly with the material, taking it in a new artistic direction.
“Subterranean Homesick Blues” centers on the tension between conservation and transformation. Ghost of Panama is true to the song’s rebellious spirit without adding to its legacy, and this approach gives the release an adventurous feel, grounded in countercultural energy but driven by a desire to see what the composition can become in a different musical context.
Their version of this 60-year-old classic shows that respecting a song’s history can also mean breaking the rules and finding new ways to express its spirit. Fundamentally, “Subterranean Homesick Blues” presents Ghost of Panama as artists who want to engage with the past without being tied to it. The release’s strongest identity is a familiar heritage reimagined through a singularly forward-looking creative vision.
Artist Spotlight
“NO MORE” by Amanda Holley connects healing, awakening, and survival
“NO MORE“ carries that kind of emotional weight, and some songs feel like they come from lived experience but reach for something bigger. Amanda Holley blends R&B and soul, turning a lifetime of survival into a vision of healing, awakening, and the determination to move beyond what caused the pain.
“NO MORE“ is a healing anthem for people who have gone through bad experiences and reached a place of higher awareness, but it’s also an emotionally charged protest. The duality is introspective and outward-looking at the same time, turning personal survival into a broader declaration that some experiences, conditions, or cycles should end.
Holley had a premonition of the song six months before the world went into global shutdown. In the vocal booth, working out melodies with her collaborators, she pictured people in the streets. Those images were hard to imagine at the time, but subsequent events would make them painfully familiar.
“NO MORE“ is given a particularly contemplative underpinning by the context. The identity of R&B and soul leaves room for emotion. The song’s themes link survival, awakening, resistance, and the need for change. Amanda Holley is an artist using music to process personal endurance and a broader sense of social awakening. It’s got a complicated significance, and its release feels like a glimpse of a moment when personal intuition and public reality collided in an unexpected way.
Photo Credit: Yulia Shusharina
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