Lil Nas X says he's 'starting over' after firing his team

Lil Nas X is in his flop era. Well, at least, according to him he is.

Following the debut of his latest single "J CHRIST" at No. 69 on the Billboard Hot 100 earlier this year, the rapper seemingly scrapped his album rollout and is reconfiguring what type of artist he wants to be. And over the long Labor Day holiday weekend, he joked about the drama on TikTok.

"god after giving me industry baby as the last song of my 3 year hit song streak," reads the text on a clip where X informs himself that he only has 30 minutes of fame left.

Another video plays the nostalgic music from Mean Girls while the rapper walks down the street. "me after firing my entire team and moving to new york just so i could cosplay as a struggling underground artist who's about to have their big break and has no idea."

At first, Lil Nas X was keeping it light and funny, but he later shared a more earnest video on Monday, September 2 of himself talking to the camera with motivational music behind him and clips of his previous music videos and memes.

"Starting over is embarrassing," he begins. "You just gotta do it anyway. You got to start over regardless because why not? You need to just feel all those things you wanna avoid feeling. People are gonna tell you how good things used to be and how great you were. The past was so much better than right now. You just gotta be where you are. You gotta start from where you are. You have to stand next to yourself, stand beside yourself, stand beside your ideas."

"Stop trying to cling on to what was so you can become the next version of you," he concluded. "I haven't had my next big thing yet but I know it's coming."

Between 2019 and 2021, the rapper landed three number-one hit songs: "Old Town Road" which became the longest-running number-one single of all time, "Call Me By Your Name (Montero)," and "Industry Baby." He's also had a handful of other hit songs including "Panini" and "That's What I Want."

He released "J CHRIST" earlier this year, seemingly as a first single off an album and with the intention to rely on conservative outrage to boost attention much as it did earlier in his career, but the strategy didn't pay off. The rapper was then widely criticized online with many deeming him a "flop," and it seems like Lil Nas X took the sentiment to heart. His follow-up singles were humble in comparison and he took to releasing tracks on SoundCloud.

But artistry isn't defined by chart success. Many artists are lucky to have one hit, let alone three. You can only be on top for so long. Hopefully, Lil Nas X can keep moving forward and just become the best artist he can be rather than focus on the fickle desires of fans, labels, or the potential of a hit song.