Lil Nas X was one of the biggest draws at the opening of the Toronto International Film Festival over the weekend. The rapper was in town to promote his forthcoming tour documentary, Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero.
During a Q&A session with CEO Cameron Bailey following the film's premiere at Roy Thomson Hall, Nas (real name Montero Lamar Hill) admitted his hesitation towards such an ambitious project at this stage of his career.
“I’m going to be honest. I was like, ‘I don’t want to do this at all. This is a terrible idea,’" he said to the audience. "But then I was like, ‘F**k it, let’s do it anyway.’ I hate people knowing about my life because I can’t keep my funny persona. Now people know I’m all serious. I’m happy I did.”
In an interview with Variety, he added that no matter what happens with the film, he just hopes people see it and love it.
“This is one of the only times in my life where I am releasing something and I have absolutely zero expectations for it,” he said. “I’m just like, whatever happens, happens. But, you know, I hope everybody loves it. I hope everybody f**ks with it.”
As for what's next with his music, he told Bailey that "I want to drop this good-ass, fire-ass music first, and then I'm gonna be back out there."
"Hear me out," he continued. "I want to do some folk music. What else do I want to do? Like, Brazilian funk."
The screening for Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero wasn't without its drama. Just before the scheduled 10 P.M. screening, a bomb threat was called in, targeting the artist for being Black and queer, according to a source. The premiere was delayed for 20 minutes while security sweeped the venue.
A spokesperson for TIFF issued a statement about the threat, saying, “Earlier this evening, we were made aware by the Toronto Police Service of an investigation in the vicinity of the red carpet for the Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero screening. Our standard security measures remained in place during this time and the screening commenced with a slight delay. To our knowledge, this was a general threat and not directed at the film or the artist.”