Lil Nas X has released his latest single – the seductive pop banger ‘Hotbox’. Check out the song’s video below.
The rapper continues to usher in the ‘DREAMBOY’ era of his career with the new song, which comes complete with an Elias Talbot-directed video that sees Nas immersed in a bubblegum pink world that could have been ripped straight from the set of Barbie.
Nas takes a dip in a hot pink pool, takes a punch in a pink-roped boxing ring and becomes a pink transformer in the video – watch here:
‘DREAMBOY’ is set to be Nas’ second studio album and is expected to be released later this year via Columbia Records. He launched the campaign late in 2024 with the ‘Light Again’ single, which was then followed by ‘Need Dat Boy’ in November.
‘Light Again’ featured production from Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter, and at the time Nas explained: “Dreamboy isn’t just an album,” the rapper explained on X. “It’s me coping with the loss of what once was and fighting for a new world. im so excited to bring you on the journey.”
In January last year, Nas dropped his first ever gospel song, ‘J Christ’, which received backlash from the Christian community. The cover art saw the artist being hoisted up on a cross, similar to the narrative of Jesus’ crucifixion, and many said it was a “mockery of Christ”, having also got the stamp of approval from the Church of Satan. In response, the ‘Rodeo’ star said it was “depressing” to see the negativity surrounding the song.
Nas also got into trouble when he first teased the ‘Dreamboy’ project for allegedly plagiarising Sega Bodega’s artwork.
Bodega (real name Salvador Navarrete) took to X/Twitter to point out the similarities between the cover art and the artwork for Navarrete’s 2021 single, ‘Angel On My Shoulder’.
“Not even trying to put a spin on it is where I’m like yeesh”, Navarrete wrote. When one fan acknowledged that Lil Nas X had posted an Instagram story earlier that day showing Navarrete’s artwork as a reference (but with no explicit credits), Navarrete responded: “‘Look he did credit you in a photo that will disappear in 24 hours forever and no name whatsoever of artist or photographer! Be grateful!’ You lot sound insane.”
