J Christ

Lil Nas X continues to tease his new era. This Friday (January 12), the rapper and troll extraordinaire will drop “J Christ,” the lead single to his upcoming sophomore album, and the kick-off to what he’s been describing as his “Christian era.” In the days leading up to the single drop, Lil Nas X is reinforcing the idea that he is a good, Christian boy.

Today (January 9), Lil Nas X took to Instagram to share what appears to be an acceptance letter from Liberty University. The letter indicates that Lil Nas X, whose real name is Montero Hill, will enter the school’s Christian Leadership and Biblical Studies program in the fall.

“As we seek to build a campus community exemplifying strong academic achievement and an unwavering commitment to the Christian faith, our admissions committee is dedicated to selecting students of the highest caliber,” reads the letter. “We believe you are one of those students, and we are confident you will make an outstanding addition to our student body.”

Lil Nas X assured fans he is taking his studies seriously upon his evident enrollment.

“I know some of yall hate me right now but i want yall to know im literally about to go to college for biblical studies in the fall,” he said in the post’s caption. Not everything is a troll! Anyways IM A STUDENT AGAIN! LETS GOOO”

You can read the full acceptance letter below.

Dear Montero Hill,

Congratulations! You have been officially accepted to Liberty University for the Fall 2024 semester with a Dual Concentration in Christian Leadership and Biblical Studies.

As we seek to build a campus community exemplifying strong academic achievement and an unwavering commitment to the Christian faith, our admissions committee is dedicated to selecting students of the highest caliber. We believe you are one of those students, and we are confident you will make an outstanding addition to our student body.

At Liberty, we specialize in preparing students to succeed — not just as professionals in the workplace, but as citizens who glorify God in their calling and communities. During your time at Liberty, you will be monitored by faculty who bring real-world experience to the classroom and take a personal interest in the success of their students. We are committed to investing in the lives of our students and helping them realize their God-given potential.

Montero, the entire Liberty family congratulates you! Now is your time to train as a Champion for Christ.

In promotion of his new era, Lil Nas X has been leaning into Christian themes, especially today (January 8) with the announcement that his new single, “J Christ,” is coming out on January 12. The single’s cover art features a re-creation of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, with Nas playing the role of Jesus. This appears to have rubbed some people the wrong way, and now Lil Nas X has something to say about it.

In a tweet shared after the announcement, the rapper dismissed the idea that he’s mocking Jesus, writing, “the crazy thing is nowhere in the picture is a mockery of jesus. Jesus’s image is used throughout history in people’s art all over the world. I’m not making fun of sh*t. yall just gotta stop trying to gatekeep a religion that was here before any of us were even born. stfu.”

He also retweeted some tweets supporting him.

One reads, “The reason a lot of yall are not understanding J Christ and Lil Nas X’s new era in general is because you also blatantly misunderstood Montero (Call Me By Your Name) and its message. There is no mocking happening anywhere. It’s just art like so many other artists have done.” Another one says, “If y’all truly cared about religion like yall say u do, You could easily see how heavy of a Christian he & his family is. Yall wanna gatekeep people from religion so bad. Its not him making religion look bad it’s yall making it look bad by saying who can&cant be a Christian.” Somebody else wrote, “Imagine telling Lil Nas X that he’s not allowed to use the iconography of the world’s largest religion, that shaped the western culture and informed ALL of the western art, to express himself, like ALL western artists have been doing for the past couple of millenia.”

Meanwhile, on January 3, Nas tweeted, “my new song features a very beloved popstar who ive been a fan of for a long time,” but who that is has not yet been revealed.

Lil Nas X is nothing if not provocative. The two-time Grammy winner is nearly three years removed from his controversial “Satan Shoes” and Satan-adjacent video for “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” and now, he is entering his self-proclaimed “Christian-era.” Lil Nas X has been teasing new music for months — most recently, promising a “new song and visual next week” on January 3.

As promised, this morning (January 8), he confirmed “J Christ” will arrive this Friday, January 12.

“MY NEW SINGLE IS DEDICATED TO THE MAN WHO HAD THE GREATEST COMEBACK OF ALL TIME!” Lil Nas X wrote on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) alongside the single’s cover art, which more or less finds him cosplaying Jesus Christ’s crucifixion. “J CHRIST JANUARY 12, 2024 00:00 EST BE THERE!”

Lil Nas X subsequently posted a nine-second promotional video, in which the golden cross he is nailed upon transforms into something of a haloed Transformers robot.

It seems notable that the presave link is “BeginningisNear.com.” Could that be the album title? Additionally, Lil Nas X closed the loop on speculation that Kesha might be featured on his next song. Last Friday, January 5, Lil Nas X posted the song’s release date alongside photos of Kesha holding up a cardboard sign, reading, “NEW MUSIC COMING SOON.” The post also features a photo of Lil Nas X holding a corresponding cardboard sign: “WHAT SHE SAID!”

Of course, it’s still possible that Kesha is featured — either on “J Christ” or any song on his forthcoming album — but Lil Nas X just quote-tweeted himself and made that less of a certainty. On January 3, he posted, “my new song features a very beloved popstar who ive been a fan of for a long time.” His new quote-tweet reads, “It was god.”

We are officially in the thick of the first full-fledged Lil Nas X rollout since his 2021 debut album, Montero, and I am here for it.

“J Christ” is out 1/12 via Columbia Records. Find more information here.