Lil Nas X

It looks like Lil Nas X is revving up for a big 2024. He recently launched a website that asks users to “save” him from Satanism (it’s all a big joke, of course). Now he’s continuing down that thematic path with a new interactive game he made on X (formerly Twitter), dubbed “Heaven Or Hell.”

The rapper announced it yesterday (December 26), tweeting, “HEY YALL I JUST MADE A GAME! GO PLAY RIGHT NOW! LET ME KNOW IF YOU MAKE IT TO HEAVEN!”

That tweet shares a tweet from the game’s X account, @HeavenOrHellOnX. The tweet is the start of the game and it reads, “Welcome to Heaven or Hell! The interactive twitter game where you have a chance to make it into heaven…. or hell! Will you fly high with the angels and party with god or will you suck satans d*ck and bunk with hitler?”

Subsequent tweets kick off the choose-your-own-adventure game, with your first choice being to pick your gender. The options are boy, girl, or other, and (one minor spoiler to illustrate the nature of the game) if you choose “other,” the result is, “No no no god is pretty clear on that stuff [heart emojis]. Game Over! You’re going to hell.”

There are plenty of other paths to go down, so check out the game above.

Lil Nas X is one of modern pop music’s greatest trolls, but what he won’t do is stand for miscategorization of his antics by commenters who won’t even seriously engage with his art. He’s proven himself to be the young king of clapbacks and he defended that title today after having his music once again characterized as satanic, despite it actually being about his journey of self-realization.

“The fact that lil nas x had that satanic album is the problem I have with him making Christian music,” wrote a fan account, likely in response to Nas recently posting a snippet of what appeared to be a gospel song. Nas shot back, “The devil is mentioned ONE time throughout my entire last album and the line is ‘tell the the devil i wont have him inside, i know everything’s gonna be alright.’ Y’all have spent this entire last week rewriting history over me releasing a snippet.”

And while Nas is 100 percent correct about the content of his debut album Montero, the confusion could be understandable considering the packaging that came with it. The title track — which doubled as the lead single — was infamous for its video featuring Nas’ devilish makeup and its plotline following Nas going from a paradise-like realm to an Alighieri-inspired hellscape where he gave a demon a lapdance.

The controversy caused by the video led to the song reaching No. 1 on the Hot 100 and a wave of reactionary coverage from conservative outlets. It looks like even going the opposite way isn’t stopping folks from still taking issue with Nas, though. It looks like dumping on the kid was the point all along, but at least he’s not alone — fellow pop-rap provocateur Doja Cat has also been battling her fair share of satanic accusations from people who apparently think Avengers is a documentary.

In March, Lil Nas X joined James Corden for one of the last-ever installments of “Carpool Karaoke,” and he appears to have planted Easter eggs. At the beginning of the video, Corden complimented Lil Nas X’s shirt with a humongous bedazzled cross on it. “Oh, this?” Lil Nas X responded, coyly. “You know, I’m having my ‘woman of God’ moment. Like, mmm, Christian era.” While Lil Nas X is known for his witty sense of humor, this was not a joke.

On Wednesday night, November 29, Lil Nas X posted a 75-second video to X (formerly known as Twitter) featuring an unreleased song. “Y’all mind if I enter my Christian era?” he wrote. Two-ish hours later, he posted again: “Making Christian music does not mean I can’t suck d*ck no more. The two are not mutually exclusive. I am allowed to get on my knees for multiple reasons.” There’s the Lil Nas X we know and love!

The song is an acoustic ballad. In the video, he lip-syncs to himself while seated in a car and dancing in an empty intersection. He sings, “Father, stretch my hands / The lonely road seems to last the longest / Help me with my plans / Everything seems to go to nowhere / Oh, free me from worry and wanting pity / Free me from all this envy in me / I, I don’t want these feelings / I, I don’t want these feelings / I call on angels.”

If and when Lil Nas X officially releases this song, it seems likely that it will kickstart an album rollout, which would be his first since his debut studio album, Montero, in September 2021. In related news, the devil-adjacent elements of the “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” video caused quite the stir.