At the young age of 24, Atlanta native Lil Nas X is one of the most groundbreaking and recognized celebrities around, one whose message of acceptance is as celebrated as his Grammy Award-winning music. Now, the HBO original documentary “Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero” captures his first headlining tour as he travels around the country, interacting with family, friends and fans, dealing with his success and growing more comfortable with his various roles in the industry.
Debuting Jan. 27, the documentary was directed by Zac Manuel and Carlos López Estrada, who were given open access during the artist’s titular 2022 concert tour. Estrada was involved in the early concept of the tour, before officially signing on to co-direct. The record label brought him aboard with the hope of creating an event that didn’t feel merely like a concert but one with a narrative arc and theatrical feel.
“I was familiar with Nas’ music but I really got to understand it on a deeper level,” he says. “We looked at every song and the lyrics to dig into the meaning of each. I realized all the layers behind it and the vulnerability and this extreme thoughtfulness Nas uses to do everything. I discovered a new side of him.”
In putting the film together, it was vital for the directors to capture all those various sides of the artist. That is where the documentary succeeds best – exploring someone who is adjusting and getting used to what it means to be a superstar. Concert footage is plentiful but what is surprising are the quieter moments with Nas alone talking about his personal life. And while the 60-day leg of the North American tour has undeniable challenges and stresses, Nas himself seems giddy at times over the size of some of the concert halls he will get the chance to fill. Even as his celebrity status continues to climb, he’s still full of genuine, infectious enthusiasm.
Credit: Courtesy of HBO
Credit: Courtesy of HBO
“Because this was his first tour, you are seeing all of his excitement and all of his anxiety play out in real time,” Manuel says. “He had grown in popularity during the pandemic but had never been the headliner of his own tour. We are having a front row seat to the way his desires and anxieties are shifting, the way all of these emotions manifest themselves in how he is feeling or what he is joking about, or if he wants to retreat a little bit. We were there for all the undulations for what it means to be one of the biggest pop stars in the world but ultimately a young person trying to live as honestly in his identity as he can.”
Trying to better understand the connection audiences have with Lil Nas X, Manuel and Estrada conducted fan interviews, sitting with patrons at concerts as they shared their thoughts.
“We wanted to understand what it is that makes them show up with such love in their heart,” Manuel says. “The music is great but beyond that, it’s the message. Nas has taken on this role of trying to shatter those boundaries between an artist and the audience. He is going to let you into his life and show you the good, bad and ugly. He has really encouraged people to accept and love themselves with all the complex, seemingly dark edges. That is the one constant we keep hearing, that he has changed lives.”
Born in Lithia Springs as Montero Lamar Hill, he wound up in Bankhead with his mother and grandmother and later in Austell living with his father. His 2018 country rap song “Old Town Road” made him a star, topped the Billboard charts, and led to his first studio album “Montero” in 2021 and its subsequent tour the following year.
Not long after the success of “Old Town Road,” however, Nas shocked the world by coming out as gay. Not everyone has been supportive, but his fan base has been fully behind him. Being able to identify as a proud queer Black artist was important.
“I think it was everything,” Manuel says. “If you were to hide something so central to your identity, how do you continue to exist in the world to make music and art? Coming out was an essential part of his growth, something he had to do to get to where he is and to say the things he wants to say.”
Ironically, the first person Nas came out to was his father, a minister-pastor. The two have developed an even stronger bond since.
“When you have a really close relationship like that with your father, I think you look up to (him), you are afraid to disappoint him,” Manuel says. Yet Nas eventually gets to be the artist he wants to be, with his father as his biggest cheerleader.
Credit: Courtesy of HBO
Credit: Courtesy of HBO
Although Nas has now moved to Los Angeles, bringing the Long Live Montero tour to Atlanta was especially meaningful. The artist came to the Coca-Cola Roxy for a two-night gig in October 2022, and his return in a highlight of the film.
“We did not realize this until we were working on the movie that he had never played a hometown show,” Manuel says. “He became a household name during the COVID years. Everyone was so used to seeing his face everywhere and hearing about him in headlines and the music videos blew up. He had performed at a couple of awards shows but he had never had a show of his own ever. When he played [during the Coca-Cola Roxy tour stop], it was the first time in front of his hometown audience and it was a proper homecoming.”
It was a nerve-racking event, though, with the artist wondering if audiences would show up and, at the same time, worrying about pleasing other family members, some of whom are conservative.
A friends and family gathering took place at the venue after the concert. The directors mistakenly thought it was going to involve the artist, his father and a few others.
“We walked out and there were 150 to 200 people there,” Estrada says. “It had a summer evening barbeque vibe, and everyone was taking photos and cheering and screaming – long-distance cousins, friends of friends, childhood friends. It was beautiful and it meant so much to Nas.”
TV PREVIEW
“Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero”
8 p.m. January 27 on HBO; also available to stream on Max
About the Author
