Listen to Lil Nas X’s introspective new single ‘Need Dat Boy’

Lil Nas X has given fans another taste of his ‘Dreamboy’ era with the new single ‘Need Dat Boy’ – check it out below.

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The rapper and singer ushered in the latest phase of his career last week with the ‘Light Again’ single, although that track had been shared as a one-off SoundCloud upload in March, for which Lil Nas X later apologised to his label Columbia.

Now, he has followed up with ‘Need Dat Boy’, an introspective, gauzy track based around a plaintive piano melody. “Sorry darling I been down for a couple summers / Falling back in the crowd smokin’ marijuana,” Nas sings. “I been angsty / I been hurtin’ / I been tryin’ / Shit ain’t workin’ / Yeah I dream big / Yet I descend / These days I don’t know what I believe in”.

Listen to the song here:

‘Light Again’, which features production from Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter, heralded the beginning of Lil Nas X’s ‘Dreamboy’ era. “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.”

Back in January, he dropped his first ever gospel song, ‘J Christ’, which received backlash from the Christian community. The cover art for ‘J Christ’ saw Nas X 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. Likewise, when he recently teased the new ‘Dreamboy’ project, the rapper quickly came under fire for allegedly plagiarising Sega Bodega’s artwork.

Bodega (real name Salvador Navarrete) took to X/Twitter to point out the similarities between the ‘dreamboy’ artwork and the artwork for Navarrete’s 2021 single, ‘Angel On My Shoulder’, suggesting that Lil Nas X may have plagiarised his work.

“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.”