Blog Entry 4: Music Video and "Public Profile"

 “Old Town Road” was the song that made Lil Nas X become famous and well known in the music industry. The song itself has a heavy focus on traditional country elements as well as elements from rap music. The video reflects this focus by having Lil Nas X ride in on a horse into a modernized neighborhood. He is wearing a stereotypical country costume with tassels, boots, and a hat. He even breaks out into country line dance moves at times while the residents in the neighborhood partake in popular dance trends like the “woah” and the “nae nae.” The residents of the neighborhood are also in “street clothes” that are more modern and have no ties to country at all. These elements show how Lil Nas X was sticking to his authentic image of trying to be portrayed as country with a mix of modernized rap. This image is further seen when his country outfit gets a modern makeover and he incorporates his country attitudes to modern society. This can be seen when he is in a street race with a car but he is riding his horse. He also converts those around him to country when they are all line dancing at a public gathering. Lil Nas X created a persona around country and rap and created a following based on this persona. That is why in the music video he was able to seamlessly combine the two areas and stick to his roots to further build a connection to his fan base. Lil Nas X was born in Georgia so he has southern ties that contribute to his image and the country aspects as well. Due to many fans connecting to these characteristics about him, many were caught off guard when he basically rebranded his public profile with his new music. His new songs tend to be more in the pop category of music and have many sexual images or religious symbols that fans did not like. This shows how his ability to use the song and music video to fit his image allowed him to carefully maintain his profile and create an entryway into the music industry. It was through this video and song that he first created a following so it shows how musicians are able to use their authentic image to create a public profile. For the video and song, he was even able to get a country singer, Billy Ray Cyrus, to be on the remix and in the music video which reinforces his authentic country value he was trying to instill. Even though Lil Nas X does not present himself in the same way he did during this time period, this video is able to show how he carefully curated his image to try and maintain it for the public.