After a months-long gestation and a slew of mild controversies, Lil Nas X’s debut album Montero has finally arrived. The album turned out to be a star-studded affair, with appearances from major names like Doja Cat, Elton John, Megan Thee Stallion, and Miley Cyrus. However, one pair of prominent names were missing from the final tracklist, although according to Nas, it wasn’t from lack of effort on his part. During the triumphant young artist’s recent interview with New York’s The Breakfast Club, he revealed which stars were missing and explained their absences.
He explained that despite reaching out to both Drake and Nicki Minaj, he was unable to secure their features. “No reply from Nicki, Drake was still working on [Certified Lover Boy].” Nas accounted for Drake’s rejection by pointing out how busy he was on his own album. “Drake replied, ’cause you know Gee Roberson’s my manager,” he said. “Drake and Gee are cool. And he was still working on Certified Lover Boy and whatnot and he was 100 percent focused on that. This was like a few weeks ago and I understood completely, and he said he’s down to do something but [it was] just not the right time. He was trying to get his own sh*t together.”
When asked which song he wanted Drake on, Nas’ answer, “Dolla Sign Slime,” prompted some light roasting from Charlamagne, who wondered, “‘Slime’ is gang slang. Is Nas in a gang? Is Nas banging?” Ever the diplomat, Nas replied simply, “Next question,” with a shy grin. The hosts took a minute to educate him on the slang’s origins after he explained how it’s meaning has expanded for Gen Z — it’s a pretty funny moment.
Watch Lil Nas X’s interview with The Breakfast Club above.
Montero is out now via Columbia Records. Get it here.