Lil Nas X Explains Why He Couldn't Get Drake & Nicki Minaj On 'Montero' Album

Lil Nas X managed to secure some big names for his debut album Montero, which was released on Friday (September 17). However, he also missed out on a couple of artists he hoped to have on the project.

During a recent interview with The Breakfast Club, Lil Nas X revealed he tried to lock in appearances from Drake and Nicki Minaj.

“Nicki and Drake,” he responded to a question about people he reached out to. “No reply from Nicki, Drake was still working [on Certified Lover Boy].”

Asked if he’s ever trashed Nicki Minaj, he said, “I’ve never slandered Nicki. There’s like a lot of things going around, but you know, I don’t respond to any of it ‘cause then it’s just gonna keep being brought back up. I feel like the only time I would slander Nicki is if I was like, ‘I thought Nicki was supposed to be going live,’ or some shit. There’s no actual slander.

“Drake replied, ’cause you know Gee Roberson’s my manager. 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 shit together.”

The Georgia-born artist revealed he wanted Drake on the song “Dolla Sign Slime,” which features Megan Thee Stallion.

Lil Nas X is a huge fan of Nicki Minaj to the point he admitted he was a Barb in June 2020 and used to run a fan page. When asked why he never admitted to being a stan earlier, he said at the time, “i didn’t want people to know i was gay tbh.”

He added, “people will assume if you had an entire fan page dedicated to nicki u are gay. and the rap/music industry ain’t exactly built or accepting of gay men yet.”

Out on Columbia Records, Montero has appearances from Jack Harlow, Doja Cat, Elton John, Megan Thee Stallion and Miley Cyrus. It includes the singles “Montero (Call Me by Your Name)” and “Industry Baby,” which peaked at No. 1 and No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, respectively.

Stream Lil Nas X’s Montero album below.