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Lil Nas X came out as gay in 2019, and he was already an international sensation at the time thanks to his viral first single, \"Old Town Road\" featuring Billy Ray Cyrus -- a song that blended country with hip-hop.

The Grammy-winning rapper reflected on some of the backlash he experienced from people within both genres in an interview with the BBC at the time, saying that homosexuality is \"not really accepted\" in either genre.

Over the summer, homophobia in hip-hop again became a national topic of discussion when rapper DaBaby made anti-LGBTQ comments, which included misinformation about HIV, that were widely criticized as homophobic by civil rights groups and various artists.

\"PHOTO:
Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images via Getty Images, FILE
PHOTO: Rapper Lil Nas X attends The 2021 Met Gala Celebrating In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on Sept. 13, 2021, in New York City.
>

Lil Nas X reflected on the incident, telling GQ that the new generation of rappers are \"going to have to reshape their thoughts,\" and added that he hopes DaBaby \"grows\" from this experience.

After nearly a month of mounting criticism, DaBaby apologized in August during a meeting with GLAAD and Black HIV advocates from various organizations.

A previous headline for this story misspelled Lil Nas X’s name. It has been corrected.

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