Not surprisingly, there have been all kinds of reactions to Lil Nas X’s latest very unsubtle video, for “Industry Baby.” Like many of his other recent videos and TV appearances, the jail-themed clip includes multiple eye-popping homoerotic scenes, particularly one of Nas and his dancers gyrating naked in the shower.
Guest rapper Jack Harlow gets in on the action too, albeit with a female dancer. But he surprised many when he responded to online comments by saying he’d gladly have doffed his boxers and popped into the shower with Nas and the boys.
“Nas wrote the whole treatment for this video and I followed his lead every step of the way. If he had asked me to be in that shower scene I woulda been in that shower scene,” he wrote. “I just let the mastermind cook. Honored to be a part of it.”
Nas wrote the whole treatment for this video and I followed his lead every step of the way. If he had asked me to be in that shower scene I woulda been in that shower scene. I just let the mastermind cook. Honored to be apart of it.
— Jack Harlow (@jackharlow) July 23, 2021
To which Nas responded: “wait!!! i didn’t know! let’s shoot it again! please jack harlow!!! Please.”
wait!!! i didn’t know! let’s shoot it again! please jack harlow!!! please https://t.co/CJH6v5c8dV
— nope 👶🏾 (@LilNasX) July 23, 2021
Then he added, “to the lgbtq+ community i sincerely apologize. i have failed you. i am embarrassed. i am ashamed. and i will learn from my mistakes.”
to the lgbtq+ community i sincerely apologize. i have failed you. i am embarrassed. i am ashamed. and i will learn from my mistakes. https://t.co/CJH6v5c8dV
— nope 👶🏾 (@LilNasX) July 23, 2021
Nas and Harlow were still at it at the time of this article’s publication…
i already tried he’s not here for it https://t.co/P80hdzwHmh
— nope 👶🏾 (@LilNasX) July 23, 2021
Adding in a comment, “Ooh, he meant music!”
“Stop looking into my eyes” – @LilNasX pic.twitter.com/I5vLmaDKgH
— Jack Harlow (@jackharlow) July 23, 2021
The video, based on a story by Lil Nas X and directed by Christian Breslauer, continues the theme Nas started with “Sun Goes Down,” which was an encouraging letter to his teen self. After a parodic preview video earlier this week where the rapper was on trial before Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas (portrayed by Nas) for being gay, this one finds him serving out a sentence in the fictional Montero State Prison.
It then follows a loose theme slightly reminiscent of the film “The Shawshank Redemption” as Nas escapes from prison, although he seems to be having so much fun there it’s hard to imagine why: He’s fondling his dancers throughout the clip — including a hilarious nude dance scene in the shower with everyone’s privates pixilated — and even guest rapper Jack Harlow gets in on the action, although with a female dancer.
The song is the latest to be released from Nas’ forthcoming debut full-length album “Montero,” due “later this year” on Columbia Records.