Whether he’s turning his album rollout into a parody of pregnancy announcements or selling Satan shoes as tie-in merch to a devil gay lap dance video, he’s excelled at what pop stars used to do before they started selling everything but themselves: crossing new lines of commodifiable transgression that make us see the world differently. Since then, the one-time member of the Barbz came out and - in an era of downcast pop doldrums - has become pop’s most consistently surprising provocateur.

He was half joking about the controversies that have embroiled him since his ubiquitous, record-breaking 2019 hit “Old Town Road” took over pop culture. “I want to say thank you to the gay agenda!” Lil Nas X proclaimed as he won the Video of the Year award at the MTV VMAs on Sept.