Track Review: Lil Nas X & NBA YoungBoy Are “Late to da Party”
Fresh off a career-solidifying year that saw the release of a blockbuster debut LP and 5 Grammy nominations including Album, Record, and Song of the Year, Lil Nas X has linked up with YoungBoy Never Broke Again for his first post-Montero song and first musical release of 2022.
From the cover art featuring a man pissing on a BET Award to the opening chants of “fuck BET,” “Late to da Party” positions itself as a BET diss track — but it’s not one. Yet again, Lil Nas and Take a Daytrip reunite for two minutes of braggadocious raps over a sparse, plucky trap-pop beat. Generally, this song is average; it’s not an outstanding offering from either artist. Nevertheless, the greatness of “Late to da Party” is found in the way that both artists are able to have their expressions of their sexualities coexist. It’s no secret that hip-hop has a major homophobia problem (that’s part of the reason behind the anti-BET sentiment that’s driving the promotion of this song), but Lil Nas and YoungBoy give us an unsuspecting moment of progress. Lil Nas opens his first verse with “Slurp it (Mhm, ah), make it sloppy / Look at how I top shit, bitch,” while YoungBoy gets equally crude with lines like “Know I'm ready as soon as she cum, uh / I lick it as soon as I'm done.'“ Of course, there are some caveats. YoungBoy feels the need to emphasize his heterosexuality (“He want X', I'm likin' his sister”) in the first line of his second verse, a choice that muddies how impressive his verses are and begs the question of whether or not he’d make that lyrical decision alongside another straight rapper. Regardless, seeing a gay rapper flaunt his sexuality in the same way as his straight counterpart on the same song is yet another door in the rap game that Lil Nas is kicking down.
Lil Nas’s “look at how I top shit” line is a double entendre that alludes to his chart dominance during the Montero era. His debut full-length album spawned two #1 hits (“Call Me By Your Name” and “Industry Baby”) and another Top 10 hit (“That’s What I Want”). Between his cultural, commercial, and critical dominance of the past year, Lil Nas’s absence from the list of the 2022 BET Awards nominees was egregious. However, as he’s expressed, the anti-BET sentiment of this song is bigger than missing out on nominations. This is where “Late to da Party” falters; the track is a missed opportunity to truly lay into the BET Awards as an institution and unpack how they fail to serve so many segments of the Black community. If anyone can do that while balancing a tight pop hook like the one on this track, it’s Lil Nas X. The “fuck BET” chants that open and close the song are too fiery to lead into bars that rely on lukewarm comedy (“Farted on these niggas, oops, I think I shitted”). Overall, “Late to da Party” is underwhelming, but maybe his upcoming Saucy Santana collaboration will truly bring the heat.
Score: 60
