Lil Nas X’s breakout hit “Old Town Road” topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for a record-breaking nineteen weeks in 2019. While many DSP users streamed the openly gay performer’s song for months, Hip Hop artist Dave East was not a fan of “Old Town Road” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus.
In fact, East blasted the single. He stated, “This f###### ‘Old Town Road’ s### is f###### wack. I don’t know what the f### is going on with Hip Hop or rap but… I ain’t no hater, man, but that s### is wack with a cape on it. It’s super wack!”
Those comments by Dave East caused a stir on social media as Lil Nas X fans took aim at the former protégé of Hip Hop legend Nasir “Nas” Jones. In 2020, East also posted “BATI MON BUN UP” in response to LNX dressing up as Nicki Minaj for Halloween. Batty man is a Jamaican slur used to describe gay men.
“It’s ‘batty man’ n##### can’t even be homophobic the proper way smh butchering the hell out of the patois,” wrote Lil Nas X in response to Dave East’s statements. The Atlanta-bred star continued, “Bro I don’t bother a soul in this industry. All I do is tweet and make bangers. Leave me alone. Damn.”
Dave East Took Issue With NYC Radio Playing “Old Town Road”
Several years after the story broke, Dave East reflected on the controversy involving Lil Nas X. The Survival album creator recently sat down with Math Hoffa for an episode of the battle rap legend’s My Expert Opinion podcast. The conversation eventually covered East’s “Old Town Road” review.
“I said I did not like ‘Old Town Road.’ One day, I felt a way. I said, ‘I don’t like this record.’ You know their entire community ran down on me,” said Dave East. The 34-year-old emcee continued, “I never said nothing about the [LGBTQ] community. I’m cool with the people in the community.”
The Wu-Tang: An American Saga actor added, “It’s like you can’t have an opinion on s### no more. You gotta know what comes with it. I didn’t say nothing about [Lil Nas X’s] preference as far as who he is as a person. I don’t give a f### about that.”
Dave East also told My Expert Opinion, “I don’t like the song. I don’t like the fact that it’s being played on New York radio where I know it’s a thousand n##### right in the town. When I go to Atlanta, the radio sounds like Atlanta.”