Lil Nas X Enters His Introspective Dream World on ‘Need Dat Boy’

Last week, Lil Nas X launched his upcoming Dreamboy project with the club-ready single “Light Again,” with a video depicting a chaotic party ripe for hedonistic release. Now, the rapper and singer is capturing the post-party comedown on the hazy new single “Need Dat Boy.”

Building around a simple piano melody and sparks of thunderous bass, the record spills out almost like a confessional voicemail message. “Sorry darling I been down for a couple summers/Falling back in the crowd smokin’ marijuana,” he sings. “I been angsty/I been hurtin’/I been tryin’/Shit ain’t workin’/Yeah I dream big/Yet I descend/These days I don’t know what I believe in.”

Later on the record, Lil Nas takes aim at an audience full of spectators, rather than supporters. “Y’a/ll do not support nobody/Show up for y’all/But y’all don’t show up for Lil Nazy,” he sings. “Look how I open doors and everybody run in/A lot of y’all are just my peers/Y’all ain’t my friends/A lot of y’all say y’all love me/Y’all just pretend/A lot of y’all watch me drown in that deep end.”

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On the second half of the song, the rapper wipes his tears and picks up the pace. With an interpolation of Trina’s 2000 single “Pull Over,” Lil Nas returns to the party he started on “Light Again.” He also makes a nod to his upcoming project, noting: “You in dream world and you listening to Dreamboy.”

“Light Again” and “Need Dat Boy” both revive the comeback Lil Nas hoped to launch earlier this year with “J Christ” before retreating for a few months to re-center. The musician still hasn’t shared any more details about when he expects to release the follow-up to his hit 2021 debut album, Montero.