Published on Saturday, May 15, 2021 by Agitator Co-operative

“Montero”: A Black Satanic Interpretation

by Zora Revolt

In life we hide the parts of ourselves we don’t want the world to see. We lock them away. We tell them no. We banish them. But here, we don’t. Welcome to Montero.

The above is the opening statement Lil Nas X makes at the beginning of his video “Montero.” It gives the audience context for what they’re about to watch. “Montero” is full of gorgeous metaphorical imagery on a level that I haven’t seen in a long time. It tells the story of Lil Nas X’s journey of accepting himself as a gay man in our current society. Unfortunately, I think much of the imagery was lost on many people who were “too shocked” by the last scene of the video, even though the lead up to this is foreshadowed throughout the entire piece. As a black queer woman who is also a Satanist, I want to share my interpretation of “Montero” along with shedding light on the Satanic imagery that occurs throughout the video.

While I do not think that Lil Nas X identifies as a Satanist, the imagery and story he tells actually demonstrate a lot of the concepts found in the ideology of modern Satanism. What is modern Satanism you ask. It is a self-focused philosophy or religion that venerates the idea of Satan as an embrace of humanity, rebellion against tyrannical authority, self-love, and indulgence in life.  All these concepts give strength and compassion to anyone who is considered an outsider to mainstream society. When one reflects upon this, this imagery is an obvious choice for a young gay black man living in the United States.

In the first scene of the video, we see a beautified Lil Nas X sitting under a tree in the Garden of Eden. This garden and the whole of the video is Montero, Lil Nas X’s real name and representative of his psyche. He is then approached by a snake-man creature, whose flesh has cracks of lava in it, foreshadowing the lava in the realm of Hell. The snake is played by Lil Nas X as well, along with all the other characters in the video. While this could just be a Covid-19 precaution, I believe it symbolises him interacting with different parts of his mind and spirit. The snake seduces him, and as Lil Nas X runs from the snake, beautiful flowers with the snake-man’s face pop up around him. The snake eventually catches up to him and Lil Nas X falls to the ground. The snake then licks his stomach in what I consider to be the most erotic scene in the video. This whole scene is a representation of Lil Nas X recognizing his sexuality. The snake is a representation of homosexuality. Him running away from it is his denial. The flowers represent the temptation of other men. When the snake-man licks his stomach, that is Lil-Nas giving in to his sexuality.

The very last image in this scene shows a quote inscribed on the tree he was sitting under. It is a quote from Plato’s Symposium*:

Now when our first form had been cut in two, each half in longing for its fellow would come to it again; and then would they fling their arms about each other and in mutual embraces.

This quote either references a man he wants to be in a sexual relationship with, or it is about him embracing a part of himself that he had previously ignored or was in denial about. 

In the next scene, we see Lil Nas X being dragged in chains into a place resembling a Roman auditorium with some French flair from the hairstyles. The auditorium is filled with angry stone spectators in the stands, and a circle of judges, who are all also Lil Nas X. The most striking thing about this scene is that Lil Nas X is wearing pink while everyone else in the auditorium is wearing blue. This is incredibly symbolic. The status quo for masculinity is represented in the color blue. By Lil Nas X wearing pink, he is referencing feminity, and the fact that male homosexuality is also considered to be feminine by the mainstream. He is also othered by being the only one clad in pink.

The judges standing around him, which are also clones of himself, represent his self-doubt and self-hatred that he has absorbed from the homophobia in the world. He is then knocked out or killed by a rock that has been thrown at his head. This may represent a low or breaking point for Lil Nas X. Too much homophobic shame has incapacitated him.

The next scene is very short, but represents a huge turning point. As Lil Nas floats in the sky, he looks up at the silhouette of an angel. Instead of continuing to float up to heaven, a stripper pole slides between his hands as he chooses Hell and Himself instead.

On what can only be described as the most epic stripper pole slide in history, Lil Nas X continues his long slide to Hell with a costume change. No longer is he in bright pastel idyllic clothes. He’s now wearing red pigtails, high heeled boots, and devil boxers. He’s no longer trying to fit into the homogenized image of black masculinity and sexuality. Once arriving at the bottom, he enters the epic gates of Hell, finds Satan on his throne and proceeds to give him a lap dance. This is Lil Nas X fully embracing his homosexuality and himself. He no longer has shame about who he is and has no problem putting it on full display.

Buddhism and Satanism share a lot of similarities. There is a saying in Buddhism: “If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill the Buddha.” My basic interpretation of this phrase is that there is no god or enlightenment outside of yourself. This is one of the main principles of Satanism and is exactly what happens in the last part of the video. Lil Nas X kills Satan with a quick neck snap and takes his braided horned crown for himself. Lil Nas X has fully embraced who he is and is taking ownership over his life. 

As for the lyrics of the song “Montero,” parts of it are represented in the video. Like the quote from Plato’s Symposium, the lyrics discuss either Lil Nas X’s sexual relationship with another man, or his relationship with his homosexuality. We see this most clearly in these lines from the pre-chorus:

Cocaine and drinkin' with your friends

You live in the dark, boy, I cannot pretend

I'm not fazed, only here to sin

If Eve ain't in your garden, you know that you can.

At first he was hiding from his sexuality by staying in the closet and doing drugs. Sin is only defined by the standard of others and does not faze this “man” that is singing. Since “Eve ain’t in [his] garden,” Lil Nas X is gay and can have sex with men.

In a short three minute video, a powerful narrative is conveyed with a lot of provocative imagery. For Lil Nas X, this video is telling the world that he is a proud black gay man. This also carries over to the LGBTQ community in general. Homosexuality is demonized across the world, and is seen as being evil and anti-christian in the US and in many other places. By embracing and recognizing that the concept of Satan and sin is just a judeo-christian attempt at stigmatizing people who are different from the majority, people in the queer community can learn to love themselves and forge a new life and worldview for themselves. Also, by using Satanic imagery, it is a pushback to the christian ideology that is rampant in the black community. This is the most provocative thing about this video. However, it is greatly needed as it prompts many people in the black community to look at the christian religion from a different perspective. 

As a black Satanist myself, I was very surprised and pleased to see my religion represented so accurately in a mainstream music video, even if it occurred by accident. Embracing Satanism was very liberating for me and that is certainly demonstrated in “Montero.” For Satanists, the internal journey Lil Nas X goes through, which is strongly represented by him playing all the roles in the video, is the very essence of Satanism. Embracing who you are and living life to the fullest is Satanic enlightenment.

*https://aninjusticemag.com/what-is-that-greek-in-the-montero-video-535763d1f0ff