Lil Nas X will soon be a parent — to his first full-length studio album Montero, out September 17. The rapper, 22, real name Montero Lamar Hill, announced the “baby” news (i.e. the album’s due date) with a grandiose pregnancy photoshoot of himself in a prosthetic baby bump and elegant flower crown. Photographed by Adrian Per for PEOPLE, the “Industry Baby” singer wears a sheer white robe and matching pants and holds a bouquet of white flowers by the pool, as seen in the photos HERE.
@lilnasx SURPRISE! 🦋💕👶🏾
The rapper also shared a TikTok with the prosthetic baby bump on Thursday, writing, “SURPRISE!” and “Baby ‘Montero’ is due September 17, 2021” with a butterfly and baby emoji. The rapper told PEOPLE how the concept came to be, explaining that it culminated after he listened to Megan Thee Stallion’s verse from his upcoming “Dolla Sign Slime” for the first time. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is amazing,'” he told the outlet.
“I immediately called my stylist. She was like, ‘Wow, this all comes together. Your album. Your baby.'” he continued. “I was like, ‘Yeah, this is my baby, huh?’ As a joke, she was like, ‘Yeah, you should do a pregnancy shoot.’ I was like, ‘You know what? That’s actually brilliant.’ So now we have this entire thing coming out, and it’s going to be amazing.”
He added of his baby: “I guess I am the father as well as the mother. But I guess the producers who worked on it are like the dads too.” Lil Nas X added, “Or maybe uncles.” The singer first announced Montero‘s impending arrival on social media earlier this week, sharing a glorious album art spoof of Drake‘s upcoming album Certified Lover Boy.
Drake’s cover art featured emojis of several pregnant women, while Lil Nas X’s drew upon that and included emojis of several pregnant men. The rapper told PEOPLE of his spoof, “I was like, ‘There’s no way the universe is lining up this perfect for this to happen.” News of Montero‘s arrival date comes a day after the singer dropped the official tracklist. Along with Megan Thee Stallion, the album will also feature collaborations with Doja Cat, Elton John, and Miley Cyrus.