Cashier-turned-executive: Lil Nas X joins forces with Taco Bell for album ‘Montero’
“[L]ife has come full circle,” Lil Nas X wrote Monday on Twitter. “i officially work at taco bell again.”
The rapper and marketing savant, real name Montero Lamar Hill, is partnering with Taco Bell to promote his debut album “Montero.” As the company’s inaugural, honorary “chief impact officer,” his role will be merging philanthropy, music and food while working on “menu innovations” and more.
Launching Monday, Lil Nas X will make a cameo in Taco Bell’s breakfast campaign as the chain hopes to revive the most important meal of the day at 90% of restaurants nationwide. More “fan engagement opportunities” featuring the rapper will be announced later this fall.
The rapper and the restaurant company will be creating “an exclusive experience” around the upcoming album release and rewarding young creatives through the Taco Bell Foundation’s Live Más Scholarship, according to a press release. While the album’s release date is still TBD, the musician has left a Marvel-inspired album trailer to keep fans at bay.
Lil Nas X has dropped a Marvel-inspired trailer for his debut album and clapped back at homophobic haters who dissed his BET performance.
This isn’t Lil Nas X’s first Taco Bell rodeo, though. The Grammy-winning artist formerly worked at a branch in the Greater Atlanta metro area in 2017, as referenced in his “Sun Goes Down” music video.
Jennifer Frommer, senior vice president of brand partnerships and commercial sync at Columbia Records, said, “Lil Nas X is one of the most important voices of this generation. His expertise in understanding social media and youth culture alongside his skills in creating great music makes this partnership with Taco Bell exciting, brave and one of the most innovative campaigns I’ve had the pleasure of creating.”
Lil Nas X is no stranger to PR collaborations and campaigns either. Following his hotly-contested Satan shoes dispute with Nike, the artist turned the debacle into a trailer for the music video accompanying his latest single “Industry Baby.”
The ‘Montero’ rapper is joining video site Cameo, along with Hayley Kiyoko and members of Pentatonix, in a Pride Month push to raise money for LGBTQ charities.
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