Lil Nas X’s Father Shares Additional, Heartbreaking Details About Rapper’s Arrest

Lil Nas X's father, Robert Stafford, shared gut-wrenching details about the out rapper's recent hospitalization and arrest — acknowledging the financial pressures and family issues that he was quietly dealing with for many years.

via: Pink News

The singer, whose real name is Montero Lamar Hill, has been charged with four felonies, including three counts of battery with injury of a police officer and one of resisting an executive officer after he was arrested and taken to hospital.

He has denied all the charges and, after being released on bail, said in an Instagram video that the ordeal was “terrifying” but he was “gonna be alright”.

Now, Lil Nas X’s father Robert Stafford has told The Times that the pressure of fame, being the provider for his family and his mother’s addiction had all played a part in his son’s recent struggles.

“I understand how the music business is,” Stafford said. “It’s like a high. When you get to that level, you want that drug again, you want to hit that high again.

“I went to visit him in jail and as soon as I walked through that door, I couldn’t do anything but cry. To see my baby boy on the other side of that glass.

“We shed tears with each other for a minute. I had to tell him: ‘What you’re going through is normal. We all have breakdowns every now and then but the difference is yours get played out in the public eye’.

“[For] a 26 year old to have to deal with what he’s dealing with, to be a breadwinner for a lot of people, the inability to change his mother’s situation, and the pressure he puts on himself… that can weigh heavily on your heart”.

Stafford previously told reporters that his son was “going to get the help that he needs” and was “very remorseful for what happened”.

The star’s lawyer, Christy O’Connor, told the Associated Press there was no evidence that drugs were involved in the incident and described Lil Nas X’s behaviour as an “absolute aberration”. If convicted, the singer could face up to five years in prison.

Lil Nas X is expected to release his second studio album, Dreamboy, later this year.