LEADING OFF:
X FACTOR

Lil Nas X, who is featured here and in the pages of our Pride special print magazine, seems a fitting artist to serve as the issue’s Contents Page VIP. Nas came out, a while back, with the same wily, understated charm with which he ambled to pop-cultural ubiquity. But with “Montero (Call Me by Your Name),” the Columbia breakout (whose hotly anticipated full-length is due soon) places his proud queerdom squarely in the spotlight, and the response has been nothing short of electrifying. Of course, he probably wishes he could’ve taken the Old Town Road far away from us.