“I planned to die with the secret. But that changed when I became Lil Nas X,” he told the Guardian. The rapper came out last year, but is still hesitant to encourage others.

“I don’t want to encourage them to do something they don’t 100 percent want to do,” he said. “Especially in … middle school or high school, because it’s just super hard. It’s easier for me … There’s no one who’s going to kick me out of the house.”