Taco Bell's Surprising Connection To Lil Nas X
It seems like just yesterday, Lil Nas X was on top of the world with the song that spent more weeks at No. 1 than any other in the history of the music charts (via Billboard). Now that 2019's "Old Town Road" has made Lil Nas X wealthy and famous, he takes the time in his latest song and video to revisit his high school experience. In the video for "Sun Goes Down," the Lil Nas X of today travels back in time to 2017 to visit Lil Nas X the high school student. The video shows Lil Nas living a very different sort of life from what he enjoys now. He appears unhappy and unable to fit in socially at his high school. He looks particularly unhappy in part of the video where he's pushing a mop at the end of a lonely shift at Taco Bell.
Although the video seemingly gives viewers the impression that low-wage work at Taco Bell compares unfavorably to Lil Nas X's current celebrity status, Taco Bell is embracing its association with the rap star nonetheless. The Mexican-inspired chain tweeted images from the "Sun Goes Down" video showing Lil Nas X standing at a cash register, and added a link to the video, encouraging people to watch. Lil Nas took to Twitter himself on May 15 to recognize the anniversary of his first day on the job at Taco Bell four years ago. Taco Bell retweeted Lil Nas' post, with the caption "Live Nás."
A Taco Bell employee appears in the latest Lil Nas X video
Taco Bell's arrangement with rapper and singer Lil Nas X doesn't appear to be the sort of wall-to-wall promotion that's happening between TikTok sensation Charli D'Amelio and Dunkin', or hip-hop artist Travis Scott and McDonald's — at least not yet. You won't find Lil Nas merch on Taco Bell's website. But Lil Nas X's history as a Taco Bell employee has morphed into a big-time business relationship, as Sony Music has confirmed. Taco Bell shift supervisor Andrew German appeared in Lil Nas X's "Sun Goes Down" video after winning a $25,000 Taco Bell "Live Más" scholarship. German will use the funds to pursue his passion for dance, according to Sony Music. He can only hope to emulate Lil Nas' trajectory from mopping Taco Bell's floors to performing on-stage.
Not everyone following Taco Bell on Twitter was especially impressed with the chain's Lil Nas X collab, however. "How many Mexican Pizzas could y'all have made with what y'all paid him?" Odin's Doom Crew tweeted. In any case, Taco Bell is probably doing well to have Lil Nas X on its side. The artist trolled Chick-fil-A earlier this year, after the release of his song "MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)." Lil Nas X told his fans on Twitter that Chick-fil-A was giving free sandwiches and lemonade to customers who played the song at the drive-thru. (In case you were wondering, Chick-fil-A did not approve this promotion.)