Two months ago, Lil Nas X revealed his sexuality to the world. In a recent interview with TIME, the 20-year-old rapper explained that he was persuaded by the universe to reveal his truth.

“I never would have done that if I wasn’t in a way pushed by the universe,” he said during his interview with TIME. “In June, I’m seeing Pride flags everywhere and seeing couples holding hands — little stuff like that.”

Back in July, Lil Nas reflected on his journey while on Twitter. The “Old Town Road” spitter explained that he has come a long way from sleeping on his sister’s floor to having a hit record. “Wow man last year I was sleeping on my sister’s floor, had no money, struggling to get plays on my music, suffering from daily headaches, now i’m gay.”

With fame comes a lot of criticism and Lil Nas X is learning that firsthand. During a conversation with BBC, Lil Nas X spoke on the backlash he received since coming out. “I used to be that person being negative,” he said while speaking on the negativity. “I’m not angry or anything [about it], because I understand how they just want that reaction.”

On a lighter note, last month, Lil Nas X’s breakthrough hit, “Old Town Road,” became the longest-running No. 1 in Billboard chart history. At the time of the release, the record spent 17 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart. “Old Town Road” has broken the record first set by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men’s “One Sweet Day,” which ran for a total of 16 weeks.

Moving forward, Lil Nas X has a lot to celebrate. For this year’s MTV Video Music Awards, Lil Nas racked up a total of eight nominations including Video of the Year, Song of the Year, Best New Artist, Best Collaboration, Best Hip-Hop, Best Direction, Best Editing and Best Art Direction. The annual event will take place in Newark, N.J. on Aug. 26.