Lil Nas X said “change is happening” in hip hop while being honored as GQ’ s Musician of the Year. For the magazine’s annual “Men of the Year” issue, published on Monday (Nov. 15), the 22-year-old star explained to writer Jeremy O. Harris what he believes the future of hip hop will be.

“The whole landscape is very hypermasculine,” Lil Nas said of the current music industry. “I do feel like this newer generation of rappers who are coming in, and the ones who are here, are going to have to reshape their thoughts because change is happening. There’s going to be so many gay rappers. There’s going to be more trans people in the industry and whatnot. Ten years from now, everything that I’m doing won’t even seem like it was shocking.”

The Montero crafter also reflected on his critics who he says accuse him of pushing a “gay agenda” in his music.

“It’s just acceptance of gay people. They see that as a bad thing,” he explained. “Like, ‘They’re trying to normalize it.’ You know what? Yeah. That’s actually what I’m trying to do.”

Earlier this year, Lil Nas felt the wrath of one critic: Boosie Badazz. The 39-year-old referred to Lil Nas as a homophobic slur on Twitter and said he “would do this world a huge favor” by committing suicide. As reported by REVOLT, Lil Nas’ dad, Robert Stafford, ultimately stepped in to defend his son.

“I feel like my relationship with my dad is closer now, but growing up it just wasn’t there as much. Nothing where I felt like I could open up to him or anything,” Lil Nas told GQ about his father. “I think he probably definitely had his moments of, ‘He’s definitely gay’ or something. Also, because I wasn’t willing to open up about that. If that would have happened at that time, I don’t feel like I’d be here right now.”

Despite the criticism, 2021 was also a year of record-breaking success for the Georgia native.

“This year is probably the most important, or feels like the best, because it’s real. It wasn’t safe. I’m so used to being safe on everything,” he said. “… I’m just excited for the future… Setting habits for myself. Handling things differently… Trying to improve my stamina onstage. I’m back to drinking this water. In the studio a lot. Always trying to experiment and try new things and never try to make the same song over again.”

Read Lil Nas’ full feature here and see his GQ cover on Instagram below.