The ultra-fast rise of Atlanta rapper Lil Nas X has shown no signs of slowing down as we begin a new month. The artist, best known for his omnipresent single “Old Town Road” and its subsequent remix featuring Bill Ray Cyrus, came out as gay Sunday, revealing to his Twitter followers various hints he had placed in music videos, lyrics and album covers along his rapid rise to fame.

In a series of tweets, Lil Nas X showed various examples of rainbows in his album artwork, small but noticeable rainbows in his music videos for “C7osure (You Like)” and “Panini” and LGBT-influenced lyrics in “C7osure (You Like).”

“I want you to make sure you’re listening to every single thing,” Lil Nas X said in an Apple Music interview before the release of his eight-song EP. “You can’t just listen and be on your phone the whole time because you might miss something.”

It all comes full circle now. Nas’ announcement on Twitter quickly garnered over 490,000 favorites and just under 100,000 retweets. 

Lil Nas X became a household name after “Old Town Road” shot to the top of Billboard’s Top 100 chart. The song was also infamously removed and then re-added to Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, peaking at number 19. 

In addition to his announcement, which came on the last day of Pride Month, “Old Town Road” is continuing to smash records nearly seven months after its release. The song just broke the record for the longest-running U.S. hip-hop No. 1 song of all time. At the top of Billboard’s Hot 100, “Old Town Road” has denied multiple pop superstars from claiming a number one song. Artists that have released new music and failed to dethrone “Old Town Road” at the top of the Hot 100 chart include Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber.

By breaking the record for the longest-running hip-hop No. 1 song of all time, Lil Nas X beats out Eminem’s “Lose Yourself,” The Black Eyed Peas’ “Boom Boom Pow” and Wiz Khalifa’s “See You Again.” 

Nine months ago, Lil Nas X was an unknown artist making songs using $30 beats off of a website called BeatStars. One of those songs eventually became the hip-hop/country crossover the world didn’t know it needed, “Old Town Road.” The song, with the help of country legend Billy Ray Cyrus, is now also eligible for diamond certification.

Following months of success from “Old Town Road,” Lil Nas X released “7,” his first EP, on June 21. The album features hip-hop and rock-inspired songs. 

Lil Nas X will perform in Des Moines at the 515 Alive music festival Aug. 16-17. The hip-hop and electronic music festival is held in Water Works Park in Des Moines. Tickets are available through www.515alive.com.