As his absurd and unlikely hit “Old Town Road” continues its (now) 12-week reign atop the Billboard Hot 100, Lil Nas X is capitalizing on his own success in the form of his debut multi-song project, the 7 EP.
Given that he had only released one song, many were curious whether Lil Nas X would continue to release songs with the country pastiche of “Old Town Road,” or if that song was just a fluke. As it turns out, Lil Nas is a fairly versatile artist. The songs on 7 touch on hip-hop, alt rock, R&B and country. Unfortunately, this doesn’t do him any favors, as the end result is pretty terrible.
With a beat he famously paid $30 for, “Old Town Road”—both the original and the remix—is a poorly performed and produced song, despite its catchiness and miraculous ascent. Lil Nas X is not a good singer, and the effects placed on his voice during the chorus make it even worse. It’s a fun novelty song, but objectively speaking, it’s not good.
With its boring trap instrumental, “Panini” suffers from the same problems, but without the redeeming charm. “F9mily (Me & You)” is one of the worst rock songs I’ve heard all year, thanks to its guitars (which sound straight out of the early 2000s) and, YOU GUESSED IT, his singing.
“Kick It” and “Rodeo” are painfully overproduced and autotuned, and the latter features an uninspired Cardi B verse. “Bring U Down” is actually not that bad. Maybe that’s because it’s the only song where his singing is tolerable. “C7osure (You Like)” is forgettable, much like most of this EP.
While I can’t blame Lil Nas X for capitalizing on his success, I can’t say that the 7 EP is an indicator that he’ll have any staying power. I could maybe see “Panini” or “Rodeo” being a hit, but I doubt they’ll reach the levels of “Old Town Road.” Ultimately, this EP is far too directionless and poorly performed for me to believe that he’ll turn his accidental mega-hit into a long career.
Score: 🤠🤠/5
Ben is a reviewer and CD collector currently studying Computer Science in NYC. In addition to contributing to Mini Music Critic he runs his own music page, BV Reviews.