American rapper Lil Nas X has admitted that it was never in his original plans to come out as a gay man.

The 20-year-old rose to fame last year when his song 'Old Town Road' was turned into a duet with country music legend Billy Ray Cyrus and went on to hit number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, staying there for a record-breaking 19 weeks.

Last June, on the day the pair played at the iconic Glastonbury Festival, Nas X publicly came out on Twitter just days after he had revealed his sexuality to his family.

"The honest truth is, I planned to die with the secret," Nas X told The Guardian. "But that changed when I became Lil Nas X. I 100% want to represent the LGBT community.

"My family knows now. But it's not something that's ever brought up or we speak about. We're quiet on it. Nobody's like, 'Oh, you got a boyfriend?'"

After his hugely-successful 2019, Time recognised the rapper as one of the most influential people online, while Forbes also named him in their '30 Under 30' list for 2020.