For Lil Nas X one of the keys to allowing himself to be candid and vulnerable on his debut album, Montero, was diving into the realm of psychedelic mushrooms.
During a conversation with the Wall Street Journal, for the publication’s latest Innovators issue the “Industry Baby” artist detailed working with David Biral and Denzel Baptiste, two producers who refer to themselves as “Take A Daytrip.” The team worked at various Airbnb rentals around California.
Before working on any music, Nas started the process by simply talking to Biral and Baptiste, while “reflecting on life.”
The artist shared that “a pivotal moment in the process was trying psychedelic mushrooms for the first time.” While sober Biral and Baptiste guided Nas through his trip, talking to him throughout the process and sitting in the hot tub or swimming in the pool.
According to LNX, the mushrooms allowed him “to push past lots of lingering feelings of self-consciousness.”
He noted, “I was able to open up a lot. I was able to write actual stories about my life and put it into my music. I actually did that for the first time.”
LNX is not the first artist who has harnessed the power of psychedelics to reach down into emotional depths for the purpose of recording an album.
Earlier this year, before the release of Star-Crossed, Kacey Musgraves shared her experiences on a guided mushroom trip that allowed her to “set the scene” for her fifth studio album, which takes listeners through the tragedy of heartbreak and divorce.
During a conversation with Rolling Stone, Musgraves explained that her trip was far from “recreational” and rather that “it was like mental and spiritual labor. Like, 10 years of therapy in one sitting.” Kacey also added that the trip was overseen by a doctor and timed to a 7 hours and 40-minute playlist, that was created by researchers at Johns Hopkins.
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