Grammy-winning singer Lil Nax X just got candid about his own coming out, revealing that he’d planned to keep his sexuality secret, and take that secret to the grave.

Nas X, who scored a #1 hit with his song “Old Town Road” came out last summer, and has since become a lauded figure within the LGBTQ community. Now, in an interview with The Guardian, he opens up about the pressures he felt after watching other kids come out in high school, and the bullying they endured.

“The honest truth is, I planned to die with the secret,” Nas says. “But that changed when I became Lil Nas X.”

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In the midst of his international success with “Old Town Road,” Nas came out on Twitter last June. He now says he feels liberated by going public. “I 100 percent want to represent the LGBT community,” he says of going public. “I don’t want to encourage them to do something they don’t 100 percent want to do. Especially in, like, middle school or high school. Because it’s just super-hard.”

“It’s easier for me,” he adds. “I’m not depending on anybody. There’s no one who’s going to kick me out of the house — nobody to start treating me sh*tty.”

Nas also went on to say that though he’s come out to his family, he still doesn’t discuss his romantic life at home. The Recording Industry Associates of America has certified “Old Town Road” platinum 12 times over.