Montero Hill pulls out his phone to inform his two million Twitter followers about some breaking news. “Can’t believe the queen is twerking to 'Old Town Road' live on TV right now!” he tells fans, at least a couple of whom presumably turn on their televisions on the off chance it’s true. In fairness to them, it’s not totally unfeasible to think our 93-year-old monarch might have popped by the Beeb to show her appreciation of the country-rap hit via the medium of dance. After all, everyone else in the country (and indeed the world) seems infatuated with "Old Town Road" right now. Why not Her Majesty too?

“It’s crazy how far it’s travelled,” says the 20-year-old behind the smash single, a handsome maypole of a man with a moustache, loud sense of style and self-described “goofy sense of humour”. He might make music under the name Lil Nas X, but there’s not much that’s little about him: not his height (he towers over the room at 6ft 3in) and certainly not his numbers. Since becoming a viral sensation earlier this year, "Old Town Road", his debut single, has been streamed 979m times on Spotify and a further 350m times on YouTube, becoming the longest-running US No1 of all time. Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Kim Kardashian, Cardi B and pop titans Little Mix are all fans, the latter, in fact, gatecrash his GQ Hype cover shoot to plead for a photo (“You’re killing it!” singer Jade Thirlwall tells him). When we meet, he’s been at No1 in the US chart for 12 weeks, breaking all manner of records. Not bad for a guy from Atlanta who this time last year had just finished school.

Jacket, £6,800. Scarf, £410. Both louisvuitton.com . Bolo Tie by Toga, £175. goodhoodstore.com © Elliott Morgan

“It’d never have made it out there without the meme culture that embraced it,” says Hill, who created waves of videos and images that put a funny spin on the song and posted them to social media from his family home, promoting the track himself without record label intervention. As others shared the memes and began posting their own, the song – an absurdly addictive mix of twanging banjos, cowboy tropes and booming hip-hop production – took on a life of its own. When the Billboard chart excluded it from their country charts, a move attacked as racially motivated, a row ignited in American pop culture over the types of music black artists are allowed to create. “That only really shone more of a spotlight on it,” says Hill, who then re-released the track with a guest verse from country icon Billy Ray Cyrus.

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“I’m happy it’s become a part of so many people’s lives. Kids are going to grow up with that song and play it to remember these times, which makes me feel amazing,” Hill beams. He recently heard about a fan who had it played at their funeral. “It was in the hearse with them, one last ride,” he explains, looking slightly spun out by the thought. It’s hard to blame him. Last summer, he was a student like any other. He struggled to hold down jobs at theme parks and chicken restaurant chains. Now he’s a borderline household name and, since 30 June, a week before we meet, an LGBTQ hero (“I am gay,” he confirmed on BBC Breakfast after tweeting a rainbow flag and hinting at his sexuality).

Shirt by Sankuanz, £487. At farfetch.com. Trousers by Dsquared2, £2,430. dsquared2.com. Bolo tie and vest, stylist's own. © Elliott Morgan

“Live your life to its fullest potential and don’t really care too much about what other people think of you. I used to say that cliché, but I never really lived by it, until now,” he says about coming out. He’s still a little overwhelmed at “having to be a voice”, he says, but it’s all worth it when he’s reminded of the power of his visibility as a gay man in a hip hop community that’s historically been entrenched in homophobia. “Since I came out, people have been coming up to me saying, 'You’re making a way for us,'” he says proudly. Our interview happens to take place on the day of London Pride. The sound of celebration drifts in through the window as he sits on that thought for a moment, smiling.

Having a massive smash single is one thing. Following it up is the hard part. Hill is already proving wrong all those who suggested he might be a one-hit wonder. In June he released 7, an EP comprised of, you guessed it, seven songs that hinted at an artist who refuses to be pinned down to one style. Instead of serving up seven variations on "Old Town Road"’s country-rap theme, it found him delving into Nirvana-inspired trap ("Panini"), stadium rock ("Bring U Down") and emotional pop punk ("F9mily").

Shirt by Sankuanz, £487. At farfetch.com. Bolo tie and vest, stylist's own. © Elliott Morgan

“I’m still in the first stage of figuring out who I am. I don’t know what kind of music I’ll be making ten years from now. I want to do everything and I'm still learning how I work,” he says. “But the one thing I’ll always know is that people don’t know what they want until they get it. They didn’t know they wanted a song about taking a horse to the old town road in 2019. But they did.”

There’s a lyric on 7’s final track, "C7osure", that feels fitting. “This is what I gotta do / Can’t be regretting when I’m old,” he sings over dance euphoria. “That’s my philosophy right now,” Hill tells me before we part ways. “Do everything you can because [snap!]..." he clicks his fingers “...it could all go in a second.” That seems a philosophy everyone should get behind – even Her Majesty.

Jacket, £6,800. Scarf, £410. Both by Louis Vuitton. louisvuitton.com. Trousers by Coach, £950. coach.com. Boots by Bottega Veneta, £720. bottegaveneta.com. Bolo tie by Toga, £175. At goodhoodstore.com © Elliott Morgan

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