Trying to generate controversy by appealing to Christian sacrilege in an increasingly secular (Western) world and in a context, that of pop music, with a long “blasphemous” tradition – from Madonna to Lady Gaga to Marilyn Manson – and with a new generation of spectators who have not eaten a (consecrated) host in their life, it is like trying to act like a transgressor by telling 9/11 jokes. You’re late, Montero.
The (biblical) noise that the rapper has been giving since the end of last year with Christianity finally became flesh (digital) in the video he published in mid-January. As for his subversive capacity, ‘J CHRIST’ is more harmless than seeing a priest without a collar in 2024. Its transgressive power is the same as entering a church without crossing yourself. He wouldn’t offend even a Sevillian brother. Not even José Manuel Soto.
The video clip, which can be seen as a sequel to ‘MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)’ eager to go viral, begins with a holy company of pop icons parading towards the gates of heaven. Once inside, San Lil appears and the festival of religious iconography and kitsch imagery begins like an online Lourdes souvenir store: heaven, hell, a celestial basketball game (with the “satan shoes”) and –attention, that becomes “irreverent” – a crucifixion, a shearer of the agnus dei, Noah’s ark, the universal flood… A collection of little cards that, judging by its discreet media impact, is not going to help Lil Nas the excommunication.
