Lil Nas X announces his mother's death in emotional tribute: ‘This one's gonna hurt’

SHERMAN OAKS, CALIFORNIA: Lil Nas X is mourning the death of his mother, Tameka Hill, just days after his father shared an emotional account of visiting the singer in jail following his recent arrest.

The Grammy-winning rapper announced Hill's death on Instagram on Saturday, August 29, sharing photos of his mother and expressing his love for her. The news comes amid a difficult period for the musician, who recently discussed his mental health journey and legal troubles.

Lil Nas X mourns mother Tameka Hill in emotional tribute

Lil Nas X, announced his mother Tameka Hill's death in an Instagram post on August 29. “RIP TO THE BADDEST EVER! LOVE U FOREVER MOMMY. this one’s gonna hurt.” he wrote.

The post featured three photos of Hill, including one of her looking at the camera, another of the mother and son together at an event and a third showing Hill with Nas as a child. Her age and cause of death are not known.

Nas had not previously shared much about his relationship with his mother, but during a 2020 interview with Variety, he acknowledged, “we don’t have the closest relationship. Even trying to get her better — things didn’t quite work out. But there’s still love."

The news of Hill's passing comes just days after the 'Old Town Road' rapper celebrated his “10,000th day alive” following a period of mental health support. On August 24, the musician posted a video on his Instagram Stories featuring a cake he had made to mark the milestone.

“So, tomorrow is my 10,000th day alive and…I made it!” he said with a smile. “A lot of y’all won’t make it but I made it.” Nas, whose real name is Montero Hill, returned to social media in June after nearly a year away, sharing an update on his personal mental health journey.

Lil Nas X's father recalls emotional jail visit after arrest

Previously, Lil Nas X’s father, Robert Stafford, opened up about his emotional reaction to seeing the singer in jail following his August 21 arrest. He recalled “shed tears” while visiting his 26-year-old son as he discussed his legal troubles in a new interview.

“I went to visit him in jail and as soon as I walked through that door, I couldn’t do anything but cry,” Stafford told The Sunday Times adding, “To see my baby boy on the other side of that glass. We shed tears with each other for a minute.”

Stafford traveled from his home in Atlanta to Los Angeles to be by his son’s side. During the visit, he reassured the singer that the difficult experience he was facing was part of life. The concerned father also acknowledged that dealing with the arrest was particularly challenging because of his son's public profile.

“We all have breakdowns every now and then, but the difference is, yours get played out in the public eye,” he recalled telling him. Lil Nas X was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor on August 21 in Los Angeles after he was accused of assaulting a police officer.

Stafford further said, "When I went to visit, he asked me to say, ‘Tell everybody I’m sorry they saw me like that. Even in that moment, he was apologizing to people for something he was going through."