AUDIO: INDUSTRY BABY by Lil Nas X

Lil Nas X recruits Louisville native Jack Harlow for “INDUSTRY BABY,” a boisterous song where they rap about their fame and success, blowing up, and their newfound statuses in the rap game. The title plays on the term “industry plant,” which are people who are backed by a major label at the start, but play into an image of being organic and all by themselves.

The song was first teased on October 22, 2020 with a snippet showing Nas X dancing to the song with the producer duo, Take a Daytrip. A demo version of the song leaked in full late June 2021, with the demo version using a slightly different instrumental and containing no feature. A week before it’s release, the rapper tweeted a promise, claiming he would drop “INDUSTRY BABY” once the June 2019 track, “Panini,” hit 400 Million views on YouTube.

The music video hit the goal shortly after and Lil Nas announced the song on July 19th, through a trailer which portrays him being sentenced to jail in relation to his Nike court case. The trailer revealed the release date, producers, and Jack Harlow as the feature.