Before Lil Nas X shared his new song, he shared a message from his mother.
In a voicemail posted to Instagram on September 30, Tamikia Hill encourages her son to keep his head up and keep going.
She reminds him that she loves him, and returns to a saying he had heard from her many times: “Walk by faith, not by sight.”
Nas explained that it was her favorite phrase, adding that its meaning has grown for him as he moves through life.
He announced his mother’s death in August. A little over a month later, her voice helped introduce his return to music.
World’s Greatest!, released October 1, is his first new song of 2026. Its accompanying six-minute video makes room for both the artist he has become and the child he once was.
Directed by Phillip Youmans and filmed in Atlanta, the video opens with Nas rehearsing choreography in a dance studio. From there, it moves between the present and dramatized scenes from his childhood.
The younger version of Nas is part of the film’s storytelling. These are recreated scenes, rather than a collection of childhood home movies.
By the final moments, the video returns to his mother. Her voicemail plays again, and the film closes with a dedication to her.
For an artist whose music and visuals have reached audiences around the world, it is a deeply personal way to begin a new chapter. The encouragement comes from a familiar voice, using familiar words.
Nas’s openness as a gay man has made him an important figure for many queer listeners. Here, the connection also comes through something people across generations may recognize: keeping a recording of someone you love because hearing them still matters.
A voicemail preserves small things that a photograph cannot—the rhythm of a sentence, a family nickname, the way someone says they will check on you again.
In this new release, Nas has chosen to share that part of his mother with the people listening.
Sources: Pitchfork and People.
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