7 (2019)

7 is the second extended play (EP) and major label debut by American rapper Lil Nas X. The EP was released on June 21, 2019, by Columbia Records. The EP was recorded from December 2018 to June 2019, and features production credits from Travis Barker of Blink-182, Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic, Boi-1da, Dot da Genius, Take a Daytrip, Allen Ritter, Jahaan Sweet, YoungKio, and Lil Nas X himself. The extended play features guest appearances from Barker, alongside Billy Ray Cyrus and Cardi B.

The EP was preceded by four singles. The first was "Old Town Road", which would become Lil Nas X's breakout hit when released on December 3, 2018. The second single was a remix of "Old Town Road" featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, released on April 5, 2019. This track would become the opening track of the EP, with the final track being the original song. The third single was "Panini", released on June 20, 2019, and became the final single for the EP. "Rodeo", although not released as a single, did receive a remix featuring Nas, which was released as a single on January 27, 2020.

Despite receiving a mixed reception from critics, 7 received six Grammy Award nominations, including a nomination for Album of the Year. At under 19 minutes, it is the shortest album release to be nominated for the Grammy Award. As for chart success, the EP peaked at number 2 on the Billboard 200, alongside hitting the top 10 in five other countries, including Australia, Denmark, New Zealand, Sweden, and Canada (where the EP hit number one). The album would also be certified Platinum in four countries (including the United States and Canada, where the record was certified 2× Platinum) and would be certified Gold in three countries.

Background

While recording the EP, Lil Nas X deliberately avoided producing an EP full of country rap songs, not wanting to be pigeonholed by the success of "Old Town Road". Despite this, he would include one other country song, "Rodeo", only after producers Take a Daytrip earned his trust by giving him the beat for "Panini". Several trap beats were also sent to the singer for consideration, which he rejected as he did not want to be a "trap artist". While in the process of recording the songs, Lil Nas X posted previews of both "Panini" and "Rodeo" to his social media accounts before either song were completely written. This caused some problems for producers Take a Daytrip as the popularity of these snippets meant that much of the work had to be "locked in" so the resulting songs would match the previews.

Lil Nas X announced the 7 EP on May 18, 2019, on all social media platforms along with its June 2019 release date. This teaser included the snippet of a song described by Spin's Rob Arcand as "singing a trap-pop hook through a slurred AutoTune drawl". Lil Nas X stated that the EP would include a collaboration with "one of [his] favorite artists ever".

Songs

"Old Town Road" was released as the lead single from the EP on the 3rd of December, 2018. The track would become a huge hit, peaking at the top of the US Billboard Hot 100. A remix featuring Billy Ray Cyrus was released as a single on the 5th of April, 2019, spending a record 19 weeks at the top. Other remixes for the song included artists such as Diplo, Young Thug, Mason Ramsey, and RM of BTS (the latter remix called "Seoul Town Road"). Other remixes featuring Jake Owen and Lil Wayne were recorded, although they were not released. The song would generate controversy when it was left off of the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart due to not "fitting" the genre. Despite this, the song would still gain popularity, and would win 14 awards, including two Grammy Awards and four awards at the BMA's. The music video for the song was released on YouTube, on the 17th of May, 2019, and has accumulated over 721,000,000 views and around 13,000,000 likes as of 2025. A shorter version of the video became Lil Nas X's most viewed video on the platform and has received over 1,400,000,000 views and around 14,000,000 likes as of 2025.

"Panini" was released as the third single from the EP on the 20th of June, 2019, the day before the EP was released, and would become Lil Nas X's second hit, peaking at number five on the Billboard Hot 100.