7 | ||||
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EP by | ||||
Released | June 21, 2019 | |||
Recorded |
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Genre | ||||
Length | 18:44 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Producer |
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Lil Nas X chronology | ||||
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Singles from 7 | ||||
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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 Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross of Nine Inch Nails, 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 album was preceded by four singles. The first was "Old Town Road", which would become Lil Nas X's breakout hit when released on the 3rd of December, 2018. The second single was a remix of "Old Town Road" featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, released on the 5th of April, 2019. This track would become the opening track of the EP (the final track being the original song). The third single was "Panini", released on the 20th of June, 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 the 27th of January, 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.
While recording the album Lil Nas X deliberately avoided producing an album full of country rap songs, not wanting to be pigeonholed by the success of "Old Town Road". [2] 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". [2] Several trap beats were also sent to the singer for consideration, which he rejected as he did not want to be a "trap artist". [2]
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. [3]
Lil Nas X announced the 7 EP on May 18, 2019, on all social media platforms along with its June 2019 release date. [4] 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". [5] Lil Nas X stated that the EP would include a collaboration with "one of [his] favorite artists ever". [6]
"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. [7] [8] 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 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. [9] 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 and around 14,000,000 likes as of 2025. [10]
"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. [11] [12] The song would be remixed with DaBaby as a feature, with the DaBaby remix releasing on the 13th of September, 2019. The original version's music video has accumulated over 497,000,000 views and around 7,400,000 likes as of 2025, [13] with the lyric video for its remix gaining over 32,000,000 views and around 867,000 likes as of 2025. [14]
"Rodeo", originally featuring Cardi B, was not made a single until a remix featuring Nas was released on January 27, 2020, one day after it was performed at the Grammys. [15] The remix peaked at number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was used for the music video in which Nas makes an appearance. The official audio for the original version currently has over 98,000,000 views and around 1,800,000 likes as of 2025, [16] with the music video for the remix gaining over 181,000,000 views and around 2,900,000 likes as of 2025.
Three other songs from the EP would also hit the charts. "F9mily (You & Me)", featuring Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, would hit number 34 on the Official Aotearoa Music Charts in New Zealand and number 97 in the RollingStone Top 100, "Kick It" would hit number 33 on the Official Aotearoa Music Charts, and "C7osure (You Like)" (where Lil Nas X came out as gay) hit number 27 on the Official Aotearoa Music Charts, number 60 on the LTU charts in Lithuania, and number 14 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 charts. "Bring U Down" was the only song from the EP to not chart in any capacity.
Aggregate scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 57/100 [17] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Consequence | C+ [19] |
Pitchfork | 4.3/10 [20] |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
7 received mixed reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, 7 received an average score of 57, based on 11 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [17]
Mikael Wood at the Los Angeles Times considered it among the best debut efforts of the year, calling the songs on 7 "vivid, funny, full of feeling and supremely catchy, even if they don't quite offer a clear picture of who Lil Nas X is offstage or off-screen." [22] Brittany Spanos, writing for Rolling Stone praised the EP's "carefully balanced earnestness and playfulness," but agreed with Wood: "Still, it leaves more questions than answers about what and who Lil Nas X wants to be." [21] In a mixed review, Garrett Gravley at Consequence of Sound described the EP as a "musical Chex Mix — lightweight and best consumed in selective increments, but also strangely addictive." [19]
Other reviews were more negative. Brian Josephs at Entertainment Weekly criticized its "failed versatility", summarizing by saying, "With 7, there's too little conviction to tell if a full project is something Lil Nas X wants to do. At best, there's a set of half-considered songs." [23] Alphonse Pierre gave it a poor review for Pitchfork , commenting, "For the entirety of 7, it's unclear if Lil Nas X actually likes music [...] The EP ends up being a set of nothingness [...] content made for the sake of justifying its existence." [20]
Award | Year | Category | Result |
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Grammy Awards [24] | 2020 | Album of the Year | Nominated |
7 debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 (just behind Jack White's The Raconteurs and their third studio album Help Us Stranger ) with 77,000 album-equivalent units (including 4,000 pure album sales). [25] In its second week, the EP remained at number two on Billboard 200, with 62,800 units. [26] The EP would also be certified 2× platinum in the US, specifically by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The EP also charted in Australia on the ARIA Charts, peaking at number 5 on the charts. In Austria, the EP charted at number 53 on the Ö3 Austria Top 40, becoming Lil Nas X's only charting release in that country. In Canada, the EP made it to the top of the Billboard Canadian Albums, selling 154,000 copies, 1,000 copies consisting of pure album sales, [27] and was certified 2× platinum by Music Canada. [28] In Denmark, the EP peaked at number 9 on Hitlisten and certifying gold by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry in that country (IFPI Denmark). [29] In France, the EP peaked at number 15 on the SNEP charts and was certified gold by the same organization. [30] In Ireland, the EP peaked at number 11 on their Irish Albums Chart. In New Zealand, the EP peaked at number 5 on the Official Aotearoa Music Charts and was certified gold by Recorded Music NZ. [31] In Sweden, the EP charted at number 10 on the Sverigetopplistan charts. In the United Kingdom, the EP peaked at number 23 on their Official Albums Chart. The EP was also certified platinum by the IFPI in Norway and Switzerland.
Adapted from Tidal. [32]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Old Town Road" (Remix, featuring Billy Ray Cyrus) |
| 2:37 | |
2. | "Panini" | 1:55 | ||
3. | "F9mily (You & Me)" (with Travis Barker) |
|
| 2:43 |
4. | "Kick It" |
|
| 2:22 |
5. | "Rodeo" (with Cardi B) |
|
| 2:39 |
6. | "Bring U Down" |
|
| 2:12 |
7. | "C7osure (You Like)" |
| 2:23 | |
8. | "Old Town Road" |
| 1:53 | |
Total length: | 18:44 |
Notes
Samples
Credits adapted from Tidal. [32]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
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Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil) [65] | 3× Platinum | 120,000‡ |
Canada (Music Canada) [66] | 2× Platinum | 154,000 [67] |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [68] | Gold | 10,000‡ |
France (SNEP) [69] | Gold | 50,000‡ |
Mexico (AMPROFON) [70] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
New Zealand (RMNZ) [71] | Gold | 7,500‡ |
Norway (IFPI Norway) [72] | Platinum | 20,000‡ |
Poland (ZPAV) [73] | Platinum | 20,000‡ |
Singapore (RIAS) [74] | Gold | 5,000* |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [75] | Platinum | 20,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [76] | Silver | 60,000‡ |
United States (RIAA) [77] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000‡ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |