LOS ANGELES — Lil Nas X was charged Monday with four felonies after police say he charged at them when they confronted him for walking naked down a Los Angeles street last week.
The musician, whose legal name is Montero Lamar Hill, pleaded not guilty in a court appearance to three counts of battery with injury on a police officer and one count of resisting an executive officer, the district attorney’s office said.
The charges were far more serious than initial reports that he was being investigated for a misdemeanor, and, with convictions, the counts could collectively bring a sentence of more than 10 years in prison for the singer and rapper whose “Old Town Road” was one of the biggest hit singles in history.
Lil Nas X arrives at the 36th annual GLAAD Media Awards on March 27 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Police said officers found the 26-year-old walking naked on Ventura Boulevard, a major thoroughfare in the Studio City neighborhood, shortly before 6 a.m. Friday.
They say he charged at the officers when confronted and was arrested. Police, suspecting a possible overdose, took him to a hospital where he spent several hours before being taken to jail, where he has remained since.
The charges were first reported by TMZ.
The rapper and singer from Atlanta is best known for his huge hit from 2018, "Old Town Road," which merged country and hip-hop. It spent a record 19 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Known for his genre-bending, innovating sounds and style, his first full studio album, 2021's "Montero," went to No. 2 on the Billboard album chart and was nominated for a Grammy for album of the year.
