Lil Nas X’s father Robert Stafford opens up the rapper’s unstable arrest in Los Angeles and blames his son for his stress on his son’s collapse.
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Lil Nas X was almost naked, unstable on the streets of Los Angeles, and just as police detained him at sunrise, but his father said the true story was much deeper than the camera caught.
His father, Robert Stafford, an Atlanta gospel singer, told The Times that the incident was the result of emotional stress, prestigious weight and unresolved family trauma.
“I understand the situation in the music industry,” Stafford said. “It’s like a very high person. When you get to that level, you want to use the drug again, you want to hit the drug again.”
Born in Montero Hill, the 26-year-old rapper was arrested in late August and was found wandering the studio city, wearing only cowboy boots and underwear.
Witnesses said he was incoherent, knocking himself and putting the traffic cone on his head. When the officers arrived, he had completely stripped and allegedly prosecuted them, resulting in his arrest.
Lil Nas X was booked to jail after authorities believed it might be a drug overdose. Now, he faces four felony charges, including three counts of assault by a police officer and one count of boycotting an executive.
Stafford said his son has been struggling with the pressure of supporting others, while feeling powerless to help his mother fight addiction for years.
Stafford said: “To make a 26-year-old have to deal with what he is dealing with – becoming a breadwinner for many people, unable to change the situation of his mother and the pressure he puts on himself…”
He described visiting his son in prison as an emotional moment.
“I went to prison to visit him and once I walked through that door, I did nothing but cry,” Stafford said. “Seeing my baby boy on the other side of that glass. We cried for a minute at each other. I had to tell him ‘What you’re going through is normal.’
“We all have malfunctions from time to time, but the difference is that your public eye will be eliminated.”
Stafford believes the arrest may mark a turning point for his son.
“Hopefully this is a turning point in his psychological stability,” he said. “Sometimes, God will take you through the worst moments and give you the best moments.”
Lil Nas X pleaded not guilty. The bail was set at $75,000, and the conditions were avoided by illegal substances and entered the clinic for treatment.
