“Old Town Road” rapper Lil Nas X was arrested early Thursday morning after an altercation with police in Studio City, the LAPD told NBC4 Investigates.
Police responded at about 6 a.m. to reports of a naked man in the 11000 block of Ventura Boulevard in the San Fernando Valley community. Video published by TMZ showed a man, identified as Lil Nas X, wearing only underwear and cowboy boots in the middle of a street.
In the videos posted by TMZ, he can be heard telling a driver to “come to the party.” and asked another person, “Didn’t I tell you to put the phone down?” He also is seen posing for onlookers.
Officers arrived with lights and sirens activated, and the man charged at officers, police said.
Police requested firefighter-paramedics for a possible drug overdose. The man, later identified by LAPD sources as 26-year-old Lil Nas X, was hospitalized and later booked on suspicion of misdemeanor battery on a police officer.
LAPD sources told NBC4 Investigates that Lil Nas X, whose legal name is Montero Lamar Hill, threw punches at officers, leading to a use of force by the officers, who forced him to the ground.
No officers were injured.
A representative for Hill did not immediately respond to an NBC News request for comment on Thursday.
Born in the Atlanta area, the two-time Grammy winner rose to fame with the release of a 2018 country rap single “Old Town Road.”