Lil Nas X insists his love for Nicki Minaj is real.

On his new single “Sun Goes Down,” a teenage Nas revisits his past including the six years he spent as a Barb running a Nicki Minaj fan page.

“I’d be by the phone / Stanning Nicki morning into dawn / Only place I felt like I belonged / Strangers make you feel so loved, you know?” Nas sings while scrolling through his @NasMaraj Twitter account in the music video.

However, he received backlash for including the narrative in his music. After being called out by some Barbz, Nas insisted his love for Nicki was real.

“to the barbz who feel i’m using nicki’s name for attention, the song i released last night was recorded last year,” he explained. “and it’s about my life which 6 of those years were dedicated to nicki.”

However, he promised not to bring up the “Seeing Green” rapper again. “it’s no fake love,” he added. “but i understand how it looks so i will no longer mention her.”

Earlier in his career, just as “Old Town Road” was blowing up, Nas denied that he was behind the @NasMaraj fan page before later admitting to it. When asked why he shunned his past, he told a fan, “i didn’t want people to know i was gay tbh.”

He also reached out to Nicki to ask if she would collaborate, prompting a reply from the Queen herself. “It was a bit of a sting when you denied being a barb, but I understand,” she tweeted. “Congratulations on building up your confidence to speak your truth. @LilNasX.”

Nas responded with an apology. “the generous queen, i love u. and i’m sorry i did that in a time where u were already getting so much bandwagon hate,” he wrote. “i felt so bad, hoping u wouldn’t see my denial. i was just so afraid of people finding out about me and losing everything before i even got a chance.”