Lil Nas X’s Mother Died During His Own Recovery Year — Months After His Arrest, Bipolar Diagnosis, and Rehab
· Thought Catalog
Updated 3 hours ago, August 30, 2026
The rapper posted the news to Instagram on Saturday, calling her “the baddest ever.” He gave no details beyond his grief.
Lil Nas X’s mother, Tameka Hill, has died, the rapper shared in a tribute posted to Instagram on Saturday.
“RIP TO THE BADDEST EVER! LOVE U FOREVER MOMMY. this one’s gonna hurt,” he wrote, alongside three photos of her, including a childhood shot of the two of them.
The relationship was complicated. In a 2020 Variety interview, he said he and his mother weren’t close, that she struggled with addiction, and that attempts to get her into recovery “didn’t quite work out,” though “there’s still love.” His parents split when he was around 5, and his father gained custody a few years later. He addressed the rift again on his 2021 album MONTERO, on the track “DEAD RIGHT NOW.”
The news arrives inside his own public recovery year: an August 2025 arrest in Los Angeles after he was seen walking down the street in underwear and boots, felony charges involving officers that he pleaded not guilty to, a bipolar diagnosis, months in rehab, and a mental-health diversion program. He recently marked his “10,000th day alive” on Instagram.
Her age and cause of death have not been made public.
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