In a music climate that has found itself championing happy, affable stars, Malone stands as someone who cares nothing for what curmudgeon gatekeepers think of him. Rather, Post Malone’s ascent situates itself around one giant collaboration with a talented rapper, (Quavo, on “Congratulations,” the initial hit that blew up to over 400 million Youtube views (“White Iverson”), and a group of fatalist songs such as “Too Young.” Combine all of that and you get an artist that has well over a billion (!) streams and four platinum singles. Nor were the songs from his debut album, Stoney, where he sang about drinking codeine out of a broken whiskey glass, a perfect metaphor for his Dallas-metro-meets-Texas-country upbringing.
“ White Iverson” was not the greatest signifier that Post Malone would be around for a while. So while I wouldn’t consider Post to be a rapper, I also find him to be the kind of artist that could blur all of the lines thanks to how regionless music has become. It’s personable and scummy and charming in all the right ways. With “Rockstar,” he sings like a drunk college kid on your lawn in the middle of the night. When he wants to wail, he’ll pull out his trusty acoustic guitar and play Nirvana or Green Day to near-perfection. It’s how certain “pop” sounding records of his like “Too Young” feel like a spill into full-out karaoke. His voice can drag certain syllables into joyous, repeatable territory. Instead, Post’s in a middle ground of both. He’s also not a full-on folk rapper like Everlast was when he struck out by his lonesome to craft Whitey Ford Sings The Blues in 1998. It’s the famous rap song that hasn’t caught on with rap radio but is beloved everywhere else. And despite breaking all kinds of streaming records on Apple Music, the song registers with a particular crowd as it only sits at No. But, frankly, the two together are what make it sound perfect. 21 makes the song snake in a different direction because it feels less like a Post Malone song and more like a rusty, grave 21 Savage take on nihilism. It’s the type of beat that is tailor-made for 21: Knocky, with enough pop to make his declarations sound bigger than usual, as Savage sarcastically mentions his 12-car garage that only has six cars. Despite its paint-by-numbers, “fast life and drugs” zeal, Malone’s yearbook-quote-ready hook and 21 Savage make the track worthwhile. Whereas “Bodak Yellow” picks up energy around the time Cardi tells you about getting her teeth fixed, “Rockstar” hums along, steady the whole way. It replaced “ Bodak Yellow,” Cardi B’s anthemic and self-affirming boast of a debut single. “ Rockstar,” the 21 Savage collaboration that Post Malone released in mid-September recently became the fifth rap song of 2017 to land at No. Post Malone actually grew up and became just that. At one point in their respective career, every artist wanted to be the dorm room king in regards to music.
Those three quantities are the currency in modern day music appeal.
Post Malone has somehow elevated beyond all of the jittery issues that would doom any other artist because he’s likable, talented, and relatable. That should have been a death blow, but instead, it’s been mostly forgotten.
When he appeared on Power 105.1’s The Breakfast Club to promote “White Iverson,” his 2015 breakout hit, Charlamange Tha God grilled him over using the “N-word” in a Vine clip way before “Post Malone” became a thing. He discussed in interviews how it was a love of Guitar Hero and his dad that propelled him to make music and even labeled himself both a “one-hit wonder” and “industry plant.” Because once upon a time, Post Malone’s popularity felt accidental. Putting those words together may sound crazy to you.
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