Post Malone is getting ready to make perhaps the biggest pivot in a career full of them: a country album. Titled F-1 Trillion, it might seem like a strange move for a man who first came to fans' attention rap-singing over trap beats. His breakout track, after all, was co-produced by a guy best known for working with Tyga, Travis Porter and 2 Chainz.
But Post has never been comfortable sitting still. Over the years, the 10-time GRAMMY nominee has explored a great deal of musical ground, all the while branching out from the trap-influenced sound that first brought him fame in 2015.
While he has broadened his vision both in terms of musical styles and subject matter, Post has long featured roots music elements in his sound. His country music turn shouldn't come as too much of a surprise to veteran listeners, who surely remember the Texas-raised star referencing George Strait's "All My Ex's Live In Texas" back on his first album.
In fact, Post and country music have a long-standing connection, from covers of genre classics to a Joe Diffie tribute at the 2023 CMA Awards. And with F-1 Trillion already spawning the biggest country hit of the year so far — the chart-topping Morgan Wallen collab "I Had Some Help" — Post's country venture is shaping up to be his latest massive success.
He further proved that less than 48 hours before F-1 Trillion's Aug. 16 release, when he made his debut at country music's hallowed Grand Ole Opry. Three-time GRAMMY winner Brad Paisley may have put it best as he introduced Post onto the Opry stage: "This is a guy who made his mark in other formats, and has a country heart."
As Post releases F-1 Trillion, GRAMMY.com traces his musical history, from his hip-hop beginnings to his honky-tonk present. Below, see how Post Malone's style has evolved through the years.
Post's debut album, Stoney, and the pre-album mixtape teaser, August 26th, both feel like an expansion of his breakout hit "White Iverson." Like that smash single, most of the tracks on these two projects feature trap-style drums, with their distinctive 808-style kick drums and fast hi-hats. Post is sing-rapping, often about topics that wouldn't sound out of place on any other circa-2016 trap project: luxury brands, jewelry, being at the strip club, and flexing on haters.
But there was something else there, too. Post had his emotional moments, where his still-new success was giving him the blues. There was also rock influence — "Hollywood Dreams" even rewrites a Fleetwood Mac classic. And both projects had moments of roots music, as well as blues and folk overtones that would only grow more prominent as time went on. August 26th's "Oh God," which closes the project, is basically a blues number, as its prominent acoustic guitar and lyrics with ominous Biblical references testify. Stoney likewise closes with an acoustic song, "Feeling Whitney" — leaving his newfound mass audience convinced that he knew how to handle a stripped-down ballad.
Post's second proper album has two main kinds of songs, both of which are reflections on his recent success. There are the songs about the spoils of stardom (parties, drugs, women, money, luxury goods, and especially cars — the album ends with three automotive tracks in a row); and then there are the songs about its downsides, often with very literal titles like "Paranoid" and "Rich & Sad."
Musically, Stoney's trap drums are still there. But Post's melodic taste has expanded, from standard rap-singing to something a little closer to the rock and roll he loves (this is, after all, a guy who will cover an hour's worth of Nirvana songs at the drop of a hat).
The outlier on this album is "Stay," an acoustic-heavy pop song so Beatles-esque that its working title was "George," for George Harrison. Like "Feeling Whitney," "Stay" further shows Post's affinity for quieter, more stripped-down songs — an ability he'd continue to refine with subsequent albums, including F-1 Trillion's heartfelt ode to his daughter, "Yours."
With 2019's Hollywood's Bleeding, Post dares to leave the trap drums and hip-hop stylings alone for multiple songs at a time. The album does bring in its fair share of rappers to be sure; DaBaby, Future, Young Thug, Swae Lee, and Travis Scott all feature. But the main thing that sets the project apart from its predecessors is not that, nor the subject matter, but the variety.
There is one song that veers close to heavy metal, "Take What You Want," which was produced by classic rock whisperer Andrew Watt and featured the Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne. There's a sunny jam band-style track about life on the road ("Myself"). There's an indie-pop number ("Circles"). There's one straight-ahead pop song ("Staring At The Sun"), and a different one with a string section ("Internet"). There are several rockers that could (and did) fit right in on alternative radio.
Hollywood Bleeding was the first time that Post leaned all the way into his versatility. He fully inhabits each genre he tries, exploring almost every nook and cranny of the contemporary rock and pop world along the way. After such a varied album, it only makes sense that his next project should be more focused. In retrospect, this album can be read as an early indication that a country album was all but inevitable: if Post can convincingly pull off so many genres, why not country?
Malone's first album of the pandemic era continues his evolution away from hip-hop trappings begun on its predecessor, and is more cohesive sonically than its predecessor. Even the songs with actual rapping, like a collaboration with Doja Cat, sound more like pop than rap.
Instead, Twelve Carat Toothache is the work of a musician who wants to leave the hip-hop trappings of the likes of "White Iverson" and "Go Flex" — musical and lyrical both — behind him. The project begins with just acoustic piano and Post's voice on "Reputation," and ends with a voice-and-acoustic-guitar demo of album standout "Euthanasia" (titled "New Recording 12, Jan 3, 2020").
Twelve Carat Toothache has plenty of ballads: acoustic ones, rap-singing ones, dramatic rock ones. And big emotions are the name of the game — tracks subtitled "A Happier Song" and "A Sadder Song" are back-to-back, and "Euthanasia" and "When I'm Alone" are as feelings-forward as their titles would indicate.
After the exploration and variety of Hollywood's Bleeding, Twelve Carat Toothache indicates that Post wants to be taken seriously as an album artist — and, as F-1 Trillion's down-home songs would later fully reveal, someone who can tug on the listener's heartstrings. He would continue those quests in a most unexpected way: by looking back to the '80s.
We're a long way from rap now; AUSTIN is fully a rock and pop album. There are no rapper guest appearances — in fact, there are no guest appearances at all. And with his birth name serving as the album's title, it seems that was every bit intentional.
The record has plenty of rootsy, acoustic songs, especially towards the end. But it also has something different for Post: a new wave, 1980s synth-pop feel on a number of tracks. The cohesiveness of Twelve Carat Toothache is retained, and the end product is extremely professional and polished. As a whole, the album (perhaps uncoincidentally) puts Post's songwriting skills on full display.
At this point, Post has traveled very far from his early days. His next move would have to be something that builds on his now-well-established cred in pop and rock styles, but that would also surprise his current fans — and maybe bring him some new ones.
Rumors began over a year ago that Post was going to release a country album, and he openly acknowledged it was a possibility in interviews. So it was no surprise when F-1 Trillion was finally announced earlier this year.
As the project's lead single hints, Malone will have plenty of help: F-1 Trillion will feature guest appearances from country titans Morgan Wallen, Blake Shelton, Brad Paisley, Luke Combs, Chris Stapleton, Tim McGraw, Lainey Wilson, Jelly Roll, Hank Williams, Jr., Dolly Parton and more. The who's-who-of-country guest list shows that Post has plenty of clout in Nashville — and considering the album reportedly moved more than 500,000 units before it was even released on Aug. 16, he's making waves with country fans, too.
The songs vary sonically from big country-pop hooks ("I Had Some Help") to fiddle-filled romps ("Pour Me A Drink") to tear-jerking ballads that are sure to make their way into the repertoire of wedding bands across the country ("Yours"). Post blends in with his vocal costars, with a little bit of AutoTune on a few tracks marking the only noticeable connection to his trap music beginnings.
Lyrically, he puts plenty of emphasis on clear narrative and the puns and reversals that are country music's stock in trade (in the Combs duet "Guy For That," he has a "guy" on speed dial for every possible need — except, of course, for repairing his girl's broken heart). Now, he's focused on telling a straightforward, compelling story versus evoking mood and emotion — an indication that nearly a decade in, he's still growing as a songwriter.
The fact that Post can convincingly pull off a country album continues to demonstrate to the world that he's as unpredictable as he's always been. There's no telling where he'll end up next, and that's what makes him so intriguing to his fans — a group that now includes people who love both "White Iverson" and "White Horse."