Two days before Post Malone released “F-1 Trillion,” his sixth studio album and first country record, he made his Grand Ole Opry debut.
A starry-eyed Brad Paisley introduced him and celebrated Malone for his incredible career achievements and “country heart.” When Malone took the stage, beer in hand, he was friendly and grateful; the signature “gentlemen” and “madams” flew out of his mouth with the same kind of effortless, anxious charm that allows Malone to slip into any genre as a collaborator, singer, rapper and instrumentalist. It just made sense, and on the 18-track “F-1 Trillion,” so does the idea of Malone as a Nashville superstar.
Paisley isn’t his only show of support. Co-signs, Malone has a few: Dolly Parton, Hank Williams, Jr., Morgan Wallen, Jelly Roll, Lainey Wilson, Tim McGraw, Blake Shelton, Chris Stapleton, Ernest, Sierra Ferrell, HARDY, Billy Strings and Luke Combs – which appears twice – are all on the album. It makes “F-1 Trillion” feel gigantic, if not overcrowded, with songs ripe for country radio. But is too much of a good thing bad?
Take ‘I Had Some Help’, which features Wallen. The modern classic has spent more weeks at No. 1 than any other song to date; you can’t deny that honky-tonk hook, Malone’s quirky auto-tuned vibrato or the sing-along chorus. less like a country music crossover and more like something completely organic—the sonic equivalent of a full embrace in the back of a truck bed, bright stars stretched out big and wide as if mirroring the curves of the Earth.
“Guy For That” featuring Combs slows things down a bit, all heartbreak and hangovers; “Pour Me A Drink” featuring Shelton takes out the fiddle and celebrates a cold fiddle at the end of a long day of trying to make a decent living. “Losers” featuring Jelly Roll is an anthem for outsiders; ‘Never Love You Again’ brings American roots musician Sierra Ferrell to the fore.
In fact, solo numbers are so rare here that they are limited to three. The decision serves a number of purposes. It’s a direct reflection of Malone’s position as an ever-prominent artist on others’ songs and his penchant for continued collaboration. This year alone, Malone was featured on Beyoncé’s “Levii’s Jeans,” from her country-then-a masterclass “Cowboy Carter,” and harmonized with Taylor Swift on “Fortnight,” the lead single from “The Tortured Poets Department.” . ”
But most importantly, unlike some pop acts who have flirted with country music lately as it continues to dominate the cultural zeitgeist – those who operate within the genre but outside the politics and the well-oiled Nashville machine — Malone asked permission to join. That particular industry is new territory for him, but the music is not. It’s formative, because he grew up in outlaw country from his mother, and the ’90s stuff from his father. Malone went to Nashville, entered the insular songwriting apparatus and came up with a sometimes traditionalist genre record.
This is also evident from the solo songs. “Right About You” is a wonderful country from the 90s, and the closer, “Yours”, is a real tearjerker about Malone’s daughter, now 2 years old, addressed to her future partner. “And she may wear white, but her first dress was pink,” he sings. “She may be your better half, but to me she is everything.”
On paper, “F-1 Trillion” may seem a far cry from the melodic rap that made Malone one of the most popular voices in music today. (Lest we forget, his earlier work is by far his most popular. Or the most popular of any artist: ‘Sunflower’ with Swae Lee, written for the ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ soundtrack became the first song to ever to become a double diamond.) But that’s a myopic view: Listeners of a certain age grew up on both rap and country. Malone’s seamless turn to the latter is the most direct and clear example of this.
There’s a tweet from Malone, posted in 2015, that has resurfaced around “F-1 Trillion.” ‘White Iverson’ was heard around the world.
Now he is 29. The message is prescient. At the age of 29, his arrival comes a bit early. It’s also right on time.
