Artist: Post Malone
Album: beerbongs & bentleys
Label: Republic Records
Release Date: April 27, 2018
Passing Thru
Written by Silas Valentino
Of all the meteoritic rises in hip hop recently, none have been as much of a musical downer than Post Malone. His 2015 single “White Iverson” was an overnight success that established the L.A.-via-Texas rapper as a crooner who specialize in codeine-laced beats. He continues to process this downbeat style in his second studio album beerbongs & bentleys in which he double downs on his laid-back approach and welcomes fans into the uncertainty he feels as a successful white rapper in America today.
It might be his image – countless tattoos including his staple barbed wire link stretched across his forehead – or it may be that he seems to always flash a welcoming stoney smile but fans are stanning for Post Malone. beerbongs & bentleys, according to a Spotify tweet in May, broke several streaming records with over 411 million streams globally and 236 million in the U.S. in the first week. Critics, however, are unimpressed and the album holds a 53/100 score on the rating amalgamation website Album of the Year. He often refers to video games in interviews (explaining once that Guitar Hero is what turned him onto learning the instrument) and in Rolling Stone last year he admitted he’s just “trying to get my money and get out.” Post Malone’s potential in hip hop may be limited but in 2018 he managed to grab ahold of a considerable amount of fame.
The album begins with the languid “Paranoid” where he immediately confesses to sleeping with a gun in his bed: “Never know when someone comes and tries to take my life/I’ve been sleepin’ with the .45 like every night.” The song is steeped in seemingly honest reveal but an air of deceit undermines the attempt to masquerade his upper-middle class suburban existence. This awkward effort reflects popular criticism that he’s a culture vulture which has followed Post Malone since his first single. He even admitted that “White Iverson”’s title originated after he braided his hair and felt he looked like infamous athlete Allen “Iverson” but, you know, he’s still a chubby white guy.
Post Malone has pushed back on such pigeon holding, claiming he incorporates several styles into his music and that his credibility is legitimate. However, the paranoia he mumbles in falsetto about in his opening song reeks of artistic chicanery. His only public beef is with the disgraced YouTuber Jake Paul (who doxxed Post Malone’s residence and vehicle in a video last summer) leading listeners to question the legitimacy of his paranoia – and overall lyrical intent. Perhaps portraying himself as the paranoid artist is just part of a narrative Post Malone is attempting to assemble. Beyond the confusing confessional in the lyrics, “Paranoid” offers a rich beat featuring a fading melody that is probably the finest musical moment on the entire record.
The main single, “rockstar” opens with a chorus hook of: “I’ve been fuckin’ hoes and poppin’ pillies/Man, I feel just like a rockstar.” It’s an apt introduction into what Post Malone believes are the qualities that justify a “rock star.” No substance to the craft, just substances to digest. In the first verse he unexpectedly name checks a true rock star: AC/DC’s late singer Bon Scott.
The most compelling characteristic of Post Malone is he’ll occasionally vibrate his vocal delivery. “It’s like a little Stevie Nicks, kind of goatish thing that I do with my throat,” he explained to GQ Magazine. It appears several times in beerbongs & bentleys, notably in the chorus of the acoustic guitar-driven “Stay,” but an intriguingly subtle vocal delivery is not enough to legitimize Post Malone. He may have found success in the age of fidget spinners but the act may not last into the next decade.