Why did Post Malone make a country album?

Post Malone has had a big year so far. He's had two numbers one hits, as well as been featured in songs by both Taylor Swift and Beyoncé. Today, the rapper switched gears and released his first country album, F-1 Trillion. It features major country stars like Morgan Wallen, Dolly Parton and Blake Shelton.

Today on Commotion, music writers Niko Stratis, Rosie Long Decter and Rollie Pemberton join host Elamin Abdelmahmoud to discuss Post Malone's pivot from hip-hop to country, and why he's having such a moment this year. 

We've included some highlights below, edited for length and clarity. For the full discussion, listen and follow Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud on your favourite podcast player.

Elamin: Rosie, it's kind of nuts to think, but coming into 2024, Post Malone was on a bit of a downturn. He was probably the least popular he's been in a minute. How has he been able to bring himself back to the centre of pop music again? 

Rosie: He had two albums that didn't connect the way he wanted them to — which, by the way, still means hitting number two on the charts.

Elamin: It's fine.

Rosie: You're fine. I think even in that moment, he's still A-list, he's still a superstar — partly just because everyone in the industry seems to really like him. People want to work with him. His fans want him to do well. He's got the charisma. He's very affable. He was tapped to feature on these songs this year for Taylor Swift and Beyoncé. 

He did a song last year with Noah Kahan. And, he also performed at the Country Music Awards last year. So, he's been building up to this moment; he's been laying the groundwork. I don't think his star really dimmed. I think he's been doing just fine and setting up this moment pretty well.

Elamin: He's now also a country music artist. Niko, what do you make of the pivot to country music? 

Niko: It feels very in line with an artist who feels very amorphous. He moved into a bunch of different genres after breaking out as a rap artist, and then there was a couple years where he did a bunch of Nirvana covers with Travis Barker. He is able to move across all these lines and live as all these different genres, partially just because he's a white guy that makes music and that's just a thing you get to do and nobody really questions it. It seems like he wants to do this. This is a thing that he has said before — that when he turns 30, he wants to make a country or folk record. So it feels like this was the thing he was building to. 

It also feels a little dishonest in a way. There's part of it that I don't buy. It feels a little, not crass necessarily, but it's just like, this is a product. I'm hearing a product. This is maybe the most "this is a product" he has ever felt, which is funny for an album called F-1 Trillion, which is like a fake version of a Ford truck. It just feels like every Super Bowl commercial turned into an 18-song album.

Elamin: This album came out at midnight and it has now gone triple-platinum in my car, and so I have to slightly disagree with you in terms of it feeling like a product. To me, it feels organic. It feels like there's something organic to Post Malone and country music, like they don't feel like strangers — probably because he's from Dallas. 

He's not the only rapper to make a pivot to a bunch of other genres. André 3000 put out a flute record this calendar year. Rollie, does something feel different to you about Post Malone's amorphous genre shift?

Rollie: Well unfortunately, in hip-hop culture, I've seen this movie before. 

Elamin: Go on, go on. 

Rollie: We call it a "culture vulture," that's what I would call this. This is an example of somebody, he comes in the game, he's like, "Oh, I've got the cornrows, I got grillz, I'm making all this music with these Atlanta hip-hop producers." And then suddenly he turns around and he's like, "I actually make country, I never really liked that rap stuff anyway." It's the same thing with Miley Cyrus; when that happened, that was very frustrating. 

Elamin: She made Bangerz, yeah. 

Rollie: Then now you see her accepting awards and like, "Oh, that was just a weird period in my life." This is a thing we've seen time and time again.

You can listen to the full discussion from today's show on CBC Listen or on our podcast, Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud, available wherever you get your podcasts.

Panel produced by Stuart Berman.