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Two days before Post Malone released “F-1 Trillion,” his sixth studio album and his first country record, he made his debut at the Grand Ole Opry.
A starry-eyed Brad Paisley introduced him, celebrating Malone for his incredible career accomplishments and “country heart.” When Malone took the stage, beer in hand, he was gracious and grateful — characteristic “sirs” and “ma’ams” flying out of his mouth with the same kind of effortless, anxious charm that allows Malone to slide into any genre as a collaborator, singer, rapper and instrumentalist. It simply made sense, and on the 18-track “F-1 Trillion,” so too does the idea of Malone as a Nashville superstar.
Paisley isn’t his only endorsement. 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 — who appears twice — are all featured on the album. It gives “F-1 Trillion” a gargantuan feeling, if not overstuffed, with tracks 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 this year so far; there’s no denying that honkytonk hook, Malone’s idiosyncratic autotuned vibrato or the singalong chorus. It hits 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 to reflect the curves of the earth.
“Guy For That” with Combs slows things down bit, all heartbreak and hangovers; “Pour Me A Drink” with Shelton breaks out the fiddle and celebrates a cold one at the end of a long day spent trying to make a decent living. “Losers” with Jelly Roll is an anthem for outsiders; “Never Love You Again” brings American roots musician Sierra Ferrell to the fore.
In fact, solo songs are so rare here, they’re limited to three. The decision serves a few purposes. It is a direct reflection of Malone’s position as an ever-featured artist on other people’s songs and his penchant for constant collaboration. This year alone, Malone was featured on Beyoncé’s “Levii’s Jeans,” from her country-and-then-some masterclass, “Cowboy Carter,” and harmonized with Taylor Swift on “Fortnight,” the lead single from “The Tortured Poets Department.”
But most importantly, the features on Malone’s album really showcase that unlike some pop acts who’ve flirted with country music recently as it continues to dominate the cultural zeitgeist – the ones who operate inside the genre but outside of its politics and the well-oiled Nashville machine — Malone asked for permission to join in. That particular industry is new territory for him, but the music is not. It’s formative, having grown up on outlaw country from his mom, and the ’90s stuff from his dad. Malone went to Nashville, entered the insular songwriting apparatus, and came up with a sometimes traditionalist genre record.
That’s evident on the solo songs as well. “Right About You” is lovely ’90s country, and the closer, “Yours,” is a real tearjerker about Malone’s daughter, now 2 years old, addressed to her future partner. “And she might be wearin’ white, but her first dress, it was pink,” he sings. “She might be your better half, but to me, she’s everything.”
On paper, “F-1 Trillion” may seem like a far cry from the melodic rap that made Malone one of the most popular voices in contemporary music. (Lest we forget that his previous work is by and far his most popular. Or the most popular of any artist: “Sunflower” featuring Swae Lee, written for the “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” soundtrack became the first song to ever be certified double-diamond.) But that’s a myopic view. In the South, listeners of a certain age are raised on both rap and country. Malone’s seamless pivot into the latter is the most immediate and clear-cut example of that.
There’s a tweet from Malone, posted back in 2015, that has reemerged around “F-1 Trillion.” “When I turn 30 I’m becoming a country/folk singer,” he shared a few months before his cloud rap debut single, “White Iverson,” was heard ‘round the world.
Now, he’s 29. The message is prescient. At age 29, his arrival is a bit early. It’s also right on time.