Post Malone has been making waves since he materialized in Nashville and began working on his first country album, F-1 Trillion, which arrived in August.
The rapper was first spotted in studio with a handful of country artists last fall, before making his CMA Awards performance debut last November.
But Austin “Post” Malone has had his eye on a country record for nearly a decade.
In an interview on the Bobby Cast podcast, music producer Charlie Handsome revealed that the conversations surrounding a country project for Malone began years ago.
“We had talked about doing a country album back in 2015,” Handsome explains. “I go back and forth on the power of manifestation, but we did say album six — that was the conversation.”
“Your sixth album could be country and you could pull a reverse Taylor Swift,” he recounts telling Post. “You could be the biggest pop star and do a country album.”
At the time, the “I Had Some Help” singer didn’t have a single album out. His debut project Stoney arrived in 2016.
Malone didn’t forget that conversation, and when it came time to compile his sixth album, he knew exactly who to call.
Post Malone’s Country Music History
Malone was exposed to a wide variety of music early on, because his dad was a wedding deejay. During a visit to the Kelleigh Bannen Show, he reminisced on the music his parents loved. His dad was into ’90s country, while his mom liked the older stuff.
“He just loved music,” he remembers of his father, Rich Post. “He loves Brad [Paisley] and Tim [McGraw]. My mom was super into like the old Hank [Williams Jr.] and George [Jones] and Conway [Twitty] and all that stuff.”
Coincidentally — or probably not — Malone has longtime country staples Paisley, McGraw and Williams Jr. as guests on his new album.
The “Pour Me a Drink” singer was also pals with Toby Keith for a long time. Singer George Birge tells Taste of Country that he remembers being on a tour bus with Keith and Malone, picking a guitar and singing back in 2016.
It probably looked a little something like this photo below:
How Does Country Music Feel About Post Malone?
For the most part, country music has been very receptive of Malone and his foray into the genre. Several artists have shared their support of his music and have become fans along the way.
“I’ve never seen anyone that knows — like he knows as much as you or I about the history of this stuff,” Paisley says. “When Toby Keith passed away, he knows everything about Toby. He is so capable. He doesn’t read the words of karaoke for anything that was on the charts from ’90s on. He knows it and he’s a student of it.”
“I love Post Malone,” Carly Pearce gushes. “I think he’s doing it in such a cool way and in a way that feels very much like the whole country community is rallying around him and I have to say his song with Morgan is stuck in my head most hours of most days.”
Lainey Wilson says he belongs in the genre.
“Once I met him and wrote with him and just worked with him, I realized this dude knows more about country music than a lot of folks,” she explains. “It’s really incredible because the dude just loves music. He loves all kinds of music. I think he absolutely deserves to be in this genre, and I’m excited for him.”
Jess hosts the syndicated radio show, Taste of Country Weekend, which can be heard on country stations nationwide. Tune in for all of the best new country music, spotlights on new tracks and emerging artists, plus Double-Downs on all of your favorites. The weekend is always better with a little Taste of Country in it.
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