There’s no denying that Post Malone is huge. He has had two albums top the Billboard Hot 100 and several number one hits. While many fans might hear songs like “Rockstar” and “White Iverson” and assume that Malone is a rapper, he disagrees. In a 2015 interview with “DJ Booth” Post says that he might rap but he doesn’t make rap music. He prefers to be called an artist rather than a rapper. He doesn’t care much for genres and just wants to make music that he enjoys.
Post Malone Has the Outlaw Spirit
From his appearance to his outlook on making music, Post Malone embodies the outlaw country spirit. Instead of following the trends in hip hop, he is more interested in blazing his own musical trail. Bucking trends and convention is what has lead Malone io his current stardom.
Outlaw country was formed in much the same way. When Willie Nelson and other country artists broke away from the “Nashville Sound,” outlaw country was the result.
Most of the time, Post can be seen rocking messy cornrows and comfortable clothes. This is in direct contradiction to the image presented by many of his hip hop peers. It seems that Malone would rather spend money on Bud Light and band shirts than Gucci and Louis Vuitton and bling.
Speaking of Band Shirts…
Post Malone has given us some visual evidence of his love for outlaw country. In a couple of recent Instagram posts, Malone can be seen rocking shirts from both Tyler Childers and Colter Wall. If you’re looking for modern outlaw country artists you don’t need to look much further and Wall and Childers.
Post can be seen rocking a Tyler Childers shirt alongside Valencia High’s point guard Noah Veluzat
In a post announcing the first episode of Malone’s World Pong League, he is sporting a cowboy hat and a shirt featuring the cover of Colter Wall’s “Western Swing and Waltzes” album.
Post Malone Sings the Classics
Anybody can get a cool shirt and wear it for a picture. However, Malone’s love for outlaw country goes much deeper than merch. Back in 2018, Post Malone had the opportunity to hand out with outlaw country star Dwight Yoakam at Sirius XM. They played Yoakam’s song “A Thousand Miles” and Malone not only nailed the song but also looked like he was having the time of his life.
He took the stage with Keith Urban to perform “Baby What You Want Me to Do” during the NBC Elvis All-Star Tribute. There is also a clip of him absolutely crushing a cover of “There’s a Tear in My Beer” floating around on YouTube.
Making Some Country Connections
While not specifically outlaw country, Billy Strings has been making noise in the alt-country and bluegrass scenes for quite some time now. Strings has been hanging out with Post Malone recently according to a couple of his recent Instagram posts.
If the two young stars are working together or just hanging out is yet to be seen. However, a Billy Strings track featuring Post Malone would be a great way to end this year or kick off 2021.
Outlaw Country Cred
In addition to all that, Post Malone grew up in the suburbs of Dallas, has a long-lived crush on Shania Twain, and loves both Hanks and Johnny Cash. The guy definitely has some outlaw country cred. Maybe one day, he’ll get the chance to collaborate with some of the artists he obviously enjoys. It would be a win for everyone involved.
