Post Malone - Beerbongs & Bentleys (Album Review)

To call Post Malone a rap artist is a misnomer, but depending on you speak to, Post Malone has been called a lot of things, perhaps the most non-flattering thing he has been called is a culture vulture by the black community and critics.

Like his counterparts, Macklemore, Eminem and a few other white artists who venture in the rap/hip-hop genre, the black community reacting to a successful white artist they see appropriating their culture isn't new and in my opinion, it's a warranted criticism to level.

The success that Post Malone has achieved is nothing to dismiss, he has undoubtedly proven critics wrong who called him a one-hit wonder, releasing hit after hit when many expected him to never top his strong debut track White Iverson.

Beerbongs & Bentley's is Post Malones highly anticipated sophomore album, and while it has broken streaming records and done well commercially, that doesn't necessarily make it a good album by any means. This is an album deliberately targeted at the new streaming economy.

The subject matter on the album is hard to pin down, with Post Malone singing in the first track Paranoid, "In the whip I pray to God I don’t see flashing lights. God damn they’re right behind me", the question here is, what is Post expecting to happen and is he unknowingly lumping himself into the category of "the police are going to shoot me because I am black" for a guy who has said the "N-word" on camera before, it's a slippery slope to start your album on.

I hate that everything has to be about race or us versus them, but Post Malone has placed himself right in the middle of the debate and perhaps this was intentional. Maybe Post is trolling us with this new album, only Post knows what he is doing.

There are far too many problems to list with Malone's sophomore album and really, it's a shame. As a person, besides his problems with alcohol, he seems like a genuinely nice guy in every interview and appearance I have seen him in.

Perhaps the biggest problem with Beerbongs & Bentley's is that it's boring. Not even a cameo from Nicki Minaj saves this record, you can play this collection of songs from start to finish and you're left feeling uninspired and mentally drained.

The fact that tracks Rockstar and Psycho were spammed to death in the months up to this records release probably didn't help and now third single Better Now is being similarly spammed everywhere and anywhere capable of playing music, it's tiring.

And then there is the length, this record is 18 tracks in length, well technically 17 if you take out the interlude track. I am of the opinion that a high-quality record should have no more than 12 tracks, 18 tracks is a bit of a red flag in the quality department. The label really should have done a better job curbing Post's enthusiasm when he was recording this.

One thing that is evident is that Post Malone doesn't really care about hip-hop, he has repeatedly said in interviews that he doesn't like being called a rapper or consider himself a rapper. If you go on YouTube you can see Malone has a passion for rock and metal, the evidence speaks for itself.

Footage of Post Malone's metalcore band in high school covering Asking Alexandria:

Post Malone covering Nirvana:

Post Malone covering Green Day:

Post Malone spending a weekend with Metal Youtuber Jared Dines:

When you realise that Post kind of wishes he was a successful rockstar more-so than being known as a successful white hip-hop artist, things start to make a lot of sense. This is comfortable for Post, and you can tell it tortures him at times.

Many of the songs paint a picture of a young man (he is only 22 years old) who is clearly dealing with some issues and feeling sorry for himself. Has Post Malone become too big too quickly and is it going to be his undoing?

It's clear like on tracks Paranoid and Psycho that Post is dealing with some trust issues, and then on tracks like Rockstar, he sees himself as some kind of rockstar figure. Conflicted, he wants the success but mentally it is taking a toll on him.

Make no mistake this album is going to do well and arguably in its short timeframe already has. But how long can Post Malone keep the facade up before it all comes tumbling down? Can Post sustain this level of success without losing a little something of himself? Only time will tell.