Psycho (Post Malone song)


"Psycho" is a song recorded by American rapper Post Malone featuring guest vocals from Ty Dolla $ign. It was released through Republic Records on February 23, 2018, as the third single from Post Malone's second studio album, Beerbongs & Bentleys. The artists co-wrote the song with Louis Bell, who co-produced it with Malone. Lyrically, the song discusses Malone's lifestyle and explores the theme of excessive fame and trust issues. The song entered at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 behind Drake's "God's Plan", and reached number one in June 2018.

Release and promotion

Malone first teased the song on January 4, 2017, with a video of him playing the song in a studio. Over a year later on February 21, 2018, he previewed the song on Twitter with a 30-second snippet, which highlights his verse. The accompanying artwork features a wolf and a bulldozer, the latter of which has the words "Posty Co." scribed on it. The song comes with its own merch line, featuring three different long sleeve T-shirts.

Composition

According to Billboard and Spin, the song has a slow-moving trap beat and melodically bears a resemblance to Post Malone's 2015 song "White Iverson".

Critical reception

Sheldon Pearce of Pitchfork deemed the song a combination of "some of the least interesting raps you could possibly imagine" and "a downer that won't quit", writing that it "uses concepts that have been played out in hip-hop for years". Patrick Hosken of MTV News opined that the song "finds a late-night vibe that, away from the madness of crunching guitars, unfolds like a chill celebration of luxury". Mitch Findlay of HotNewHipHop wrote that it "continues the formula set by" Post Malone's previous single "Rockstar", and that they share "a few melodic similarities", describing "Psycho" as "more subdued" in comparison. The track was named the worst song of 2018 by Time.

Music video

The official music video for "Psycho" was released on March 22, 2018, on Post Malone's Vevo YouTube channel. It was directed by James DeFina. It features Malone riding on a FM103 Spartan armored personnel carrier, fighting a wolf with a flamethrower, and Malone with Sign amidst the wreckage of ruined aircraft.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

!scope="col" colspan="3"|Streaming

Release history