On Sept. 6, Post Malone released his third album: “Hollywood’s Bleeding,” which is here just in time for spooky season.
The 17-track album was produced by Brian Lee and Louis Bell and has a run time of about 51 minutes. Post Malone, formally known as Austin Richard Post, is famous for mixing and matching different genres of music together seamlessly, and this album is a great example of his work.
Within the album, Malone has a mix of rap, hip-hop, slow beats and heavy metal, along with a variety of guest appearances including a comeback from the bat-eating man himself — Ozzy Osbourne. Other features include DaBaby, Future, Halsey, Meek Mill, Lil Baby, Travis Scott, SZA, Swae Lee and Young Thug.
Unlike his first two albums “Stoney” and “Beerbongs & Bentleys,” this one has a more personal feel to it. Malone has gone through major shifts outside of his music as well, with him parting Los Angeles and buying a home in Utah.
The album starts off with the title-track and a slow beat with deep lyrics. “Hollywood's Bleeding” sets the dark, genre blurring tone for the album and reflects Malone’s feelings for not only Los Angeles and Hollywood, but the celebrity lifestyle in general.
In an interview with Genius, Malone said the people in LA are like “vampires out there that just want to suck the life from you.” Hence, the dark theme of the album.
Some songs that stand out in particular are “A Thousand Bad Times,” “Die For Me" (featuring Future and Halsey), “Take What You Want” (featuring Ozzy Osbourne and Travis Scott) and “I’m Gonna Be.” All four of these songs have great messages behind them and represent Malone’s unique style in mixing different music genres that fit the lyrics perfectly.
“Take What You Want” featuring Ozzy Osbourne and Travis Scott is a collaboration listeners didn’t know they needed. The song begins with Osbourne’s signature vocals, followed by Malone’s singing, and then another surprise musical hook by Travis Scott. The combination is something I personally would have never expected to flow so well.
The music in this track sounds very similar to Ozzy Osbourne’s album “No More Tears,”, which was released in 1991. The song details an anonymous person and how they deceived and took advantage of Malone’s trust, but Scott’s verse goes on to show how he reversed the negativity and grew from it. This is a return to the underlying lyrical theme of the album.
For those listening to the album on Spotify, Malone has added notes to the majority of the songs, creating a kind of dialogue between artist and listener. A common theme that can be noticed in these comments is perseverance and Malone's ability to do so.
While he does hint to some personal issues he has faced, Malone’s notes also encourage his audience to do the same — no matter what kind of trying times they are facing. This makes for a unique combination of dark melodies with a surprisingly positive background message. Again, this is a testimony to Malone’s artistic eye for blending that which might normally appear in a dichotomy.
With dark sounds, the whole album is an amazing collection of songs and artists ready to help you get in the mood for Halloween.
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The album is currently available on Spotify, and the top five of Malone’s most streamed songs are from the newly released album.
Christina Kaskabas is a freelance news reporter at the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted through news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @cake_tinaa
