Post Malone does not like his voice. He frequently runs late. Prior to recording his latest album, Twelve Carat Toothache, he didn’t like making music for a long time. He fell through a trap door and bruised his ribs at a St. Louis concert in September and had to cancel a subsequent date in Boston. Other than those minor elements, everything is going swimmingly as the unflappable, soft-rocking rapper comes into the home stretch of his latest tour with a Friday night show in Las Vegas.
Malone is on top of the world after the birth of his daughter this summer. So far, he’s managed to keep his fiancée’s identity out of the media and focus on releasing singles and videos from Toothache, including “Cooped Up” with his opening act Roddy Ricch and “I Like You (A Happier Song)” featuring Doja Cat.
The latter’s sunny optimism contrasts with moodier album tracks such as “I Cannot Be (A Sadder Song)” and “Love/Hate Letter to Alcohol.” From every other appearance, he seems pretty content. “Love/Hate” may address a delicate issue and a careless instance, but the guest appearance by Fleet Foxes results in a joyful noise of harmonies that causes shivers in the spine.
Malone’s appetite for magic mushrooms factored into the overall sonic dimensions of Toothache, creating a clear conduit between musical vision and output, but there’s one area he’s not completely secure about. “I’m so shy listening to any of my songs,” he told podcaster Zane Gray in June. Malone says can’t listen to himself without great effort.
Luckily for Malone, audiences are enthralled by his voice, a mellow instrument that croons and trills when not flowing with reams of lyrics Malone has little trouble accessing from his brain. One of his gifts is his likeability, which offsets his unorthodox appearance. “I would describe him as the worst-looking man I’ve ever seen and adorable all at the same time,” wrote author Tammy Davis, after taking her daughter to a concert.
Davis admits she’s not part of his target demographic, although she appreciates his music. That’s the key to Malone’s appeal. He has a natural gift for reaching people. Early concert footage shows fans at the foot of the stage ecstatically singing along with early hits such as “White Iverson” and “Congratulations.” By the time he captured the zeitgeist of the pre-pandemic era with 2018’s beerbongs & bentleys, his reputation had grown beyond the youth market, and he was becoming a household name with the cheesiest grin in music.
A recent meet-and-greet after a Nashville concert symbolized the cross-generational appeal that Malone exudes and knows how to use. What does one do, after all, when encountering legend Randy Travis after a show? If you’re Malone, you challenge Travis, retired since a 2013 stroke, to a beer pong challenge as country star Luke Bryan and rising bluegrass talent Billy Strings look on. Then you give “infinite hugs” and enjoy the moment as a rockstar baby daddy should.
T-Mobile Arena, 8 p.m. Nov. 11, starting at $121 plus tax and fee. ticketmaster.com
Click here for your free subscription to the weekly digital edition of Las Vegas Magazine, your guide to everything to do, hear, see and experience in Southern Nevada. As part of your subscription, each week via email you will receive the latest edition of Las Vegas Magazine, full of informative content such as restaurants to visit, cocktails to sip and attractions to enjoy.
