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“Come Baptize Yourself In The Culture”: Ernest Explains Why Post Malone Set The Standard For Successfully Crossing Into Country Music
He’s not wrong.
With country music being more popular that ever before, highlighted by the massive crossover success of the likes of Zach Bryan, Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs, Jelly Roll and more, it’s been a hot commodity in terms of both commercialization and outsiders attempting to use the genre to profit off on a larger audience.
It’s safe to say that pop stars attempting to crossover isn’t a new thing. Hell, we’ve seen plenty over the decades. Lately, however, it seems to have increased tenfold. While you have some one-off adventures into the genre, whether it’s MGK’s severely misguided reimagining of John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” on his Jelly Roll collaboration, “Lonely Roads,” BigXthaPlug’s collaborative “country” album featuring the likes of Ella Langley, Luke Combs and more or even Sabrina Carpenter who called on the legend herself, Dolly Parton, for a remix of her smash hit, “Please Please Please,” these crossovers are popping up quite frequently these days. This isn’t even mentioning upcoming country albums from the likes of Michael Bublé and Lana Del Ray that are rumored to be coming soon.
Of course, from a broad perspective, the two biggest country ventures the past few years were Post Malone on F-1 Trillion and Beyoncé on Cowboy Carter. Despite Beyoncé’s venture into the genre being a massive success with outsiders of the genre, famously taking home three Grammys, there has been next to no love shown for the “Irreplaceable” singer in the community. And while the award show wins and the media chatter would lead the casual fan to assume that the album was a smashing success, it actually fell off the charts relatively quickly. In the all-genre Billboard 200, Cowboy Carter fell out of the top 50 after 13 weeks, and it shockingly fell off the chart completely after 6 months. Following the Grammy win in 2025, and tour launch, she returned to the chart and surpassed 52 weeks, but for a Beyonce record? Not exactly a smashing success. For comparison, Riley Green’s Don’t Mind Of I Do, which came out in September 2024, has spent 63 weeks and counting on the chart after peaking at 25.
While there have been a seemingly endless amount of think pieces written about the lack of love shown for her in Nashville, with many coming to the conclusion that it stems from bigotry and racism, the simple fact of the matter is that Beyoncé did not want to interact with the country community. From the start, it was clear that she had no intention to stay in country music or frankly even engage with the genre. She made next to no appearances in Nashville, did not appear at any country festivals or award shows and has shown no signs of making another country record. As she describes it, Cowboy Carter was never a strictly country album; it was a Beyoncé album:
“This ain’t a Country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album.“
Conversely, F-1 Trillion was a massive success for Post. Though you can argue that the album was a bit of a mixed bag in terms of sonic consistency, bouncing between multiple different subgenres and styles, it’s become increasingly clear that the “I Had Some Help” singer has a deep love and respect for the genre. Even ignoring the fact that he called upon some of the biggest stars, ranging from Hank Williams Jr. and Dolly Parton to Luke Combs and Morgan Wallen, he’s made himself a frequent flyer in Nashville.
From constant country festivals the past two years, opening his own bar, Postys, on Broadway and making even more appearances with the likes of Brooks & Dunn, Zach Top, Lainey Wilson and more out on the road, the former rapper has shown a dedication to the genre.
And it hasn’t gone unnoticed to some of the most prominent artists and songwriters as of late.
Ernest, who co-wrote a plethora of songs on F-1 Trillion including “I Had Some Help,” “Guy For That,” “Losers,” “Wrong Ones” and more, had nothing but love for the way Post entered the genre. In fact, he’d go as far as to say that the “White Iverson” singer essentially created the blueprint for other artists on how to successfully crossover into country music during a recent appearance on The Net Positive Podcast with John Crist.
“The way Post did it is the way I would hope any artist coming to make a country record would do it. Come baptize yourself in the culture of Nashville and get to know the heartbeat of Nashville and the songwriters and producers and make friends with the artists.”
The “Flower Shops” singer would also dive into just how eclectic many of their recording sessions for F-1 Trillion were. He’d recall one night that consisted of him, Post, Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs, HARDY, Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder and The White Stripes’ Jack White all in one room sitting around a table and listening to early cuts of the record. Talk about some star power, am I right?
“Post would have the most random people pulling up to those sessions just to hear the music we’re working on. I remember one night, we were sitting around. It was me, Morgan, Luke Combs, HARDY, Post, Eddie Vedder and Jack White sitting around a table just listening to where we were at in the record. You know, obviously, we were writing with Luke that night too but the hang [was special].”
He’d end by what can only be described as a bit of a shade towards artists like Beyoncé who made a “country” record without engaging with Nashville or the country music community in any capacity, poignantly telling artists not to “force-feed” their albums to the industry.
“Everybody got to know and was excited about it versus some other attempts where it all happened else where and then we’re trying to market it to this community. There’s a disconnection. Start here, it needs to happen here. Give them something to champion… Let it start from the inside and then trickle out. And don’t try to come force-feed it to the industry.”
@netpositivepodcast How Post Malone handled creating his country album @Ernest @Johnbcrist ♬ original sound – Net Positive
Ultimately, Ernest hits the nail on the head here, and Luke Bryan (who took some heat), among others have echoed similar sentiments. You can love, hate or be indifferent about Post’s venture into country music. One thing that cannot be denied, however, is the simple fact that he’s continually showed a deep appreciation for the genre and its history. Authenticity is the name of the game in the genre, and Post has shown it throughout the last two years.
Before you go, fire up Post and Ernest’s collaboration, “The Devil I’ve Been.”
The post “Come Baptize Yourself In The Culture”: Ernest Explains Why Post Malone Set The Standard For Successfully Crossing Into Country Music first appeared on Whiskey Riff.
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