"Psycho" is a song by American rapper

Post Malone Austin Richard Post (born July 4, 1995), known professionally as Post Malone, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. His music blends various genres including hip-hop, Pop music, pop, Contemporary R&B, R&B, Tra ...

featuring American singer

Ty Dolla Sign Tyrone William Griffin Jr. (born April 13, 1982), known professionally as Ty Dolla Sign (stylized as Ty Dolla $ign or Ty$), is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Griffin gai ...

. It was released through

Republic Records Republic Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Based in New York City, it was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially ...

on February 23, 2018, as the third single from Malone's second studio album, '' Beerbongs & Bentleys'' (2018). The artists wrote the song with Louis Bell, who produced it with Malone. Lyrically, the song discusses the artists' 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 Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

's " God's Plan", and reached number one in June 2018, becoming Malone's second and Ty's first chart-topper.

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

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, 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-shirt A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt, or tee for short) is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a '' crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shir ...

Composition

According to ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' and ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'', the song has a slow-moving trap beat and melodically bears a resemblance to Post Malone's 2015 song "

White Iverson "White Iverson" is the debut single by American rapper Post Malone. It was released through Republic Records on August 14, 2015, as the lead single from his debut studio album, '' Stoney'' (2016). It was originally released on February 4, 2015, t ...

". The lyrics contain a reference to Leon DeChino, a musical alias Malone used in high school.

Critical reception

Sheldon Pearce of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' 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 MTV News was the news production division of MTV. The service was available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network and an online news team. In 2016, MTV refreshed the MTV News brand to compete with the likes of BuzzFeed and ...

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.

Music video

The official music video for "Psycho" was released on March 22, 2018, on Post Malone's

Vevo Vevo LLC ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized in all caps until 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available ...

YouTube channel. It was directed by James DeFina. It features Malone riding on a FV103 Spartan

armored personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...

, fighting a wolf with a

flamethrower A flamethrower is a ranged incendiary device designed to project a controllable jet of fire. First deployed by the Byzantine Empire in the 7th century AD, flamethrowers saw use in modern times during World War I, and more widely in World W ...

, and Malone with Sign amidst the wreckage of ruined aircraft. As of May 2023, the video has received more than 1 billion views on YouTube.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal. *

– production, programming, vocals *

– vocals * Louis Bell – production, programming, record engineering, vocal production *

Manny Marroquin Manny Marroquin (born September 21, 1971) is a Guatemalan-American record mixing engineer. He has been credited on albums for high-profile pop, R&B, hip hop and rock acts. He has worked with artists including Rihanna, Kanye West, Katy Perry ...

– mixing * William Schilling Jr - Song Writer

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Ty Dolla Sign 2018 songs 2018 singles Post Malone songs Ty Dolla Sign songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in Sweden Republic Records singles Songs written by Post Malone Songs written by Ty Dolla Sign Songs written by Louis Bell Song recordings produced by Louis Bell Song recordings produced by Post Malone