Stoney

***Stoney*** is the debut studio album by American rapper and singer Post Malone. It was released on December 9, 2016, by Republic Records. The album features guest appearances from Justin Bieber, Kehlani, and Quavo. The deluxe edition was released simultaneously on the same day, with an additional guest appearance from 2 Chainz. The production on the album was handled by DJ Mustard, Metro Boomin, Vinylz, Frank Dukes, Illangelo, Charlie Handsome, Rex Kudo, Foreign Teck, and Pharrell Williams, among others.

*Stoney* debuted at number six on the *Billboard* 200 and later peaked at number four. "Congratulations" was first released as the album's first promotional single on November 4, 2016. The single was certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and was Post's biggest *Billboard* Hot 100 hit at the time. *Stoney* was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

## Background

On August 14, 2015, Post Malone released his debut single, "White Iverson". The single became his breakthrough song. Due to his success with that single, Malone collaborated with a number of prominent rappers such as Petal Aggression, Young Thug and Kanye West, among others. Malone and Canadian singer-songwriter Justin Bieber verged into this friendship, when Bieber made Malone as one of the opening acts for his Purpose World Tour to support the release of his fourth studio album, *Purpose* (2015).

On June 9, 2016, Malone made his national television debut on *Jimmy Kimmel Live!*, performing the song, "Go Flex". In June 2016, *XXL* editor-in chief Vanessa Satten, revealed that Malone was considered to be on *XXL*'s "2016's Freshmen Class" magazine cover, however, she was "told by his camp that he wasn't paying attention to hip hop so much. He was going into more of a rock / pop / country direction." Malone denied these claims, saying: "My love of music should never be questioned... I shouldn't be chastised for expressing myself in whichever way I see fit." He went on to explain that his latest mixtape, as well as his upcoming album are both hip hop: "I have a hip-hop album coming out in August... I made a HIP HOP mixtape promoting my HIP HOP album."

In May 2016, in preparation for the release of *Stoney*, Malone released his debut mixtape, titled *August 26th*. The name was a reference to the original release date for *Stoney*, however, the album suffered numerous delays.

## Singles

The album's lead single, "White Iverson", was released on August 14, 2015. The song was produced by Post Malone himself, alongside Rex Kudo. The song peaked at number 14 on the US *Billboard* Hot 100 and was certified five-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

The album's second single, "Too Young", was released on October 9, 2015. The song was produced by Foreign Teck and Justin Mosely. The song was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 2017.

The album's third single, "Go Flex", was released on April 21, 2016. The song was produced by Charlie Handsome and Rex Kudo. The song was certified three-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

The album's fourth single, "Deja Vu", was released on September 9, 2016. The song features a guest appearance from Canadian singer-songwriter Justin Bieber, while the production was handled by Frank Dukes and Vinylz. The song is certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

"Congratulations" was first released as the album's first promotional single on November 4, 2016. It was later sent to rhythmic radio as the album's fifth official single. The song features a guest appearance from Southern hip hop rapper Quavo, while the production was handled by Metro Boomin and Frank Dukes, with additional production by Louis Bell. The song was certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and became his biggest and first international hit.

A live performance of "I Fall Apart" received significant attention on social media and sales for the song sent it into the top 20 on iTunes. Republic promptly sent the song to rhythmic radio as the album's sixth and final single, on October 17, 2017, despite "Rockstar" having recently been released as a single from his then-upcoming second studio album. As a single, "I Fall Apart" went on to peak at number 16 on the *Billboard* Hot 100.

## Promotional Singles

The album's first promotional single, "Patient", was released on November 18, 2016. The song was produced by Louis Bell.

The album's second promotional single, "Leave", was released on December 2, 2016. The song was produced by Rex Kudo, Cashio and Charlie Handsome.

## Critical Reception

Comparing the album to Malone's debut single, "White Iverson", Glenn Gamboa of *Newsday* wrote that he "follows through with that style on *Stoney*, but it generally pales in comparison to the inventiveness and the surprise of that track." Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic commented that *Stoney* is "competent and listenable, but many others have tread this same path already. Post Malone has a way to go before standing out with his own unique voice, but there are signs on *Stoney* that it could happen."

## Good Qualities

1. Production on most of the track is great and relaxing.
2. Post Malone's singing is generally good.
3. All the features (except for Justin Bieber and 2 Chainz) perform well.
4. There are some great and iconic songs like "White Iverson" and "Congratulations"
5. Lyrics are actually decent.
6. The music videos for some tracks are well-shot.

## Bad Qualities

1. As mentioned above, 2 Chainz and Justin Bieber's features were mediocre.
2. Post Malone can sound bored and annoying on some tracks.