"Psycho" is a song recorded by American rapper and singer

Post Malone Austin Richard Post (born July 4, 1995), known professionally as Post Malone, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his variegated vocals, Malone has gained acclaim for blending genres and subgenres of hip ...

, featuring vocals American singer

Ty Dolla $ign 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 and record producer. He first gained major recognition in 2010 for his feature on Ameri ...

. It was released through

Republic Records Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). 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 an ...

on February 23, 2018, as the third

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from Malone's second studio album, ''

Beerbongs & Bentleys ''Beerbongs & Bentleys'' (stylized in lowercase) is the second studio album by American rapper and singer Post Malone, released by Republic Records on April 27, 2018. The album features guest appearances from Swae Lee, 21 Savage, Ty Dolla Sign, N ...

'' (2018). The artists co-wrote the song with

Louis Bell Louis Russell Bell (born May 27, 1982) is an American record producer, vocal producer, songwriter, and mixing engineer. Bell's work includes production for Post Malone, Camila Cabello, Halsey, Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, 5 Seconds of Summer, T ...

, who co-produced it with Malone. Lyrically, the song discusses Malone's 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 * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

's "

God's Plan God's Plan may refer to: Theological concepts * God's plan, or the Will of God * Salvation, the saving of a soul from sin and its consequences ** Plan of salvation, a Christian concept describing God's plan to save humanity ** Plan of salvation ( ...

", 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

bulldozer A bulldozer or dozer (also called a crawler) is a large, motorized machine equipped with a metal blade to the front for pushing material: soil, sand, snow, rubble, or rock during construction work. It travels most commonly on continuous track ...

, 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, 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-shirts are general ...

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 advertise ...

'' and ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'', the song has a slow-moving

trap A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research. Trap or TRAP may also refer to: Art and entertainment Films and television * ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...

beat and melodically bears a resemblance to Post Malone's 2015 song "

White Iverson "White Iverson" is the debut Single (music), single by American rapper and singer Post Malone. It was released through Republic Records on August 14, 2015, as the lead single from his debut studio album, ''Stoney (album), Stoney'' (2016). It was ...

Critical reception

Sheldon Pearce of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' 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 is the news production division of MTV. The service is available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network. In February 2016, MTV Networks confirmed it would refresh the MTV News brand in 2016, to compete with the likes ...

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 Rock Star or Rockstar may refer to: Films * ''Rock Star'' (2001 film), an American film starring Mark Wahlberg * ''Rockstar'' (2011 film), an Indian Hindi-language film by Imtiaz Ali * ''Rockstar'' (2015 film), an Indian Malayalam-language fi ...

", and that they share "a few melodic similarities", describing "Psycho" as "more subdued" in comparison. The track was named the worst song of 2018 by ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

''.

Music video

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

Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...

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

FV103 Spartan FV103 Spartan is a tracked armoured personnel carrier of the British Army. It was developed as the APC variant of the Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) family. The vehicle can carry up to seven personnel, including three crew members. Armed ...

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 ...

, and Malone with Sign amidst the wreckage of ruined aircraft. As of August 2022, the video has received more than 960 million views on YouTube.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from

Tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * Tidal (servic ...

. *

– production, programming, vocals *

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 and record producer. He first gained major recognition in 2010 for his feature on Ameri ...

– vocals *

– production, programming, record engineering, vocal production *

Manny Marroquin Manny Marroquin (born September 21, 1971) is an American mixing engineer.Daley, Dan (May 2005).Manny Marroquin. ''Sound on Sound''. Retrieved February 10, 2007 He has received ten Grammy awards for his professional audio work. Life and career M ...

– mixing

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