This song finds Post Malone putting his own spin on the sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll lifestyle.
Ayy, I've been f---in' hoes and poppin' pillies
Man, I feel just like a rockstar (star)"
Sex and Drugs and Rock And Roll" was the debut single of English singer-songwriter Ian Dury. Released in 1977, it was not a hit at the time. However, the song subsequently became well known for creating the popular saying that describes the hedonistic lifestyle of rock stars.
Post Malone is joined on the track by 21 Savage. Both artists brag about their extravagant rock 'n' roll lifestyles, which incorporate copious amounts of sex and drugs.
In the seven days following its release, "Rockstar" shattered Apple Music's one-week streaming record total for a single song with 25 million streams worldwide and 22.5 million US streams.
Post Malone told
Billboard the story of the song:
"I was in New York, and we were at Quad Studios. Some kid came in, and I guess he was in the session next door and he was like, 'Hey? Can I play you some beats?' I'm like, 'I guess so.' You know, I'm a nice guy, I like music. I'll listen to your beats. He played the beat and it was incredible. His name is Tank. He's a really young guy, and a really talented producer. So we did that, and Joey Bada$$ was in there. We were just vibing on it and the melody was sick. We just cut like a little scratch vocal and we took it back to LA. I finished my part and sent it off to Savage - and there it is."
Tank God used a chance meeting with Post Malone at a Los Angeles sneaker store as a way in to play him his beats. "I was like, 'I met you in L.A,' Tank told
Genius. "And he was like, 'At Flight Club?' I was like, 'Yeah!' And I was like, 'Well, I'm a producer, can I play you some beats?' He was like, 'Yeah let's get weird.'"
The other credited producer is Louis Bell. "Louis is the engineer," Tank explained. "Post's engineer, and close friend. I had the melody and he beefed it up, adding some piano and just making it more full."
When Malone released the song, the version he posted on YouTube was just a loop of the chorus with a link to the full song on other platforms. This was done to funnel listeners to more profitable services, while boosting the song's chart position, as streams of this all-chorus version counted toward Hot 100 placement, as did any additional listens of the full song on places like Spotify and Pandora. The strategy worked very well; the YouTube version quickly racked up over 45 million views, and the song vaulted to #1 on the Hot 100.
Louis Bell recalled to
Billboard how Malone texted him in 2016 a video of an early version of "Rockstar".
"I knew it was a smash through the phone," he said. "A few months later, we got in the studio and I wanted to really build it up to make it really full and musical. It's a very droney, vibey piece. I wanted to add a long outro with a guitar, but it can't be an actual guitar because it's 2017. We went with something futuristic to give it this nice cool and dark vibe."
The original version of this song featured T-Pain and Joey Badass, before the pair were replaced by 21 Savage. Badass also co-wrote the track but is uncredited.
This won Song of the Year at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards.
"Rockstar" earned Grammy nominations for Record Of The Year and Best Rap/Sung Performance but lost both to "
This Is America" by Childish Gambino.
Malone performed "Rockstar" and "
Stay" at the 2019 ceremony, where he also guested with Red Hot Chili Peppers on "
The Getaway."
21 Savage was slated to perform with Malone but couldn't because he was in detention. A week earlier, he was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) because he was born in England and his visa had expired in 2006. He was freed a few days later but didn't get his green card until 2023.
"Rockstar" came together in a whirlwind recording process during a lively hangout session in New York with Joey Bada$$." We were just listening to beats with Tank God and it just flowed,"
Malone recalled to Billboard. "Many brews were consumed and it was an amazing night."
The opening piano melody struck Post Malone immediately. "I was like, 'This beat is amaze-balls,'" he said. "It's very recognizable immediately, and I felt it was special the first time I heard it."
The laugh that made its way into the track wasn't part of the plan. "I think initially, when me and Lou cut the vocals and listened back, it was left in there," said Malone, "and it adds kind of an ominous joy to the song."
