The moment Post Malone covered Kanye West song ‘Heartless’
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The moment Post Malone covered Kanye West song 'Heartless'

Post Malone has never been afraid of paying tribute to his heroes. Whether it’s Bob Dylan or Kanye West, the rapper has always found a way to pay homage to those icons who came before him.

When Posty dropped into the Radio 1 Live Lounge and afforded the chance to deliver an impassioned cover of one of his favourite songs he jumped at the chance and provided a vital cover of Kanye West classic ‘Heartless’.

The song features on West’s enigmatic album 808s & Heartbreak. The record has long been seen as one of West’s best LPs, and we have MJ to thank for it. Following his delicious triumvirate of records in his arsenal before releasing 808s & Heartbreak, West took a gamble that largely paid off with his fourth record. He didn’t stand still and produced an album that would help define hip-hop for the next decade.

There’s no doubting the admirable bold ambition of the record, and, of course, that it started a new chapter in his career. West didn’t want just to rap anymore, he had a desire to experiment with melody, but 808s & Heartbreak would mark the start of an exciting era of Kanye rather than the peak of that period, characterised, most notably, through West’s decision to sing more than he was rapping.

Speaking during a recent interview, West suggested that it was encouragement from Michael Jackson that made him approach the mic in a new way. “I think Michael the one that put that battery in my back to do ‘808s’,” he explained. “I played [him] ‘Good Life’, and he was like: ‘Who is that singing right there? I like that voice.’ It was my voice. He gassed me up.” What would follow was a run of hits that put Kanye West’s vocal talent front and centre. “Next thing y’all know, y’all had me [sings]: ‘In the night, I hear them talk’ [laughs]. I was like ‘Michael Jackson told me I could sing, fuck all y’all.’”

It’s perhaps why Malone is so easily able to transfer the song from a synth-heavy pop classic into a melancholy indie-rock rendition of the single. Malone’s vocals provide a gritty reprieve to West’s shiny lyrics.

Watch the performance below.