Producer Michael Cash revealed in a new Rolling Stone interview that he once tried to make an album of hip-hop artists covering Bob Dylan songs. Dylan was involved, and even sent Post Malone some unreleased lyrics — which he had titled “Be Not Deceived” — to build a new song around. Malone was “literally in tears” when he first heard Dylan’s words, according to Cash. Malone visited Cash’s studio in March of 2021 to record the song, but had to leave after only getting the track “about 40 percent done.”
Cash says Malone procrastinated when it came to finishing the song, and Dylan eventually retracted permission for Malone to use the lyrics after getting tired of waiting. “It just seems like nobody really managed expectations, and it just seems like nobody communicated,” Cash said. “A really cool piece of music got made, and then it just got weird. It got really weird.” Malone didn't comment.