Post Malone

Austin Richard Post, known professionally as Post Malone, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He was born in Syracuse, New York, to Nicole (Frazier) Lake, from Walton, New York, and Richard Lloyd Post, Jr. His father, a former disc jockey, introduced him to a variety of music genres, including hip-hop, country, and rock. Post is of Polish, English, and Scottish descent. When he was nine years old, he moved to Grapevine, Texas, with his father and stepmother, Jodie, after his father became the manager of concessions for the Dallas Cowboys. Post began playing the guitar and auditioned for the band Crown the Empire in 2010 but was rejected when his guitar strings broke during the audition. He credited Guitar Hero with sparking his initial interest in learning the instrument. Post has always had a strong affinity for emo music and performed a DJ set at Emo Nite in Los Angeles in June 2017, where he played songs by My Chemical Romance. He stated that his first professional music experience came through being in a heavy metal band. Soon after, he transitioned to softer rock and hip-hop before experimenting with FL Studio. At age 16, using Audacity, he created his first mixtape, *Young and After Them Riches*, which he shared with classmates at Grapevine High School. He was voted "Most Likely to Become Famous" by his peers as a senior. As a teenager, he worked at a Chicken Express. He enrolled in Tarrant County College but later dropped out. After leaving college, Post moved to Los Angeles, California, with his longtime friend Jason Probst, a professional game streamer.

According to Post, he chose the name "Post Malone" as his stage name when he was 14 or 15. While "Post" is his last name, he used a "rap name generator" to come up with "Malone." The name was rumored to be a reference to basketball player Karl Malone, but Post later clarified this was not the case. In Los Angeles, Post, Probst, and several other producers and artists formed the music group BLCKVRD and recorded together. Several members, including Post, moved into a house in San Fernando Valley. It was there that he met 1st Down of FKi. He connected with 1st and Rich from FKi, as well as Rex Kudo, who produced several of Post's tracks, including "White Iverson." Post recorded the song two days after writing it. "White Iverson" is partially a reference to basketball player Allen Iverson. In February 2015, it was uploaded to Post's SoundCloud account. On July 19, 2015, he released a music video for the track. The single received praise from Mac Miller and Wiz Khalifa but was notably mocked by Earl Sweatshirt. After "White Iverson" reached one million views within a month of its release, Post quickly attracted attention from record labels. In August 2015, he signed a recording contract with Republic Records. He subsequently collaborated with prominent rappers such as 50 Cent, Young Thug, and Kanye West. In August 2015, he performed at Kylie Jenner's 18th birthday party, where he met Kanye West, who later collaborated with him on the single "Fade" from West's album *The Life of Pablo*. Post later developed a friendship with Canadian singer and songwriter Justin Bieber, which led to him opening for Bieber's Purpose World Tour. On April 20, 2016, Post premiered his new single, "Go Flex," on Zane Lowe's Beats 1 show. On May 12, 2016, he released his first full-length project, a mixtape titled *August 26*, named after the release date of his debut album. On June 9, 2016, Post made his national television debut on *Jimmy Kimmel Live!*, performing "Go Flex."

In June 2016, XXL editor-in-chief Vanessa Satten revealed that Post Malone was considered for XXL's "2016 Freshmen Class" magazine cover, but his team reportedly stated he wasn't focused on hip-hop at the time, instead leaning toward rock, pop, and country. Post denied these claims, explaining that his mixtape and upcoming album were both hip-hop. In August 2016, Post issued an apology for the delayed release of his album *Stoney*. It was available for pre-order on November 4 and finally released on December 9. Post later described the album as "mediocre," despite the success of the single "Congratulations" featuring Quavo, which became his first top-ten song on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number eight. *Stoney* also featured the top 100 hits "I Fall Apart" and "Deja Vu," featuring Bieber. The album was later certified double platinum by the RIAA in October 2017. Post's music has been described as a "melting pot of country, grunge, hip-hop, and R&B," and he himself has been described as a versatile artist. His vocal style has been characterized as laconic. Jon Caramanica of *The New York Times* described Post as "an artist who toes the line between singing and rapping, and hip-hop and spooky electric folk." Malone has referred to his music as "genre-less." He cites Bob Dylan, whom he became interested in around age 15, as a major influence, calling him "a genius" and "a god," though his music has been described as "about as far away from Rock n'