Austin Richard Post, professionally known as Post Malone, is a multifaceted American artist. Born in Syracuse, New York, he is the son of Nicole Frazier Lake and Richard Lloyd Post, Jr., who introduced him to various genres of music, including hip-hop, country, and rock, due to his father's background as a disc jockey.
Growing up, Post moved to Grapevine, Texas, where he began playing the guitar and auditioned for the band Crown the Empire in 2010. Although he was rejected, his initial interest in learning guitar was sparked by the popular video game Guitar Hero. Post's love for emo music led him to appear at Emo Nite in Los Angeles, where he played My Chemical Romance.
Post's professional music journey began with a heavy metal band, which he later transitioned to softer rock and hip-hop. At 16, he created his first mixtape, Young and After Them Riches, using Audacity. He showed it to his classmates at Grapevine High School, who voted him "Most Likely to Become Famous" as a senior.
After dropping out of Tarrant County College, Post moved to Los Angeles, where he formed the music group BLCKVRD with his friend Jason Probst, a professional game streamer. The group recorded music together, and several members, including Post, moved into a house in San Fernando Valley.
Post met 1st Down of FKi, who produced several of his tracks, including "White Iverson." The song, which he recorded two days after writing it, received praise from Mac Miller and Wiz Khalifa. However, it was also mocked by Earl Sweatshirt. After gaining attention from record labels, Post signed with Republic Records in August 2015.
Post's music has been described as a "melting pot of country, grunge, hip-hop, and R&B." His vocal style has been called laconic, and he has been described as versatile. Post has cited Bob Dylan, 50 Cent, and Key! as influences on his music.
In 2017, Post released the single "Rockstar" featuring 21 Savage, which peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. He also released the album Beerbongs & Bentleys in 2018, which broke first-day streaming records on Spotify and spawned three top 10 songs and six top 20 songs.
