Post Malone on his musical journey

Post Malone will become a country singer when he turns 40. At least, that is what the man born Austin Richard Post has to say. If he keeps to his word, hip hop fans will have another 19 years to enjoy the work of an artist whose debut album, Stoney, has shot straight to number six on the Billboard 200.“I love all kinds of music,” he smiled. “Neither of my parents are musical but there was always music on in our house. They had pretty eclectic tastes so I’d hear everything from rock and pop to R&B and soul. My parents were not really into hip hop though. I discovered that by myself.”Despite never previously having any particular affinity with the genre, Post’s father is his biggest fan.“My dad is awesome. I don’t think anyone could have more parental support. My mom isn’t so enthusiastic. I love her so much but she doesn’t get hip hop at all.”Post began to seriously consider a career in music during his early teens.“I got into playing guitar through the Guitar Hero computer games. I became a five-star everything on expert mode in Guitar Hero 3. I then taught myself to play a real guitar through watching YouTube videos.“I joined a hardcore band while I was in high school and started writing and recording my own songs when I was 16. I learned how to produce by using FL Studio on the computer. At first, I really didn’t know what I was doing. But my dad was always very encouraging and I gradually got the hang of things.“I recorded a mixtape of songs which I played for the other kids at school. I thought it was great and they all agreed with me. With the benefit of hindsight, I now know it was pretty awful. The beats were okay but the lyrics were bad. I had no identity and little to say. I was just a kid.”It didn’t take long for the kid to become a young man. But before finding friends and fame in Los Angeles, he had a six-month stint at college in his home state of Texas.“I really went to college to please my parents. Like most parents, they wanted their son to get a college degree which would help him to get a good job. But they couldn’t have been more supportive when I told them I was dropping out of college and going to Los Angeles to pursue my dream of a career in music.”His introduction to the Los Angeles music scene saw Post hook up with the FKi production team.“A friend sent me to Stevie B’s recording studio. I made music with a group of people there and met 1st (real name Trocon Markous Roberts) through them. We got on great together. FKi produced my track, White Iverson, and everything took off from there.”The song was uploaded to Post’s SoundCloud page where it attracted the kind of attention which prompted the making of an accompanying video. This topped one million views within a month and is now approaching the 234 million mark.Major labels took an interest and Post signed with Republic Records. The commercial release of White Iverson saw the track reach number 14 on Billboard’s Hot 100, number five on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs chart and pole position on Billboard’s Rhythmic chart.Further singles and a hugely successful mixtape, August 26th, followed over the course of more than a year before the recent release of Stoney.“The album had originally been scheduled for release on August 26th. This is why I gave that title to the mixtape. I realised Stoney wouldn’t be ready by that date so the mixtape was by way of an apology to my fans.”The delay has only served to increase the anticipation for Post’s album. His style of half singing, half rapping certainly seems to have struck a chord with hip hop afficionados. But Post is not without haters. As a white man in a predominantly black artist’s realm, even his appearance has been criticised.“I’ve had all kinds of comments about my braided hair. The other day, somebody even said I looked like the Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck in a television commercial he made. But all I’ve ever tried to be is myself. If some people don’t like that, there’s nothing I can do about it.”Pop Star Deaths In 2016/Britney SpearsThe recent death of superstar singer/songwriter George Michael capped a year in which so many artists were lost to the music business.The first few days of 2016 brought word of David Bowie’s passing with more sad news emerging almost every week. Prince, Greg Lake, Keith Emerson, Billy Paul, Bobby Vee, Merle Haggard, Pete Burns, Glenn Frey, Leonard Cohen and Leon Russell are just a few of those who are no longer with us.For a time, it seemed like Britney Spears had joined them. A message appeared on Sony Music’s Twitter account reporting Britney’s death in an accident. The 35-year-old singer used her own Twitter page to refute the report and confirm she was still very much alive.  The Sony Music account was apparently hacked by a group called OurMine Security, the same people who were responsible for several high profile hacks during 2016. Their victims included Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon chief technology officer Werner Vogels.OurMine Security even gave further credence to their Britney Spears mischief by hacking Bob Dylan’s Twitter account to post a message of sympathy supposedly from Bob.George MichaelGeorge Michael’s death has allowed details of his many acts of kindness to be revealed. The humble star gave money to strangers and donated millions to various charities all with the proviso that his generosity should not be made public.Those who knew of George’s philanthropy are now sharing their stories. There are many tales to tell but three will do justice to his memory.Writer Sali Hughes did a piece on an anonymous celebrity who gave a 5,000 GBP tip to a barmaid because she was a student nurse and in debt. The celebrity was George Michael.Richard Osman, now co-presenter of the BBC game show Pointless, was an executive producer on Deal or No Deal when one contestant said she hoped to win 15,000 GBP to pay for IVF treatment. She didn’t win the money but George phoned the production team and gave her the 15,000 GBP insisting that no-one should reveal the donor’s identity.Finally, British television personality Dame Esther Rantzen is the founder and president of the Childline charity. She has now given details of George’s incredible kindness.“For many years, George has been the most extraordinarily generous philanthropist. But he was determined not to make his generosity public so no-one outside Childline knew about all the millions he gave to the nation’s most vulnerable children.“As part of our 30th anniversary celebrations, we hoped to stage a big concert in tribute to George. We wanted to thank him for his artistry and his wonderful musicality but primarily for the thousands of children he helped through supporting Childline. “I don’t know if George would have been happy about his involvement being revealed but he had given so much for so long that we felt people should know.”Lil SnupeIt was June, 2013, when 18-year-old rapper Lil Snupe was murdered. An argument over a video game bet escalated to such a degree that Snupe, born Addarren Ross, was shot dead by Tony Holden.Much of his music can be found at www.datpiff.com. Typing Lil Snupe in the search mixtapes box reveals links to his solo work plus recordings made with other artists.Snupe’s memory is also being kept alive by the forthcoming documentary film, Inside 16 & Runnin Resurrected. A 22-minute preview of the documentary is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7HMBHIFnVA16 & Runnin was the title of Snupe’s debut mixtape. It can be heard in full and downloaded at (no www.) indy.livemixtapes.com/mixtapes/22024/lil-snupe-16-runnin.htmlThe documentary is complemented by a new 12-track album, 16 & Runnin Resurrected. This features remixes of some songs from the original mixtape plus previously unreleased material. The album can be streamed on Spotify. It can also be heard and downloaded on iTunes and is available for free from various leaked music download websites.