Back when Post Malone was pre-Malone, he was just like any other kid growing up in Central New York, going to the New York State Fair every summer with his family.
Now he's a successful rapper that can turn down performing at the NYS Fair to instead go to the MTV Video Music Awards, like he did this summer. Today, he's got the No. 1 song ("rockstar" feat. 21 Savage) in America, is friends with big names like 2 Chainz and Justin Bieber, and has a platinum-selling album.
Post Malone was born Austin Richard Post on July 4, 1995, in Syracuse, N.Y. He lived in CNY until he was 10, when his family moved to Texas because his father was offered a job working for the Dallas Cowboys.
His father, Rich Post, tells syracuse.com that the family has fond memories of their time in Syracuse. He grew up near Rochester in Penfield, and then spent 16 years in Syracuse after graduating from Syracuse University in 1988. His wife Jodie, Austin's stepmother, was born in Camillus and went to Le Moyne College.
The couple, who now lives Grapevine, Texas, met when they both worked at Atlas Health Care Linen Services, an industrial laundry business in downtown Syracuse. He had Austin from a previous relationship and she had a son, Mitchell, and they moved in together in Baldwinsville, where they still own a home today.
Rich Post now works as Assistant Director of Food and Beverage at AT&T; Stadium, the home of his longtime favorite NFL team, the Cowboys. Austin's birth mother also moved to Texas to be with her son, maintaining a close relationship over the years.
As "Post Malone," Austin tells fans he "comes from/reps" Dallas -- he even has a tattoo of President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in Dallas -- but his musical roots began in his place of birth with his father at an early age.
"I was a heavy metal, hair band kind of guy," Rich Post told syracuse.com in a phone interview. He shared fond memories of the War Memorial and Carrier Dome, seeing concerts by Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, Twisted Sister, AC/DC, Prince, Bruce Springsteen, Duran Duran and Billy Idol.
Post also worked as disc jockey for CNY weddings with Whirlin' Disc DJs, so he was constantly listening to popular music and other genres that couples requested. That meant Austin was also listening to a wide range of music, including country, grunge, modern hip-hop and classic rock.
Those musical inspirations are apparent to anyone who's listened to Post Malone. "Congratulations," featuring Quavo of Migos, might be a trendy mumble-rap ode to his success, but his "August 26th" mixtape featured a sample of Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams," he collaborated with "Royals" singer Lorde on a remix of her song "Homemade Dynamite," Pharrell Williams produced the "Stoney" album cut "Up There," and he's covered artists like Bob Dylan, Green Day and Nirvana in concert.
"My dad was always playing music," Malone told radio station Hot 97 in 2015. "Not like playing music, but listening to music. And he put me on everything... Folk and funk and rap. I moved to Dallas and I started making music. So, that's really it. And from then on I just started making what I like. Playing guitar. And writing my own songs. And just making music."
Malone started learning how to play guitar as a teenager in Dallas, inspired in part by his fondness for the video game "Guitar Hero."
"I told him if he stuck with it for 6 months, I'd get him guitar lessons," Rich Post recalls. "[Six months later] he said 'Nope, I developed my own style.'"
Malone won the eighth grand talent show with a metalcore cover of Rihanna's "Umbrella" and auditioned for the band Crown the Empire, a Dallas-based band that came to Syracuse as part of the Warped Tour last year. Ultimately, though, he was paving a path all his own.
"We'd drive him all over the place anyplace that would let him play. Open mike nights, where he'd do covers of Guns N Roses and Outkast," Post recalled.
Malone ended up getting booked for a hometown show at Syracuse University, opening up for singer-rapper Bryson Tiller in early 2015.
"We all went," Rich Post said. His family in Macedon and his wife's family in the Syracuse area all came, though his father -- Post Malone's grandfather -- said some of the more R-rated lyrics were difficult to listen to.
"F--- practice, this s--- just happens, know y'all can't stand it, I have it, I never pass it, I work my magic," Malone rhymed on his 2015 breakout single, "White Iverson," inspired by former NBA star Allen Iverson (and his self-proclaimed resemblance when his hair was in cornrow braids).
"It's not for everybody," Rich Post admits.
Post Malone released his debut album, "Stoney" in late 2016, and now has two top 10 singles under his belt: "Congratulations" peaked at No. 8 earlier this year and "rockstar," from his upcoming sophomore album "Beerbongs and Bentleys," topped the charts this week. His single "Deja Vu" (feat. Justin Bieber) also went platinum and his single "Candy Paint" appeared on "The Fate of the Furious" soundtrack.
"I'm really proud of the kid, and what he's done for himself is amazing," Rich Post said.
Post said that his son has become extremely busy over the last couple of years, though he did make a trip to a family member's home in Lake Ontario last summer. He almost got to return to Syracuse in August to perform at Chevy Court, but the NYS Fair booked him for the same day as the VMAs in Los Angeles, and he ended up canceling and performed at a VMAs afterparty for his record label, Republic Records.
"It would've been a great opportunity for people who knew him -- childhood friends, babysitters, family friends -- to see him on stage," Post said.
Post said he and his wife would've come to the fair, too, and not just to see his son perform in their former hometown.
"I loved the New York State Fair. We used to go once with the kids, and once just us," Post said, adding that his favorite fair food was the pizza frittes.
DJ Khaled, who was booked for the day before the VMAs, also canceled his NYS Fair performance. They were replaced by Lynyrd Skynyrd and Kool & The Gang; Skynyrd, which replaced Post Malone, drew an afternoon record crowd of 28,400 to Chevy Court.
Some used the "Sweet Home Alabama" band as an opportunity to take a dig at Post Malone, predicting he couldn't have drawn as large a crowd. Comments on syracuse.com and Facebook, even when Malone hit No. 1 this week with "rockstar," disparaged his lyrics, his music and even his hair.
Rich Post wrote an impassioned defense of his son on Facebook:
"Like him or hate him, that's your choice. However, I lived in and called Syracuse my home for almost 20 years. Still own a home there. Still have family there and visit on a regular basis," he wrote. "I do believe that you have a right to your opinion, as you all have made apparent. For those of you who support him, thank you! As a parent it is always nice to see that people support what your child is doing...
"There are a lot of you who have commented negatively, for one reason or another. As I said, you certainly have your right to freedom of speech," he continued. "I'm specifically calling out those of you who are parents. I know you all hope your children find a passion in their life, be it sports, education music etc. I also hope that you all support whatever that is, as I supported my son. I also hope they find the success that my son has at whatever that passion is. In that you will find peace."
"What I also hope is that you never have to see the ignorant way that complete strangers take to their criticism of that passion. His music isn't for everyone but he is by no means trash or untalented. I would have hoped that Syracuse would have shown more support for one of their own..."
Post also thanked those who continue to support him, including friends and family who are still in the area.
And for the haters, he encouraged them to listen to more of Post Malone's unique-sounding music beyond the radio hits. Much of his album defies genre, and YouTube is filled with impressive live performances. Sure, his recent failed stage dive opened him up to ridicule -- which he laughed off by comparing himself to Jack Black in "School of Rock" -- but his cover of Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" will surprise you.
"If you don't understand it, give it another try," Post said.
Malone has also faced criticism in the past, such as being accused of appropriating African-Amerian culture and even a rumor that his "rich" parents helped him first get success by 50,000 of his songs on iTunes.
"My dad's not a baller! I have no idea where he'd get the money for that," Malone told the Los Angeles Times last year.
He even briefly faced hatred from Beliebers over a photo of himself choking Justin Bieber, but the pair later revealed it was a joke. Bieber then posted a picture of himself choking Malone, who was opening for Bieber on his mega-selling "Purpose" tour.
Malone has shrugged off the criticism and only gotten more successful, thanks in part to his loyal fans -- known as "Postmates." "Rockstar" debuted at No. 2 last month, has topped the Streaming Songs chart three times and pulled in 51.3 million U.S. streams for the week ending Oct. 12, according to Nielsen Music -- despite not having an actual music video yet.
And now "rockstar" is the No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and Malone is living like a rock star, celebrating the song's popularity by smashing a guitar on stage this week.
"Post is like the Donald Trump of hip-hop," Rob Stevenson, an executive at Republic Records, told the Times. "Things that should've killed his career have only made him bigger."
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