Post Malone Research Portfolio by

3. Rise to fame and his inspirations

201715890 — 2025-09-30 16:38:02 UTC

Post Malone's journey to fame and decisions behind it is fundamental to understanding how he established his star image to reflect critical values to him such as authenticity and artistic fluidity and how he has remained rooted to his origins.

Brand Entrepreneur

201715890 — 2025-09-30 16:53:07 UTC

Becoming a brand entrepreneur was a typical move from celebrities, so Post Malone was following the trends of the time - unconventional of him. However, his scope of entrepreneurship reflected his creativity and fluidity as a star - covering beverages and fashion to comics (more niche to his passions)

'Rich Post'

201715890 — 2025-10-14 12:23:48 UTC

In this interview, Malone discusses the significant role that his father - Richard 'Rich' Post - played in establishing and shaping his early passion and roots in the music scene, and his genre-blurring vision. He connected to fans, as authentic and relatable, talking about his childhood and revealing facts like how his father (a DJ) put him “on everything ". This is strengthened by his statement that he "grew up appreciating music...and appreciating people that love music...and make music", clarifying that his musical journey is driven by passion and love for the industry not by fame and money.

Metal music roots

201715890 — 2025-10-14 13:26:02 UTC

Appearing on a live video chat, he revealed how his top early metal influences were formative influencers in him learning the guitar – determined to play like them. Their influence has remained rooted in his work, with subtly woven metal riffs in his guitar work throughout his career. This signifies authenticity and portrays Post Malone as still rooted in his values, not changed by fame - a constant reminder of where he started.

Kurt Cobain

201715890 — 2025-10-15 15:49:28 UTC

Cobain's, 'unique blend of angst, authenticity, and vulnerability' - which evolved the music scene of the 1990s - resonated to and inspired Post Malone. He encouraged unconventional, emotional, undefined creation and expression - influencing Post Malone in both his career and in his personal expression. But this indicates a lack of authenticity then in Post Malone’s identity – is it curated?

Significance of SoundCloud in Post Malone's emergence

201715890 — 2025-10-15 15:57:40 UTC

SoundCloud enabled Post Malone to ‘share music with potential audiences’ – both fans and music professionals - without all of the equipment, costs and connections that are often involved in this process. This is a ‘bottom up’, fan-driven, organic approach – adding to his credibility during his emergence into the music industry and potentially inspiring others to take a similar approach.

White Iverson (2015)

201715890 — 2025-10-15 19:44:15 UTC

White Iverson, released in 2015, was Post Malone's first official release and was the track that started his journey to becoming a star. It shaped him as a creative, emotional and authentic artist that is not limited by genre conventions. This musical portrayal matches his aesthetic and has remained with him throughout his career.

1. Musical Genre Fluidity

201715890 — 2025-10-15 19:46:58 UTC

Post Malone's boundary-defying musical range is central to his star image - appealing to wide range of demographics, demonstrating the extent of his artistic talents and allowing him to evolve creatively.

Claims he 'fits no single box'

201715890 — 2025-10-15 19:47:51 UTC

Post Malone's response to questions and critique about what genre his music belongs to was - as quoted - "I like everything...what I'm not into is boxes...there are no genres anymore". This sums up his unrestricted outlook on music, but also life as a whole.

Country (2024-present)

201715890 — 2025-10-15 19:49:09 UTC

'F-1 trillion' (2024) is his most recent album, and the one that demonstrates his biggest genre and style jump. This is because his transition into country music extends beyond just his musical versatility, becoming an artistic rebranding.

The clear change in visual direction is also reflected in the album cover, connotes peace and simplicity over his previous dramatic, dark covers.

2. Visual branding and iconography

201715890 — 2025-10-15 19:49:35 UTC

Post Malone's visual branding and iconography aligns with his artistic fluidity and evolving style - reinforcing these traits in the roots of his 'star image'.

Pop-rock (2019-2023)

201715890 — 2025-10-15 20:05:16 UTC

His album 'Austin' (2023) covers his most conventional tracks of the pop-rock genre, best marking this era. This is largely down to the instrumental shift towards guitar and bass and the heightened emotional vulnerability in his song writing. This, alongside the title's reference to his official name and casual album cover enhances and promotes authenticity in the tracks - and further, him as a musician.

Hip-Hop and Rap (2015-2018)

201715890 — 2025-10-15 20:06:16 UTC

Post Malone entered the music scene through the hip-hop and rap genre, evident in his first album, ‘Stoney (Deluxe)’ (2015). Beyond this, it also maps his stylistic range, the tracks varying in flow and emotion to support the lyrics for the intended emotive responsive. Similarly, the cover art indicates his musical elasticity not the genre (as conventional) – instead indicating contemplation with his head resting in his hands.

Fashion fluidity mirrors genre fluidity

201715890 — 2025-10-15 21:38:31 UTC

His fashion evolution has followed a similar course to his genre hybridity, symbolising his creativity and desire to experiment (yet always with hints of a western-style aesthetic). His correlated evolution between fashion and music is iconic and central to his star image, whilst also symbolising his stance of defying the norm and inspiring individuality.

Tattoos and grills

201715890 — 2025-10-15 21:54:59 UTC

While much of his appearance is ever-changing, Malone’s tattoos and grills remain his signature visual branding - becoming consistent visual cues to his identity. They signify that he is the same artist, behind all of the change. This may resonate with fans and sway them to follow and support Post Malone through all of his transformations as an artist.

'Culture vulture'

201715890 — 2025-10-16 10:10:12 UTC

Post Malone’s versatility has led to some criticism regarding his authenticity and intentions - particularly within the hip-hop/ rap community - with many calling him a 'culture vulture'.

This term is used to criticise him for adopting the ‘hip-hop aesthetics’ of braids and grills as a ‘cosplay’ to get into the music industry, until he had the resources and fan base to produce the music he wanted to.

Instagram presence

201715890 — 2025-10-16 17:19:13 UTC

Post Malone constantly transforms his Instagram aesthetic to align with the aesthetic of his current genre and style, suggesting that his account acts as a visual platform for his brand identity and public persona (not authentic).

This interpretation is also supported by the links in his bio, to his official shop; tour tickets; and big rig comic.

Authentic instagram?

201715890 — 2025-10-16 17:24:30 UTC

Casual posts such as this one contradict the public persona interpretation of his Instagram page, instead suggesting that he runs his account as an authentic, real, unfiltered portrayal of him – aligning with his authenticity as an artist instead of his musical branding. This portrayal fits the visionary archetype.

Album covers

201715890 — 2025-10-16 20:12:01 UTC

All of Post Malone’s album covers' signify the genre inspirations and emotional tone of the albums, so his discography is a visual reflection of his creative extent and experimentation as an artist in music and in determining his performative identity.

"Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" (2018)

201715890 — 2025-10-16 20:37:54 UTC

Post Malone's collaborative track with Swae Lee - Sunflower (2018) - was his first crossover into the film industry. This marked one of first milestones as a major celebrity, associating his identity with a massive global franchise and appealing to a new, mass audience.

4. Brand extensions outside of music

201715890 — 2025-10-16 20:48:11 UTC

After Post Malone had built a solid, reputable status in the music field, he expanded his brand beyond these dimensions - further diversifying and enhancing his visibility.

'Post Malone'

201715890 — 2025-10-18 18:01:56 UTC

'Post Malone' is a stage name which 'Austin Richard Post' has gone by his entire career, separating his artistic, musical identity from his personal life. Releasing 'White Iverson' under his pseudonymous name meant that his career and self-branding was created around ‘Post Malone’. Whilst is adds a distinct element, differentiating himself from a lot of other celebrities, arguably, it does take some authenticity away from his identity.

Advocate for mental health and addiction conversations

201715890 — 2025-10-21 11:46:28 UTC

Echoing his emotional transparency and authenticity, Post Malone uses his platform to advocate for awareness and destigmatise mental health and substance abuse, encouraging his fans to speak out about their own issues and to be there for others through theirs.

His problems with alcohol

201715890 — 2025-10-21 11:59:30 UTC

On this show, Malone responds to the question "Are you sober now?" with "No sir, I am responsible now". He then opens up more, talking about his journey with his alcohol abuse, even how this impacted his musical career. He states that he uses his music not to bring people down, but to express how he feels – reflective of his persona.

Guidance for his fans

201715890 — 2025-10-21 12:20:03 UTC

A lot of Post Malone's tracks are created around sad, vulnerable emotional resonance. He covers a range of topics including heartbreak; addiction; and anxiety - relatable to a wide scope of listeners. From this, it can be interpreted that a vast amount of his fans would be able to relate to and hopefully get a sense of hope from hearing his experience and advice.

Concert persona

201715890 — 2025-10-21 12:25:08 UTC

There has been discussion on social media a number of times throughout his career, as to whether he may be facing substance abuse issues - based on his odd behaviours on stage such as 'slurring his words, rolling his eyes back, and stumbling'.

Responding to this, in Memphis, Tennessee (2020) he said “I feel fucking fantastic and I’m not doing drugs”.

Concert footage

201715890 — 2025-10-21 12:47:43 UTC

This TikTok demonstrates Post Malone's concerning behaviour on stage, flooded with comments of concern such as ‘are we literally watching Post Malone die before our eyes?’ and 'he really needs help and it's really hard to watch this :/'.

If he was in fact struggling in silence, it would challenge his identity as an advocate for talking about issues - taking some authenticity away from his values.

His experience of depression

201715890 — 2025-10-21 18:16:25 UTC

In this interview into Post Malone's personal dealings with depression, he discusses how music pulled him out and gave some advice to audiences going through similar things - ‘there’s a trillion billion lonely people in the world and I just want to say that there’s always someone who fucking loves you and you don’t have to be scared to talk about it’. This represents him as an authentic, relatable artist who gets it.

Signed with Republic Records

201715890 — 2025-10-21 18:54:52 UTC

In this article, and as summarised in this screenshot, Post Malone's sign to Republic Records label elevated his career, allowing him to maintain creative control but access to their high-end resources and connections - ehancing his status and identity in the industry.

Music collaborations

201715890 — 2025-10-21 19:00:41 UTC

This article acknowledges the wide span of Post Malone's musical collaborations, with artists across a range of genres - aligning with his free and genre-defying style so amplifying this as his identity. It is also a professional strategy, with his collaborative artists acting as genre bridges in helping him broaden his reach and creativity whilst solidifying his postition as a 'star'.

Maison No.9 rosé

201715890 — 2025-10-21 19:19:59 UTC

Post Malone released his rosé brand - Maison No. 9 - stemming from his love for the Mediterranean lifestyle and rosé. This coheres with his persona and demographic, but could be questioned given his openly addressed struggles with alcohol - negatively impacting his emotional branding

Official signature

201715890 — 2025-10-21 19:23:59 UTC

Signing his rosé brand using his official signature, as 'Austin Richard Post' not Post Malone, makes it seem more authentic and personal to him - linking to his personal struggles (rather than 'Post Malone's) with alcohol. This could also be interpreted the other way in that, it is irresponsible of him to release an alcoholic brand, when he was not yet sober - a negative view from fans who related to his alcohol abuse and were inspired by his openness about it.

Posty's

201715890 — 2025-10-22 17:09:39 UTC

Post Malone owns and [has created] a live music venue and bar 'designed around the honky tonk grit and country soul'. His ownership and creation around this stems from his musical transition into the country genre - so is an extension of his star identity. This promotes authenticity between Post Malone and the 'country' lifestyle, whilst allowing him to reach more fans within that genre through his bar.

Big Rig Comic

201715890 — 2025-10-23 10:59:16 UTC

His comic 'Big Rig' is a creative extension of his story-telling talent, beyond the music industry, turning to an entirely new demographic. This enhances his star image as the comic still connotes his signature qualities of creativity, emotional resonance and fluidity (this time across mediums). Moreover, the truck image connotes his current country direction.

Post Malone merchandise

201715890 — 2025-10-23 11:12:49 UTC

Post Malone's merchandise has evolved over his career to align with and represent his current genre direction - a material extension of his public persona. This further showcases his fluidity in both music and fashion, whilst expanding his shop appeal but it does also indicate commercial capitalisation- usually profit-driven rather than authentic. It also takes away the novelty and exclusivity of concert merchandise as you can buy them online.

'Austin Post' fashion label

201715890 — 2025-10-23 11:33:41 UTC

Post Malone's western, country style is reiterated in his Austin Post collection, another visual extension of his branding and identity. There is a large sense of authenticity in this collection, priced below luxury labels because he wants them to be enjoyed and produced under his official name, suggesting a personal link to this product. The personal element would enhance an sense of intimacy from buyers to Post Malone.

Brand partnerships

201715890 — 2025-10-23 11:40:16 UTC

The majority of Post Malone's brand partnerships are with non-luxury brands - unconventional of celebrities and another example of him 'going against the grain'. This highlights his authenticity and relatability, giving him a grounded image, whilst providing non-luxury brands with large visibility and endorsements through his fans.

Post Malone x Stanley 1913 (2025)

201715890 — 2025-10-23 12:41:08 UTC

Stanley 1913 released a limited edition collection with Post Malone, the tumblers featuring a western theme oof camouflage and brown colours with tassels and leather - a product reflection of his country rebranding. With the whole collection sold out, even with a two tumbler limit per customer, and a huge waitlist, this collaboration signifies his stellar celebrity status and vast fan engagement with his career moves.

2019 Private Jet arrest

201715890 — 2025-10-23 13:04:47 UTC

Post Malone faced some character criticism from this, with people questioning his judgement and making jokes about 'his rockstar lifestyle' - questioning the barrier between his personal and performative identity. When he simply apologised for the mistake, his honesty and authenticity was met with a lot of forgiveness.

Making a difference

201715890 — 2025-10-23 13:09:23 UTC

Exploring this statement in looking at Post Malone, since raising awareness and money aligns with his values and desire to engage with and help fans - empathising from his own life struggles - there is more indication to his involvement coming from a genuine place, with good intentions.

Global Citizen Festival 2024

201715890 — 2025-10-23 13:14:56 UTC

Performing at the Global Citizen Festival, which 'aims to drive urgent action on some of the world's most pressing policy demands' positions Post Malone as artist that wants to use their status and platform to make a different - helping tackle issues.

'Sesh' investment

201715890 — 2025-10-23 13:22:07 UTC

Linking to his own smoking addiction and assumingly, a large portion of his fans, Post Malone has invested 'Sesh's' nicotine pouch startup, striving to safer, smoke-free alternatives. This is very in line with Post Malone's brand and identity.

'The Challenge' Festival and Fundraiser 2025

201715890 — 2025-10-23 13:28:10 UTC

Headlining a festival that promotes mental health and celebrates the non-profit partners that are around 'putting the mental health of future generations first' is very on brand for Post Malone. It is consistent with and resonates with his own mental health struggles and advocacy for more awareness and conversation around it.

$1 million charitable donation

201715890 — 2025-10-23 13:33:00 UTC

He asked his fans for help in choosing the charities to donate to, giving them "the chance to give to charities that mean something to them". This, whilst a generous and self-less act, also showcases Post Malone's emotional integrity and resonance with his fans.

X presence

201715890 — 2025-10-23 13:39:09 UTC

Post Malone uses the platform X as a professional platform, assumingly ran by his management not him. This is because it only consists of career-related posts and formal posts regarding donations and awareness of issues. It lacks the authentic and casual tone of his Instagram and Twitch account.

Twitch presence

201715890 — 2025-10-23 13:49:17 UTC

Post Malone streams Hunt: Showdown 1896 - a shooter stimulation in western style - reflecting his transition to into the country genre. His streams appeal to a niche musical demographic - gamers - who look for authenticity and relatability in celebrities, two crucial elements to Post Malone's star image.

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Gaming for Love (2022)

201715890 — 2025-10-24 09:45:29 UTC

Post Malone partnered up with some other celebrities to use his Twitch platform and passion for gaming to raise money for charity - using his status to make a difference. The intimate form of raising money was based on authenticity and transparency, a personal act. This was enhanced by his emotional response to the amount raised when he ended the stream.

Move to LA

201715890 — 2025-10-24 10:05:11 UTC

Within his unique, personal professional journey, Malone's move to LA was one of the most conventional, career-driven strategies he made in solidifying his position in the music industry and as a rising celebrity.

Family man

201715890 — 2025-10-24 10:41:40 UTC

Post Malone has remained very private about his relationships throughout his career, with many fans shocked to learn he has a fiancée and child. His choice to lead a normal family life away from the cameras shows that he is still firm in his roots, not changed by fame, and wants the same for his family.

Bud Light partnership

201715890 — 2025-10-24 10:46:12 UTC

This comedic, lifestyle commercial is one of the many collaborations between Post Malone and Bud Light, demonstrating their clear celebrity-brand alignment. The relatable, authentic and unique chill of Post Malone's persona is a good representation of the Bud Light brand, and they share similar audiences.

Crocs collaboration (2018-2020)

201715890 — 2025-10-24 10:46:27 UTC

Post Malone and Crocs has released five different ranges of collaborations, expanding in creativity and the unique style that is pivotal to Malone as the series' go on. Whilst this represents a similar journey to Post Malone's career - enhancing creativity overtime - it also reflects his elevating status and the sell-out attention that their collaboration got, with fans wanting more.

Losing fans due to genre fluidity

201715890 — 2025-10-24 11:41:05 UTC

This comment on reddit represents Post Malone's original fans who liked his hip-hop/ rap music and feel 'disconnected' and 'let down' now that he has taken a direction, as if they have been left behind. This contradicts the relatable, genuine and inclusive identity in which Post Malone tries to portray and suggests an element of neglection for his fans.

Reddit fan post

201715890 — 2025-10-24 11:51:27 UTC

This post shows an authentic interaction between Post Malone and a fan. The caption 'One of the coolest and most genuine people' and the casual, personal image of Post Malone on a fan's shoulders portrays him as a friendly, down-to-earth celebrity, as if were a random man at a pub - which perfectly fits with the rest of his public persona.

Meet and greet 'shoe' interaction

201715890 — 2025-10-24 11:53:23 UTC

This video was filmed and posted by a fan, showing Post Malone in the kind, wholesome act of signing his shoes and giving them to a fan. His fan intimacy and generosity is crucial to his image and these interactions uphold it and enhance the credibility of these character values.

Post Malone's impact on the music industry

201715890 — 2025-10-30 20:34:28 UTC

Post Malone's genre fluidity and unique sound inspires and promotes an industrial move towards unlimited creativity and authenticity, diminishing the boundaries and traditions of musical genres

Celebrity interaction on social media

201715890 — 2025-10-30 20:42:40 UTC

Could change his TikTok profile to enhance his star image

201715890 — 2025-10-30 20:46:13 UTC

Conventional of celebrities to expand into sub-industries

201715890 — 2025-10-30 21:08:25 UTC

Conventional of celebrities in the 21st century to extend beyond the entertainment industry

201715890 — 2025-10-30 21:12:33 UTC

SoundCloud platform

201715890 — 2025-10-30 21:14:50 UTC

Post Malone - an 'achieved celebrity'

201715890 — 2025-10-30 21:19:46 UTC

Definition of a 'prosumer'

201715890 — 2025-10-30 21:23:28 UTC