Austin Richard Post (born July 4, 1995), known professionally as Post Malone, is an American rapper,singer, songwriter and record producer. He has gained acclaim for blending musical genres including pop, trap and rock, his introspective songwriting, and his laconic vocal style. Born in Syracuse, New York and raised in Grapevine, Texas, Post first attained recognition in 2015 following the release of his debut single "White Iverson" which peaked in the top 20 on the US Billboard Hot 100. He subsequently earned a recording contract with Republic Records.

2011–2017: Career beginnings and Stoney

According to Post, he chose "Post Malone" as his stage name when he was 14 or 15. The name was rumored to be a reference to the professional basketball player Karl Malone, but Post later explained that "Post" is his last name, and he used a "rap name generator" to get "Malone". At 16, using Audacity, Post created his first mixtape, Young and After Them Riches. He showed it to some of his classmates at Grapevine High School. He was voted "Most Likely to Become Famous" by his classmates as a senior in high school. He worked at a Chicken Express as a teenager.
He enrolled in Tarrant County College but dropped out. After leaving college, Post moved to Los Angeles, California, with his longtime friend Jason Probst, a professional game streamer.
After moving to LA, Post, Probst, and several other producers and artists formed the music group BLCKVRD and recorded music together. Several members of the group, including Post, moved into a house in San Fernando Valley together. While living in San Fernando Valley, Austin met 1st Down of FKi. He met 1st and Rich from FKi and Rex Kudo who produced several of Post's tracks, including "White Iverson".[24] Post recorded the song two days after writing it."White Iverson" is, in part, a reference to the professional basketball player Allen Iverson. In February 2015, upon completion, it was uploaded to Post's SoundCloud account.On July 19, 2015, Post released a music video for "White Iverson". The single received praise from Mac Miller and Wiz Khalifa. However, the song was notoriously mocked by Earl Sweatshirt.