The shift from Post Malone the rapper to Post Malone the country superstar was extremely jarring. Initially, you have a white Texan with cornrows declaring himself as “White Iverson” over ethereal production. Eventually, he shifts some of his rapping tendencies to a broader, neutral sense of pop stardom. Then, with his tattooed face, the artist born Austin Post embraced his country music side, collaborating more with Morgan Wallen than 21 Savage.However, despite the raw aesthetics, he always had an affinity for country tunes. Songs like “Feeling Whitney” and “Stay” were teasers of an artist who identified with Garth Brooks and Brad Paisley just as much as he loved Migos and Chief Keef. Consequently, anyone paying attention to Post’s album cuts knew that he always wanted to channel his inner Willie Nelson.Post Malone Shied Away From The Rapper Label Early On in His CareerAdditionally, Post Malone is on record trying to shed the rapper label. In a 2018 interview with GQ, he shrugged at the idea that anyone should fixate on genres at all. “It should just be music, you know?” Post told the interviewer. “Because I’ve met so many people that’ll say, ‘I listen to everything except for this, or this,’ you know? And I think that’s stupid. If you like it, you should listen to it.”The interviewer pressed a little further. At the time, it was obvious that when he wasn’t toting a guitar, he was influenced by hip-hop and Black music as a whole. So they asked plainly: “Do you, Post Malone, ever feel anxious about working in a primarily black-identified genre of music?”From there, Post talked about the plight of the white rapper. But that’s when he admitted that “rapper” wasn’t the label he ever wanted for himself, despite how the music sounded. “I definitely feel like there’s a struggle being a white rapper. But I don’t want to be a rapper. I just want to be a person that makes music,” Post Malone stressed. “I make music that I like, and I think that kicks a**, that I think the people who f*** with me as a person and as an artist will like.”By the end of the interview, Post was in a complex spot, acknowledging that being a Black rapper and race as a whole is more than just making music. Fast forward eight years, and the rapper turned country crooner cultivated a strong relationship with Nashville and didn’t look back.The post Post Malone Was Hinting at Genre Fluidity Long Before He Switched From Rap to Country: ‘I Make Music That I Like’ appeared first on VICE.