Post Malone at The Town: See what the show will be like
Post Malone is the only rapper among The Town’s headliners. It closes the first day of the São Paulo festival on September 2nd. This achievement is thanks to a more melodic rap, mixed with rock and pop, with lyrics about relationships, fame and oppression.
- See Post Malone’s possible setlist at The Town at the end of the text
Austin Richard Post, real name of the 28yearold American singer, is one of the new names in rap that most appeals to the young Generation Z, born between 95 and 2010.
At Rock in Rio 2022 it was perhaps the most charismatic international attraction. He spoke to the public, invited fans to play guitar, wore a Flamengo shirt and even fell to show that he is people like us.
The show at The Town should have the same relaxed and unpretentious atmosphere. New songs are from the current album “Austin”. The album has a sound even closer to poprock, with arrangements that are a little more melancholic than those of the previous works.
But of course the older songs that made Post famous are also included, such as “Sunflower,” the soundtrack to the animated film “SpiderMan: Into the Aranhaverse” (2018).
1 of 6 Post Malone on day 2 of Rock in Rio 2022 Photo: Bruna Prado/AP Post Malone on day 2 of Rock in Rio 2022 Photo: Bruna Prado/AP
At Rock in Rio 2022, Post Malone needed almost nothing to hold the audience back. In one hand a drink and a cigarette, in the other the microphone. That alone was enough for the American singer to cause hysteria among an audience many of whom were born after the 2000s.
For about an hour and a half of the show, he had the audience singing hits like “Circles” from the album “Hollywood’s Bleeding” (2019) with their eyes closed in heavy rain. Songs from his most recent album “Twelve Carat Toothache” (2022), such as “Wrapped around your fingers”, were also released.
On stage he talked to the audience about his songs, lit one cigarette after another and performed strange dances. He felt like an old friend visiting his home.
Then, during an acoustic section of the setlist, he called a fan on stage to play guitar on “Stay,” as he had done at his last few shows. It was singer Theo Kant from Niterói (RJ) who posted a sign asking to be a support musician for the rapper.
In “Rockstar” he broke the same guitar. Another old trick. Everything fits together in the rapper’s show so that he maintains his reputation as a good, humble person. The goal was achieved.
2 of 6 Post Malone sings during a show at Lollapalooza 2019 Photo: Fábio Tito/G1 Post Malone sings during a show at Lollapalooza 2019 Photo: Fábio Tito/G1
Similar speeches were heard at Lollapalooza in São Paulo in 2019. Post invited Rio MC Kevin O Chris to the premiere here, who sang “vamos pra Gaiola” and “Ela é do type”.
He also enjoys making snide jokes, with one sometimes saying during the acoustic set: “If someone needs to pee, now is the time because that’s the most boring part of the show.”
In 2018, when he was not yet headlining festivals, Post sang on one of the smaller stages of the American festival Coachella, in a show that was seen by him g1.
Every suppressed speech was celebrated by young people, mostly white, and spilled more beer than at any other show at the popular California festival.
“I’m too fat to do this shit for you,” Post said midway through the show.
3 of 6 Post Malone at the 2018 Super Bowl party in Minneapolis Photo: Omar Vega/Invision/AP Post Malone at the 2018 Super Bowl party in Minneapolis Photo: Omar Vega/Invision/AP
“I’m very drunk,” he later warned. In the end, he complained about critics who had already called him a “onehit wonder” and that he had chosen hiphop just because it was “fashionable.”
Journalists from the websites Pitchfork and All Music, the magazines “NME” and “Rolling Stone” and the newspaper “The Guardian” exploded: Everything in the Post was being pushed beyond measure.
From country and “Minecraft” to rap rock
The rapper (“I’m not a rapper, I’m an artist,” he always corrects)… The artist wanted to be a country singer when he was 10 years old. As a teenager, he had a metal cover band and was a Minecraft YouTuber before applying his Gogó to hiphop.
In the same hoarse, tired voice, he announced orders for fried chicken from Chicken Express, a Texas fastfood chain. “I only worked there because I wanted to save $800 to buy some Versace shoes,” he explained.
4 of 6 Post Malone on day 2 of Rock in Rio 2022 Photo: Bruna Prado/AP Post Malone on day 2 of Rock in Rio 2022 Photo: Bruna Prado/AP
Austin was born in Syracuse, New York and spent his childhood in Dallas. From there he moved to Los Angeles, where he lived in a YouTuber’s house.
But where does the name Post Malone come from? The nickname comes from a rapper name generator. After coming up with his nickname, he teamed up with Los Angeles producers and recorded “White Iverson”, which was released on February 4, 2015.
Post gained attention for saying he was “the white version” of NBA star Allen Iverson. It was praised by Wiz Khalifa and went viral on SoundCloud. With this selfhomage he managed to share stages and songs with Justin Bieber (“Déjà Vu”) and Pharrell Williams (“Up There”).
5 of 6 Joe Perry, Steven Tyler and Post Malone together on the VMA 2018 stage Photo: Portal/Lucas Jackson Joe Perry, Steven Tyler and Post Malone together on the VMA 2018 stage Photo: Portal/Lucas Jackson
Post has maintained a relationship with rock since the days he took part in Guitar Hero 2. The 2019 album “Hollywood’s Bleeding” has a slightly heavy electronic indie rock sound with Ozzy Osbourne and some arrangements reminiscent of the Strokes.
There is also a rocker pose that doesn’t care about looks. “On Halloween, fans dress like me. It’s simple: just dress like a person living on the streets.”
Bon Scott of AC/DC and Jim Morrison of The Doors are mentioned in “Rockstar”. Tommy Lee of Mötley Crüe is one of the composers of “Over Now”.
6 of 6 Anthony Kiedis (left) of the band Red Hot Chili Peppers and Post Malone performs at the 2019 Grammys Photo: Matt Sayles/Invision/AP Anthony Kiedis (left) of the band Red Hot Chili Peppers and Post Malone performs at the 2019 Grammys Photo: Matt Sayles/Invision/AP
There are also rock covers that he has already played. The website TMZ published videos of Post drunkenly singing Elvis in Nashville. He was then seen playing the guitar and shouting “Don’t look back in anger” to the tune of “Volta Oasis.” In 2020, he gave a live performance playing exclusively Nirvana.
Today he prefers “Call of Duty” instead of “Guitar Hero”. After all, he has a large collection of weapons: he had one under (!) every (!!) pillow on his bed. Are many.
When Rolling Stone magazine visited his home, it also found little glamour: the rooms were littered with crushed beer cans.
Release Malone’s possible setlist at The Town
- Better now
- Wow.
- Zack and codeine
- Psycho
- Goodbye
- Hollywood Dreams/Comedown
- Grief
- I Like You (A Happier Song)
- Jonestown (interlude)
- Take what you want
- Over now
- Rock star
- Feel Whitney
- Remain
- Overdrive
- I’m falling apart
- Wrapped around your finger
- Circles
- Enough is enough
- Too young
- White Iverson
- congratulations
- Broken whiskey glass
- Sunflower
- chemical