POST MALONE

from What's On Dubai - December 2022

EAT

On December 3, Rockstar rap impresario, Post Malone, will take to the stage at Etihad Park, (formally du Arena).

Real name Austin Post, Malone selected the second half of his stage moniker allegedly from a rap name generator. Back before his Rap Billboard number ones, Posty, an artist that most consistently cites Bob Dylan as his biggest influence, had already spent time playing guitar in a heavy metal band.

Seeking out new sound experiences, Malone went on to swap shred for dreads, and grew a devoted Soundcloud audience with his unique blend of hip hop, trap, alt rock, pop and electro. The genre-melting break-out hit on debut album Stoney, was 2017’s aspirational Congratulations, which features the artist rapping and singing over what would become signature trap drum loops.

The soulful hooks kept rolling on through his 2018 multiaward-winning second album, with Rockstar taking the US 100 number one spot. His third album Hollywood’s Bleeding dropped just a year later in 2019 and although it spins with a slightly more refined sound, that same skillful blending of musical styles threads through the track list. For a quick demo of audio diversity, channel your inner shuffle button and play singles Wow and Circles back-to-back, comparing musical notes.

Post Malone’s December 2022 performance won’t be the first time he’s lit up a Yas Island stage. He was here for 2018’s F1 Yasalam After-Race concerts, droppin’ bangers, and poppin’ shawarmas like a rockstar. His performance of Congratulations is always an emotional one, offering a pre-stardom snapshot of the Malone mindset.

It also includes the line ‘worked so hard forgot how to vacation’. And that hasn’t changed. In addition to the Herculean toil ethic that saw him put out three albums in three years, play tours, make podcast appearances, enjoy numerous ‘featured’ credits – the New York state native also somehow found time to take up acting roles in Guy Richie’s Wrath of Man, and Peter Berg’s Spenser Confidential. Still, we’d vote for his (five-time) collaboration with the pragmatic footwear brand, Crocs as his most rapper-expectation-defying behaviour.

One thing you can expect from a Post Malone concert though, is one epic show.

Etihad Park, Yas Island, December 3. Tickets via ticketmaster.ae and virginmegastore.ae.