Post Malone is one of the most influential rap and hip hop superstars in 2020. Post Malone easily has one of the most unique names, unique sounds, and unique personalities in the musical industry. He can sell out arenas and cause viral trends to happen overnight that influence people all over the world.
Originally from Syracuse, New York, he is a born and bred America who fit the cliché of your stereotypical white guy—six feet tall, dark hair, and chill personality. He draws on a range of musical genres for his inspiration. Many compare his music to be a fusion of cultures that pay homage to the African American, Jamaican, and Puerto Rican communities—creating a unique rap and hip hop style that encourages people to bond together rather than stay siloed in their own communities.
Right now, Post Malone is on top. He is absolutely dominating the music scene and being an all around trend-setter. For example, The Guardian explains that it was Post Malone who made the “ugly shoe” known as Crocs cool again thanks to his own collaboration. The limited edition sold out in 10 minutes and rumor has it that Madonna herself could not snag herself a pair in time!
But before we dive into how Post Malone started the Croc trend and become such a trend-setter, we must first look back on his rise to becoming a powerhouse rap celebrity.
His humble beginnings
Post Malone led a standard middle-class childhood until he became a superstar as a young adult. He lived in both New York and Texas as a child and as a result, had exposure to a whole range of music. Post Malone started out being drawn to soft metal music at the very beginning of his musical career. He apparently learned a lot of his musical skills from playing video games like Guitar Hero! He never went into music wanting to become one of the most successful rap and hip hop artists of his generation. He just loved music and know that he wanted to pursue it and become a master of it. And it was that pure love for music that led him to create his unique mix of hip hop, country, and R&B styles into original hits that top all the music charts!
Creating the ultimate persona
As GQ puts it, Post Malone is best described as being a happy, chaotic, and chill (from being drunk on beer) personality. This lovable persona mixed with mad skills has launched him into being the ultimate influencer. He has never once been described as being a shy person and is someone who openly gives his honest opinion. This is a huge factor in why he has the credibility he has now with fans—he isn’t perceived as a puppet corporation can control—he speaks his open and honest opinion with no sugar coating! Just last year Spotify announced he was the most-streamed artist of 2019, at a mere 24 years old! But what really makes his persona so charming as a successful superstar is that he isn’t obsessed with just the lux life. He enjoys cheap indulgences like Crocs, Doritos, and Bud Light beer! While he gets to go to all these A-list parties in Hollywood, he equally enjoys the small joys in life that the average person can also afford, making him all the more relatable!
Authentic and honest are his two main policies
Post Malone is going to always be Post Malone. And he has nothing to be ashamed of. That’s why many argue he is happy to sing about personal experiences in his lyrics and be upfront with his fans. He has shared his soul with the world, discussing struggles of quitting substances like marijuana, drinking too much, and partying too much. He also isn’t ashamed to say that Hollywood was too much for him, which is why he decided to retreat to Utah in a countryside mansion. He loves the quiet pace of life in nature so much that he’s even built his own recording studio in his house, so he can minimize the time he spends in L.A. And he is the first to admit he also never thought he would make it in the music industry, only originally moving to L.A. to pursue a professional gaming career rather than ambitions of making it as a rap superstar!
Perfectly set up to be a trendsetter
According to Forbes, Post Malone is worth an estimated $60 million dollars as of June 2020. Before Covid caused all concerts to be postponed, he earned a whopping $1.3 million in every city he performed in! This makes him easily one of the most highly paid musicians in the world! When a celebrity is worth that much, it is normally all the luxury brands that come running their way to sign collaboration deals to sell products. But Post Malone, staying true to Post Malone, decided to collaborate with Crocs—a shoe that was deemed as ugly as the UGGs. The shoe was so popular it literally sold out in a matter of minutes. Think about it, a shoe that people made fun of quickly became the most sought after shoe! It isn’t because Crocs changed anything about their shoe. It is because Post Malone was now an open supporter of their brand, so naturally, his fans would now be too! But Crocs aren’t the only thing that Post Malone has made popular. He also recently teamed up with Bud Light Seltzer on an endorsement deal. Everything Post Malone makes trendy comes naturally and authentically, which really is the main reason for all his success!
So when we dive into the question, did Post Malone cause the trend with Crocs? The answer is simple—absolutely yes! Before Post Malone came along, Crocs was named one of the worst inventions and fashion blogs pleaded with readers to not invest in them. But then came Post Malone’s fans, who unapologetically embraced lame products like Crocs because of the comfort it provided and the cool factor that Post Malone had brought back to the brand.
The shoe collaboration was quite simple and stayed true to the original design of crocs—with a Post Malone design element incorporated into it.
It is funny when you think about Post Malone’s journey. He started out as a humble middle class kid with dreams of being a gamer. His journey then took a massive twist that catapulted him to becoming a popular musician and celebrity—to the point that Post Malone needed to retreat to nature to escape the demands and pressure of fame. And now, Post Malone is a style guru. Making the ugly and unsalvageable Crocs the hottest must-have item for every single person!
It makes you wonder if Post Malone does a collaboration with another brand, what will happen next? Will it sell out as quickly as the Crocs? Will people like Madonna take to social media to plead for some too? Will the cool element be transferrable to any product that Post Malone collaborates with or endorses?
When we look at history, the answer is most definitely yes. If Post Malone can make Crocs cool, he can quite literally make anything cool!
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