From The Vaults E09: Post Malone

CFMU’s videographer Aaron and I had the chance to hangout with Post Malone after his set at McMaster's Welcome Week 2017. By his real name, Austin was a bit sweaty, and pretty “high on life” which I think is a pretty fair visual for his set as well. First year and upper year students were losing their minds at this mega-celebrity performing right on JHE field in the heart of McMaster’s campus.

He was eager to get out and explore the Hamilton bar scene but regardless of his management/publicity team telling us that we only had 3 minutes, he took his time chatting with us, just 22-year old to 22-year old. 

Sitting on a couch with a guy who was besties with Bieber and went double-platinum on his debut album was slightly intimidating at first but once I reminded him (and myself) that the crowd he had just performed to was actually the same age as him, the vibe became a lot more laid back. He actually had more in common with Aaron and I than we imagined and shared some advice for new students coping with change including the honest and simple fact that it’s something everyone has to go through. He didn’t hold back when giving us an earful about eating our vegetables either. 

According to Post Malone, if you’re going to dip it in ranch, you may as well just eat a chip.

His buddies were joking around and poking fun at his answers to my questions while we all shared laughs in a tour bus greenroom that I’ll honestly always look back on as one of my favourite moments at McMaster. One of his friends even proudly rocked a McMaster scarf and MSU Campus Events hat that had been left as a gift for them.

Chatting about Austin’s music, he admitted that sometimes he does face pressure to define himself a certain way and come up with the next big hit. One of my favourite things about his career was how he started with music by learning to play guitar on Guitar Hero. He has a completely unique identity that I don’t see budging for the mainstream anytime soon. In reference to going double platinum, his cheeky response was, “they gave me a plaque and everything, so I told them I needed another one!” 

As far as music taste goes, we found out that he’s a fan of Hamilton’s own, Arkells, and offered him an invite to return for Mac HOCO anytime. In the bloopers of this interview were some hilarious outtakes of us all debating the use of ranch dip with vegetable trays. You wouldn’t think a conversation about raw vegetables would last as long as it did… but the man had a lot to say! According to Post Malone, if you’re going to dip it in ranch, you may as well just eat a chip. I think the biggest takeaway was that even Post Malone can have a laugh when carrot sticks get caught in his long unruly hair and overall, he’s just a twenty year old having fun like a lot of us were that night. 

Post Malone just released his Sophomore album Beerbongs & Bentleys earlier this spring and continues to rise in popularity. Having him at McMaster was an absolute treat!

- Rachel Connell, CFMU Community Outreach Coordinator 2017-2018

Photographs by Aaron Daniel Films