It's a hard life being a chart-topping, breakthrough, global megastar at the age of 22, with a mansion in LA and more money than you know what to do with. Or at least it is according to genre-bending, mulleted music man, Post Malone.
The young artist, who rose to fame on the back of crossover hit 'White Iverson', has been catapulted into the spotlight but spoke to GQ recently, claiming that it's a real 'struggle' to be white in the rap game.
"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," he said. "I make music that I like and I think that kicks ass, that I think the people who fuck with me as a person and as an artist will like."
Interviewer Bijan Stephen probed further with a couple of follow-up questions, but Malone's answers were far from comprehensive.
"Do you see that it's political to be a black rapper? Stephen asked.
"Yeah, yeah!" Malone replied. "I mean... shit."
"And you also recognise that there are separate struggles that go along with race, right?"
"Yeah," he replied, "of course."
Malone's comments haven't been taken kindly online. Many people have long been accusing him of using hip-hop as a vehicle to get fame and money, without having any respect for the history of the genre and the cultural significance that has always been tied to it.
"This whole convo is tired," said one commenter on Twitter. "Stop making rap music if it's so hard for you."
"Post Malone seems to be attempting to distance himself from hip-hop, like Miley, Kid Rock, Justin Timberlake and others do after using the culture to mature their image and gain prominence," observed another.
Advert
One Twitter user added: "I personally don't care about your opinion on hip-hop, but i do think it's very suspect to say what you did while also capitalising off the culture."
And this isn't the first time he's whipped up a shitstorm regarding his attitude toward the genre that made him.
HAD A BAD WEEK? AT LEAST YOU'RE NOT THESE GUYS:
In an interview with Polish media outlet Newonce in November, the rapper said: "If you're looking for lyrics, if you're looking to cry, if you're looking to think about life, don't listen to hip-hop."
His words were met with a backlash from the hip-hop community and beyond, but he responded, saying: "Never in my life did i expect to make one cent off of my music... it just so happened to turn out this way, and the fact that people like my music isn't my fault."
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: Hip-Hop, Music, Post Malone, US Entertainment