Post Malone took it very personally when people called him a “culture vulture” following the release of his viral track “White Iverson” in 2015.
In a new interview with CBS News Sunday Morning, the 29-year-old singer reflected on how he felt during the early days of his career when he was criticized for his look and sound that people thought was either an imitation or a form of mockery for Black artists.
“It sucked,” he said. “I was a kid.” He also revealed that he dealt with it by drinking profusely.
When asked if he took it personally, he did — but he kept writing songs anyway. “It’s not for people who hate you,” he admitted. “It’s for the people who love you, and for yourself, you know what I mean?”
Though Malone is one of the most popular artists on the planet with more than 40 billion streams right now, his “culture vulture” accusations have stained his career for nearly a decade.
In 2018, Malone spoke directly to the critics who have called him one during a performance at Miami’s LIV nightclub. During an unexpected intermission, he went all out, saying, “There’s a lot of people that wanted to talk down on me, and laugh at me, and call me a ‘culture vulture,’ and say that I don’t appreciate hip-hop, that I don’t do nothing for the culture and I always say, congratu-fucking-lations, man.”
“I guess this is me telling y’all to live your fucking best life, don’t listen to what the fuck nobody has to say about you,” he continued. “Because you are the fucking shit, and you can do whatever the fuck you want to do if you believe in your fucking self.”
In a GQ interview just a week before that, Malone denied claims that he was appropriating Blackness. He also clarified that he wasn’t trying to be a hip-hop artist, despite what many thought due to the style of songs like “White Iverson.”
“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 people who fuck with me as a person and as an artist will like.”
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