"Genre is stupid," Post Malone once said. "I just want to make music that I like to make." The 22-year-old star has found fame as a rapper while simultaneously distancing himself from the rap genre, which has made him a genuinely divisive figure in the hip-hop world. The man born Austin Post is likely unconcerned about that sort of thing. When he's asked about his influences and favourite artists, Malone routinely drops such wide-ranging names as Hank Williams, Father John Misty, and A$AP Ferg. Spend a few minutes poking around YouTube, and you'll find videos of him covering songs by everyone from Kanye West to Metallica to Nirvana. It's not so much that Malone won't stick to his lane—he just refuses to pick one. Post Malone plays Rogers Arena on Friday (April 27).

ADDICTED TO INK. Post Malone’s face is the first indicator that the guy has a thing for tattoos. You know that someone’s all in on the inked front when they start going Lil Wayne and using their face as a moving canvas. If Malone’s parents are disappointed that he's not happy with the skin God gave him, they can thank Justin Bieber. When the Biebs—no stranger to tattoos himself—brought Post Malone onboard for his Purpose World Tour in 2016, their friendship opened up a whole new colourful world. After asking if getting tattooed hurt, and being told no, Malone decided to find out for himself. His first tattoo was the Playboy Bunny logo, which, to this day, looks like something done in a back alley by a drunk sailor working with a dull needle and a Bic pen for the ink. (Apparently Malone then hit the basketball court with Bieber not realizing that you don’t do anything physical until a tattoo has healed up. Because some memories aren’t to be messed with, he’s never bothered having things touched up.) Subsequent tatties have included everything from grizzly bears and Johnny Cash to (pretty fucking cool) knuckle tattoos of artists that include John Lennon, Kurt Cobain, and Elvis Presley. At one point Malone suggested that he might get a sword tattooed on his face, but today only has a barbed-wire motif on his forehead and Stay Away above his right eyebrow. No word yet on whether he’s gone the Rob Rotten route with his dong.

CRABCORE FOREVER! As anyone who can spot the common thread running through Attila, Option 30, and World Class Wreckin’ Cru knows, few artists hit the big time without taking a while to find their footing. Post Malone is no exception. Back in his Clearasil years when still known as Austin Post he auditioned to play guitar with Crown The Empire, legend having it he didn’t get the job because he broke his guitar strings. (Really? Like they wouldn’t have given him a chance to restring?) Proving he’s got a thing for metalcore there’s earlier footage of Malone ripping through Asking Alexandria’s “The Final Episode [Let’s Change Channel]” with his high-school band. Watch closely, and you’ll see the future Post Malone busting moves ripped from The Attack Attack! Crabcore Playbook. 

At some point all that headbanging must have tired the guitarist out, because by his late teens he was dabbling in bedroom electronica with a keyboard setup that should make Sally Anne shoppers green with envy....

 ...and then later covering Bob Dylan while making like a man who can’t wait to play Bonnaroo.

DIRTY WHITE BOY. His scruffy, unkempt image has led basically the entire Internet to speculate that Malone has a severe soap allergy and could give Robert Pattinson serious competition in the body-odour department. You wouldn't expect the guy to care what anyone thinks about his personal hygiene, but Malone clearly does, and has taken to Twitter to set the record straight on whether or not he smells like a combination of unwashed gym socks, your cat's litter box, and the Number 20 Victoria bus in rush hour. 

https://twitter.com/PostMalone/status/861814721917407232

https://twitter.com/PostMalone/status/820307516676411400

And as for dental hygiene, here's Malone's take: 

https://twitter.com/PostMalone/status/842714611447091200

DEAD END. Post Malone might be unafraid of his critics, but he is, apparently, terrified of ghosts. A fan of the show Ghost Hunters—a paranormal investigation show he says he’s watched since he was a child—the rapper featured on an episode earlier this year. Placed alone in a dark, haunted room, Malone is filmed reacting to noises that he can’t explain, and “sweating profusely”, despite the temperature being cold. The rapper describes feeling someone jabbing him in the neck, and watches as a presenter of the show becomes possessed by an otherworldly energy. According to instruments that record what the spirits are saying, Malone is “dirty”, and they’re “really afraid”—which probably makes him the first rapper to be roasted by a ghost.

COMEDY KING. Back when Austin Post was still using his government name, the performer dropped out of college. Lacking a place to stay, he figured the best option would be to move to Los Angeles, and crash in a buddy’s closet. There, he found his first on-camera success. Together with three associates, Malone starred on a YouTube channel that featured the amigos playing Minecraft, and acting in short comedy skits. Sure, only die-hard fans and 12 year-old-boys will find it funny—but the videos offer an endearing glimpse behind the artist’s tatted rap persona.