When the tracklist for Taylor Swift’s 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, dropped, fans were surprised to see rapper and walking-ball-of-sunshine Post Malone listed as a collaborator on one of the tracks. As the two artists seem to fall in completely different musical camps, Swifties and anticipating listeners of TTPD are wondering more about their bond and how they became friends.

When Did Taylor Post and Post Malone Meet?

Taylor and Post met backstage at an award show circa 2018, and the Eras tour artist praised Post and his hit song of the year, “Better Now.”

A video of Taylor and Post’s initial interaction hit social media, and the “Marjorie” songwriter was heard saying, “‘Better Now’ is so insane. I’m so jealous of that song, that hook.”

“We were just passing by and she was like, ‘Oh my God! Nice to see you. ‘Better Now’ is f–king amazing!’” Post recalled while appearing on The Howard Stern Show in October 2023. “And I was like, ‘What?’ That’s f–king crazy, you’re a great f–king songwriter! Thank you so very much.’”

Who Is Your Favorite Collaborator on Taylor Swift’s TTPD?

He continued, “There’s so many beautiful artists in the world and for another artist to acknowledge that is a really, really bitching thing. It’s a really special thing. That was a really cool moment and it was very inspiring.”

How Did Taylor Swift and Post Malone Become Friends?

The Hollywood’s Bleeding artist dished to Howard Stern that he started hanging out with Taylor thereafter, revealing, “She is genuinely one of the most kind and considerate and a f–king hell of a songwriter. Holy s–t, amazing.”

If he didn’t have more gushing things to say, Post quipped, “It’s f–king so cool. It’s so cool.”

Taylor Swift and Post Malone Collaborated for ‘The Tortured Poets Department’

Taylor announced her highly anticipated The Tortured Poets Department album when accepting her 13th Grammy, and the tracklist that dropped thereafter included a surprising collaborator: Post! The two artists teamed up for the track “Fortnight” and the rapper dished to Apple Music about working with Taylor ahead of the album’s release.

“She’s amazing,” he said. “She’s so sweet and so kind and talented and she hit me up and said, ‘Let’s do it.’ And I was like, ‘Hell yeah.'”

Post Malone and Travis Kelce Are Friends

If Taylor and Post’s friendship wasn’t enough to have fans excited, the rapper and Taylor’s boyfriend, Travis Kelce, are also close buddies. Not only did Post sing “America the Beautiful” ahead of the 2024 Super Bowl (that the Kansas City Chiefs won, in case you missed it), but the rapper even has a tattoo of the Chiefs star, the result of a lost game of beer pong.

Post Malone
Perry Knotts/Getty Images

“I had to get a Kansas City Chiefs Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce tattoo,” Post told Howard in the same interview, adding that it’s “well hidden.” “They are sweet guys and talented players. It’s on my arm.”

Post hasn’t given up yet, though, and challenged Travis then and there to a redo. “I will say this, and I told Taylor to tell him, ‘Those elbows were crazy.’ And you can’t have your elbows crossing over the table. So I’d like a rematch,” the rapper declared, before adding that Travis is the “sweetest dude” for Taylor.

“Nowadays you really never know,” Post mused. “You meet a lot of people in the world. And what’s cool is, like, it’s cool to see people that are successful, much like Taylor and Travis and Patrick, they really give a s–t about human beings. And I think that’s pretty badass.”