Post Malone Reveals That He Felt 'So Welcome' in Nashville and Found 'Lifelong Friends' There

Post Malone has his eyes set on a new city.

The rapper, 29, joined Kelleigh Bannen on Apple Music’s Today’s Country Radio with Kelleigh Bannen to discuss how his upcoming album and first country album, F-1 Trillion, embrace the Nashville scene. The project drops on Friday, Aug. 16.

During his conversation with Bannen, 43, Malone spoke about creating in an unfamiliar town and noted how welcoming the Tennessee city was to him.

“It's really nice meeting people in Nashville that made me feel so welcome and new friends and kind of building new stuff,” he revealed before adding, “and for once I'm not sad anymore. I'm happy, very happy.” He confessed to Bannen that since making the album, he's been able to take it easy and slow down.

The Austin singer revealed that he “made a lot of lifelong friends.” He told Bannen that he’d like to keep “so many” of those friendships, joking he’d like to remain friends with “anyone who will still have [him].”

He continued by explaining, “L.A. is L.A. and working here, I've always felt very distracted and it's nice to go to Nashville and really just meet people who are the best at what they do and who are super kind and super talented.”

The musician elaborated by telling Bannen that in L.A., “there's always something to do, which isn't bad, [but] it's just not conducive to a work environment for me at least.” 

Malone explained that when he was younger, he “used to be a lot of fun” and was able “to go out and then come back and then work.” But he shared that since he’s older and has a child — he has a 2-year-old daughter — he just “wants to go jam and just make music and then without being like, oh, come out.”

He remarked that in LA, “it's always like someone wants something from you,” adding, “And that's something I didn't see often in Nashville.” 

“I mean, I'm sure it's somewhere; it's just I think I found a group of really, really good folks,” he continued. “It was such a fresh thing going and watching this band and writing with new people, and I'm so f---ing pumped.”

Malone has been gearing up this past year to drop the country album, with first joining Morgan Wallen and HARDY for a performance at the November 2023 CMA Awards. In March, he continued with the country collaborations and was featured on Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter album.

Then in May, he released his single, “Pour Me a Drink,” featuring country legend Blake Shelton. And in July, he dropped the single dedicated to his daughter, “Yours.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

F-1 Trillion will be available on all major streaming services on Aug. 16. And Today’s Country Radio with Kelleigh Bannen will drop Friday, Aug. 16 at 7 a.m. PT 10 a.m. ET.