When he wasn’t flying around the world, selling out arenas and headlining music festivals, Post Malone had spent the past several years cooking up a stream of blockbuster hits from his tight-knit, dimly lit studio in the middle of Hollywood. Then, when the pandemic hit, claustrophobia—and a bad case of writer's block—set in. “I felt so cramped,” he tells Apple Music’s Zane Lowe. Restless and eager for a change of pace, he and his team moved into a house in Malibu right on the water. “It was just so freeing,” he says. “I was like, ‘I'm not scared to express myself or make music or write songs.’” It was during these laidback, free-form sessions—enhanced by magic mushrooms and fresh salt air—that the genre-defying singer-songwriter wrote most of his fourth album Twelve Carat Toothache. It’s a clear-eyed, reflective project that seems to mark the beginning of a new era, one less defined by partying (several songs open up about his struggles with alcohol) and more defined by self-assurance and family (the 26-year-old is expecting his first child). “For a long time I didn’t know how to [cope with success],” he says. “Now, I’m the happiest dude in the universe.” After this album, his focus will shift to his new role as a father, which will undoubtedly bring more change and, potentially, relocation. The East Coast native, who grew up in Syracuse, New York, says it’s hard for him to imagine raising kids in Los Angeles. “Now I’m prepping to take care of my family... Move a little bit out, have a spot where I’m able to go,” he says. “I’m so ready to go home. It’s time to go home.” Watch the full interview to hear more about the making of Twelve Carat Toothache—why it took so long, and why it was worth the wait—and how it represents a personal and professional turning point for one of music’s most influential voices.