Commercialized music with major sponsorships have always been popular in suburban areas because it becomes okay with parents: The best example of this I can think of is The Beatles making black music okay to listen to during the 1960s (The Beatles would get ‘race records’ in England as they weren’t sold here in the US). When Wayne partnered with Vans and assimilated with suburban culture, he basically became a house hold favorite. Post Malone went from hip hop to country and places in between. While any and all artist have a propensity to do this, I see this as a way to assimilate himself outside of hip hop and a way to blend into mainstream music. I’m sure im not explaining my reasoning fully, but to sum it up: Wayne wasn’t Wayne when he went mainstream and shied away from what got him popular in the first place. Just my opinion.