Image Source: Getty / Matt Winkelmeyer [1]

Congratulations are in order for Post Malone [2] — the 26-year-old rapper is going to be a dad! Malone confirmed the exciting news exclusively to TMZ [3] on May 3, saying, "I'm excited for this next chapter in my life, I'm the happiest I've ever been . . . Time to take care of my body and my family and friends, and spread as much love as we can every day." Sources close to the musician and his longtime girlfriend reported that the couple celebrated the baby's upcoming arrival with a private party in Southern California that same month.

Malone later appeared on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon [4]," where he briefly opened up about becoming a dad. "Kindness is the most important thing to me," the rapper said when asked about what he wants to be as a dad. In a recent interview with Apple Music 1's Zane Lowe [5], Malone doubled down on his excitement, saying, "I'm pumped beyond belief."

"As a kid, I was like 4 or 5, and I had this little baby I would carry around everywhere," he revealed. "It was a baby doll. And I thought that was the coolest thing. I would take him around everywhere. And I don't know how long that lasted. But my mom still has it." Malone added: "I'm going to be a hot dad."

Given how private Malone is when it comes to his love life [6], the rapper has not revealed his girlfriend's identity, though it's been reported that she's not in the public eye. Malone previously dated show promoter Ashlen Diaz for about three years and was linked to another woman in August 2018.

Malone recently performed [7] at this year's Coachella festival [8], and he's currently gearing up for the release of his new album, "Twelve Carat Toothache." The forthcoming LP is expected to drop on June 3. "Trying to shove 20 to 25 songs, it doesn't work," he told Billboard [9] about the album's tracklist. "Talking to the label [it's like], 'Oh, if you have less songs, you're not going to stream as much,' but the whole thing is that you don't want to compromise your art and your gut vibe on anything. I've made a lot of compromises, especially musically, but now I don't feel like I want to anymore. I don't need a No. 1; that doesn't matter to me no more, and at a point, it did."

According to Malone, the new songs "speak more to how I'm feeling at the moment: the ups and downs and the disarray and the bipolar aspect of being an artist in the mainstream."