Machine Gun Kelly is known for his tattoos; at first, his array of coloured ones followed by the blackout that left everyone surprised. However, did you know there is a dark side to it?
Machine Gun Kelly doesn't need an introduction. The singer rose to fame through a bold hip-hop hustle, a major rap feud, a massive genre pivot to pop-punk and his relationship with Megan Fox. The rapper made his first big breakthrough with Wild Boy featuring Waka Flocka Flame, in 2011, and has since been the voice behind some of the biggest hits. However, apart from his music and love life, there is one more thing that sets him apart. Yes! We are talking about his tattoos. Previously coloured, they are now hidden under a blackout, a decision that came with an intense price for him.
Machine Gun Kelly's decision to get a blackout tattoo truly left his fans stunned. This was because most of the singer's tattoos represented his journey, and MGK took the most pride in them, even the controversial ones. However, when he decided to go black, his mind was set in stone. During a conversation with Billboard Canada, the Bloom rapper revealed that he experienced a medical emergency after getting his dramatic ink in a matter of weeks, much against the advice of his tattoo artist, ROXX, who warned him to complete the body art over the span of two years.
Machine Gun Kelly reflected on how ROXX had warned him that going this fast could have some side effects. However, MGK was running on a timeline and decided to go with it. Nonetheless, the results were not ignorable. After the first week alone, the rapper noticed his skin had started to yellow, and he lost function in certain parts of his body. He reflected on the same and said:
"She warned me that it was going to be nearly impossible, even from a pain tolerance standpoint. I said, 'Yeah, we got two months.' After the first week, we hit my lymph nodes around my armpits and shoulders, and I got really sick. My skin was turning yellow. I wasn't able to sleep. I stopped being able to move certain parts of my upper body."
MGK, born Colson Baker, debuted his extreme new look in a 2024 Instagram post, captioning the snap, "for spiritual purposes only." The rapper even talked about his decision to go under the needle in one of his songs, titled Don't Let Me Go. During the course of the song, he was heard rapping about, "Just like I wish they would understand me one time. I had a breakdown and tatted my entire body except one line." He reflected on his decision during the conversation as well and shared that he needed a change, and he needed it to be physical. He was quoted as saying:
"I was looking for a change that wasn't just a sound wave. It had to be something physical."
Machine Gun Kelly admitted that he didn't recognise himself after getting the blackout tattoo, as it covered the majority of his upper body, including his previous collection of tattoos. However, it was a decision he doesn't regret. Despite the medical toll the process took on him, the In These Walls rapper noted that it had a significant emotional impact and that he felt truly inspired later on. He stated:
"I saw death and drugs in all these patterns that I was literally writing on my body. There were happy tattoos, sad tattoos, holy tattoos, hellish tattoos. It was like my bipolarity was screaming off my skin. I came out the other side extremely inspired. Not just because of what I had done, but because of what I had to overcome."
What are your thoughts on the impact of MGK's big physical change? Let us know.
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