Machine Gun Kelly has revealed the crippling side effects of his massive “dark mode” tattoo, saying the grueling process left him “really sick” and unable to move parts of his upper body.
For years, tattoos had been part of MGK’s identity.
The rapper and singer, whose real name is Colson Baker, spent much of his career adding new designs to his body, creating a collection that reflected different chapters of his life. But by 2024, the artwork that once felt meaningful had started to tell a story he no longer recognized.
Looking in the mirror, the 36-year-old said he saw a patchwork of memories tied to both his highest highs and lowest lows.
“I was looking for a change that wasn’t just a sound wave,” he told Billboard Canada in a recent interview. “It had to be something physical.”
The realization forced him to confront a bigger question.
“Who the f*** am I?”
As he reflected on the tattoos covering his skin, the father of two said he saw reminders of personal struggles he was trying to leave behind.
“I saw death and drugs in all these patterns that I was literally writing on my body,” he explained. “There were happy tattoos, sad tattoos, holy tattoos, hellish tattoos. It was like my bipolarity was screaming off my skin.”
More than a new look
The decision to dramatically alter his appearance came during a difficult period in his life.
Off the stage, MGK was coping with the loss of his father, who died in 2020, while also navigating life with bipolar disorder and continuing struggles with drugs and alcohol.
His personal life had also been under intense scrutiny. In 2022, he performed a stripped-back version of “Twin Flame” at the Billboard Music Awards, dedicating the song to then-fiancée Megan Fox and their “unborn child” after the couple had a pregnancy loss.
The following year brought more challenges. Around the time he and Fox ended their engagement, Baker entered rehab and focused on his sobriety.
“At that time in my life, I was wearing a bunch of shame from personal mistakes I was making,” he reflected. “I was dealing with sobriety really heavy, having itches that I didn’t know how to scratch.”
He added: “I was losing myself in obsessiveness with work, instead of prioritizing things that are actually much more important, which is family and self-worth that doesn’t need to come from outside validation.”
As he worked through those struggles, Baker became convinced he needed a fresh start, not only musically but physically as well.
“I was looking for a change that wasn’t just a sound wave,” He told Billboard about what drove him toward his last transformation. “It had to be something physical.”
‘Dark mode’ transformation
That search for change led The Last Son actor to celebrity tattoo artist ROXX, known for large-scale geometric designs and extensive cover-up work.
When she showed him a concept that would cover much of his chest, stomach and arms in black ink, MGK immediately embraced the idea.
The project became known as his “dark mode” tattoo.
There was just one problem.
ROXX warned him the transformation would take roughly two years if done properly, allowing enough time for healing between sessions.
“I said, ‘yeah, we got two months,’” the “Bloody Valentine” singer responded.
‘I got really sick’
To get the ink finished, he committed himself to an intense schedule, making the trip to her Los Angeles studio day after day in an effort to finish the work in just two months.
That decision quickly took a toll.
“After the first week, we hit my lymph nodes around my armpits and shoulders, and I got really sick,” Baker revealed. “My skin was turning yellow. I wasn’t able to sleep. I stopped being able to move certain parts of my upper body.”
Despite the crippling reaction, he pushed through.
Coming out the other side
By the time the tattoo was finished, Baker said the experience had changed him.
“I came out the other side extremely inspired,” he said. “Not just because of what I had done, but because of what I had to overcome.”
Today, the 36-year-old is celebrating a return to his hip-hop roots with the release of “Blog Era Boyz,” a collaborative mixtape with Wiz Khalifa that revisits the sound that first made him famous.
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