Machine Gun Kelly reveals scary side effects after covering body in 'near impossible' blackout tattoos
Machine Gun Kelly has revealed his skin turned yellow after rushing to finish his blackout tattoos.
The rapper, real name Colson Baker, said he decided to get the full blackout tattoo after looking in the mirror and seeing a mishmash of tattoos, some from periods of his life he’d rather forget about.
So, he decided to enlist the help of celebrity tattoo artist ROXX who came up with a ‘dark mode’ tattoo that covers most of his arm, chest, and stomach in solid black ink.
But says he was left feeling unwell after refusing to take it slow and steady when it came to getting inked.
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Speaking to Billboard Canada, MGK revealed that ROXX had told him that it’d likely take ‘two years’ to complete the large-scale design, but said he wasn’t willing to wait.
“I saw death and drugs in all these patterns that I was literally writing on my body,” he told the publication. “There were happy tattoos, sad tattoos, holy tattoos, hellish tattoos. It was like my bipolarity was screaming off my skin.”
This left him thinking 'Who the f**k am I?'.
“She [ROXX] warned me that it was going to be near impossible, even from a pain tolerance standpoint,” MGK continued.
“I said, ‘Yeah, we got two months.’”
Undeterred by the warning, MGK began visiting the tattoo studio every day to take part in gruelling sessions, but it wasn’t long before it took its toll on his body.
He continued: “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.”
But even that collection of nasty side effects wasn’t enough to slow him down, and he pushed on with the process.
“I came out the other side extremely inspired,” MGK shared. “Not just because of what I had done, but because of what I had to overcome.”
He documented the blackout process online, with one clip showing blood dripping during his sessions, while he could be seen wearing an oxygen mask while in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber to 'heal faster' in another.
During an appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show last year, MGK called it the 'worst torture' he's ever experienced.
“I’ve already had all tattoos since I was 13, my whole body has been covered for a long time, and I just wanted to redesign what the human skin could look like,” he added.
Although most of his upper body is now blacked out, the rapper has still kept some space for new designs.
Back in March, he debuted his latest addition: his daughter’s name ‘Saga’ in capitals on the back of his right hand.
MGK shares Saga with his ex Megan Fox.
The former couple announced their break-up in late 2024, but welcomed their daughter in March 2025 and continue to co-parent together.
The rapper is also dad to Casie from his previous relationship with Emma Cannon.
Topics: Machine Gun Kelly, Celebrity
Claire Reid