Machine Gun Kelly shared reason for covering body in blacked out tattoo as he reveals scary side effects
Drenching a significant portion of your skin in black ink is no walk in the park - but Machine Gun Kelly wasn't prepared for just how physically taxing it would be.
The musician, from Texas, covered up the array of colourful creations that previously adorned his skin in 2024 while embarking on a personal and professional transformation.
As well as altering his sound, the 36-year-old wanted to overhaul his physical appearance and rid himself of some of the reminders of his past.
"I saw death and drugs in all these patterns that I was literally writing on my body," MGK said. "There were happy tattoos, sad tattoos, holy tattoos, hellish tattoos. It was like my bipolarity was screaming off my skin."
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MGK was previously decked out in various designs which he described as 'chaotic', while adding that they no longer 'resonated' with him.
So, keen to reinvent himself, he called upon the blackwork specialist Roxx for her services a couple of years ago.
She's inked thousands of clients and a string of celebrities, including Ricky Martin, Rosie O’Donnell, Adam Lambert and Michèle Lamy - but the tattoo artist said she'd 'never met a tougher one' than MGK in a post debuting his incredible blackout tattoo.
And now, fans finally understand what she meant by that - as her star client has now revealed the dramatic toll that getting the inking across his arms, chest and stomach took on his body.
In a new interview with Billboard Canada, the father-of-two and former fiancé of Megan Fox explained that he was unable to move properly, couldn't sleep and got 'really sick' during the tattooing process.
'My skin was turning yellow'
MGK said that Roxx had initially informed him that a piece of that size would take at least two years to complete, but he wanted to do it in just two months.
"She warned me that it was going to be near impossible, even from a pain tolerance standpoint," MGK told the publication. He proceeded to attend her studio on a daily basis so she could work on the blackout tattoo.
As a result of this, the 'Bloody Valentine' singer found out the hard way about why taking regular breaks between inking sessions is recommended.
"After the first week, we hit my lymph nodes around my armpits and shoulders, and I got really sick," MGK said. "My skin was turning yellow. I wasn’t able to sleep.
"I stopped being able to move certain parts of my upper body."
'Big mistake'
According to MGK, he came out the other side feeling 'extremely inspired' - as well as extremely sore - because of what he had 'overcome' during those endless hours he spent at the mercy of Roxx and her tattoo gun.
He previously explained that he did not consider the controversial practice of being placed under anaesthesia for an extensive inking as an option.
"I don't do the going under and numbing and waking up, I don't do any of that," MGK said during an appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show last year. "I had to thug this out. Big mistake!"
MGK described the tattooing process as 'the worst torture he has ever [endured]'. He said that Roxx had to use '44 needles' to complete the design.
In wake of Roxx completing the blackout tattoo, MGK took to social media to inform fans that he had been spending a lot of time in his hyperbaric oxygen chamber to speed up the healing process.
MGK previously addressed his mammoth inking in one of the tracks he released in 2024, titled 'Don't Let Me Go', as he raps: "Just like I wish they would understand me one time / I had a breakdown and tatted my entire body except one line."
Although most of his upper body is now blacked out, the Grammy-nominated artist has still kept some space for new designs. He revealed he had his baby daughter’s name ‘Saga’ inked on his hand back in March.
Topics: Machine Gun Kelly, Celebrity, Health
Olivia Burke