Machine Gun Kelly reveals terrifying side effect of 'dark mode' tattoo which covers his entire upper half
Machine Gun Kelly has said blacking out his tattoos was 'the most painful s**t I've ever experienced in my life'.
MGK, real name Colson Baker, has often taken to social media to reveal his new ink, including a full blackout tattoo that has covered up most of his torso.
The rapper decided to get inked once more in February 2024 after looking in the mirror and seeing a mishmash of tattoos from periods of his life that he'd rather forget about.
Opening up to Billboard Canada, he revealed: "I was looking for a change that wasn't just a sound wave. It had to be something physical."
Advert
This ultimately left him thinking: "Who the f**k am I?"
MGK decided to seek help from celebrity tattoo artist ROXX, who came up with the 'dark mode' tattoo that would cover most of his arms, chest, and stomach in solid blank ink.
However, with MGK being the tattoo veteran that he is, he decided slow and steady wasn't the answer, a mistake in hindsight as the 36-year-old fell unwell.
Kelly revealed that ROXX had told him that it’d likely take ‘two years’ to complete the body art, but he was not willing to wait that long.
"She warned me that it was going to be near impossible, even from a pain tolerance standpoint," he continued. "I said, ‘yeah, we got two months.’"
In the end, it was finished in two months, despite the warning issued by the tattoo studio on the health impact it could cause.
MGK went on to say: "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."
Videos he took during the process showed blood dripping off his body, and him sitting in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber to aid his recovery.
Despite the unpleasant side effects, the star decided to carry on and push on with the intense tattoo sessions, documenting the gruelling process online.
In fact, Kelly said he felt 'extremely inspired' after it was all done.
"Not just because of what I had done, but because of what I had to overcome," he added.
Back in 2024, when the 'dark mode' tattoo was completed, ROXX shared an image of Kelly's new ink to Instagram.
"Made some art with @machinegunkelly," the artist wrote. "Never met a tougher one."
Kelly then replied with: "Thanks for the joy and the pain."
The singer also took to social media to post an image of his new tattoo, which included one snap and the caption: "For spiritual purposes only."
Back in March, Kelly debuted his newest tattoo, which was his daughter’s name ‘Saga’ in capitals on the back of his right hand.
Saga, who was born in March 2025, is the daughter of MGK and Megan Fox.
Kelly and Fox broke up in late 2024, but continue to-parent their daughter despite their separation.
The rapper also co-parents Casie with ex Emma Cannon. And of course, he has a tattoo dedicated to his eldest daughter too.
Topics: Machine Gun Kelly, Celebrity
Callum Jones