Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@machinegunkelly
Topics: Celebrity, Fashion, Music, Viral, Machine Gun Kelly
Emily Brown
Topics: Celebrity, Fashion, Music, Viral, Machine Gun Kelly
The tattoo artist who gave Machine Gun Kelly his unique new ink has revealed how much time the rapper had to spend under the needle for the dramatic transformation.
MGK, whose real name is Colson Baker, took to Instagram to show off his tattoo on Tuesday (20 February).
After previously displaying a number of colorful images across his torso and arms, Kelly went in a dramatically different direction with his new ink as he had his shoulders colored entirely in blank ink.
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The tattoo features a cross in the middle of his chest, and lines cutting through the black down his arms.
As he shared the image, Kelly said the tattoo was 'for spiritual purposes only' and expressed thanks to the tattoo artist, Roxx, who is based in LA.
Speaking to UNILAD, Roxx explained that Kelly was a 'dream celeb' for her to tattoo, expressing belief that no other star has work 'this extensive'.
Roxx explained hat the rapper had come to her to cover up 'some of the older work he didn’t identify with anymore'.
Unfortunately for Kelly, however, Roxx's talent as a tattoo artist meant she was already booked up for the next two years.
Still, keen to work with Kelly, Roxx agreed to perform the work on her days off over the Christmas holidays, and on weekends.
The pair came up with a design together based on Roxx's previous work, but her experience didn't help make the process that much faster.
Roxx revealed that it took a total of 13 sessions to complete Kelly's tattoo, with each session lasting between three to six hours.
That's a minimum of 39 hours under the needle, up to a max of 78 hours. Or around two working weeks, to help put it in perspective.
It's a long time to endure a needle - or 44 needles, to be precise - but Kelly obviously persisted to get the final result.
While Roxx didn't share exactly how much Kelly spent on the tattoo, she said it was 'pretty expensive' - and with up to 78 hours put into it, it's easy to assume the cost for the ink was in the thousands.
After completing the project, Roxx shared a snap of Kelly to her own Instagram, writing: "Made some art with @machinegunkelly. Never met a tougher one."
Roxx added to UNILAD that Kelly is a 'fantastic person', and the praise doesn't stop there.
Fans have shared their love for Roxx's work on Instagram, with one person writing: "Love the fact that it's not a total blackout. You can still see the remnants in between the lines. Still a reminder of the past, but with a new chapter over it. Can't regret the past, it made you what you are today."
You can find more of Roxx's work on her Instagram page here.