Machine Gun Kelly, real name Colson Baker, is really blooming into the next chapter of his career, and into the artist that he has become today, with his new album bloom. Bloom is the rapper's third studio album, and includes a range of eclectic features from pop stars like Camila Cabello and Hailee Steinfeld, to rappers like Migos' Quavo, Ty Dolla $ign, and DubXX, to singer/songwriter James Arthur, and shows a noticeable growth in sound from his previous two albums.
Speaking of bloom, the Cleveland rapper told us that he has a few tattoos dedicated to the new record, and shared the stories behind them during an exclusive interview about all of his ink. Colson opened up about some of the stories behind his many tattoos that prominently cover his body. Read on below.
Machine Gun Kelly was a teen when he got his first tattoo, now, he is covered in so many of these intricate works of art, mostly done by his main tattoo artist Ceven, who is also from Cleveland. He tells us, "[He] did 85% of my tattoos, since I got my first tattoo."
On his Blooming Rose Tattoo
One of the last tattoos that Machine Gun Kelly got was for his album bloom, and as you can imagine, it's a rosebud opening up into a fully bloomed flower. He says, "I got the rose bud down here, and I then I got the bloom up here."
On his "Kiss The Sky" Tattoo
The rosebud into a rose tattoo isn't the only piece that MGK has for his album bloom. On the record is a song called "Kiss The Sky," and the rapper got some ink in honor of the song as well.
"I have another bloom tattoo that I got at the same time I did that [the rose]. There's a song on the album called 'Kiss the Sky,' and so I put that right there on the inside of my elbow. And then I got one of my friend's art pieces, right there."
Machine Gun Kelly says that the meaning of the song is what inspired him to get a tattoo in honor of the track. "The best way to describe 'Kiss the Sky' would be, don't be afraid to go search, even if you don't know what you're searching for. Let something find you." He adds, "The nirvana and the expression is just nostalgic to me, and it's like a state of mind."
On his Gash Tattoo
Of course, everyone in life has been heartbroken at some point -- Machine Gun Kelly included. One of the more recent tattoos he got, he explains, is a gash right where his heart is, and shows some blood oozing out of it. As he tells us of its origin: "Somebody ripped my heart out."
On his Jessica Rabbit Tattoo
Speaking of love, MGK says that his fantasy woman is along the lines of Jessica Rabbit, the voluptuous cartoon leading lady in the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit?. "She's like my fantasy woman, my dream woman. Kind of."
So he has Jessica Rabbit tattoo'd on the inside of his right bicep. He says that for some reason, this tattoo was his most painful, mostly when the tattoo artist got to his armpit. He says:
"I don't know why, I just remember this one ... I got Jessica Rabbit on the inside of arm. I don't know why, but when he got to my armpit, I wanted to just go to sleep until he was done. It was just so painful."
On the Tattoos He Loves The Most
Machine Gun Kelly says that some of the tattoos he loves the most are the tattoos that his fans get, even if they dress up as him for Halloween, which includes the Anarchy "A" on his stomach and the guardian angel on the center of his chest. He says, "Obviously I love the ones that when kids dress up as MGK for Halloween, like the ones that they always choose to put on their body."
But his most prized tattoo seems to be his entire back. The rapper tells us that his back tattoo is "an iconic piece." In fact, there is no place on MGK's back that isn't inked up, and he explains that the entire thing took about 50 to 60 hours. "It has a whole Salvador Dali piece on the bottom of it. It took a long time, man."
Listen to songs from Machine Gun Kelly's bloom below!
Photos: Rachel Kaplan