Machine Gun Kelly, 36, has revealed the serious illness he endured as a side effect of his massive blackout or ‘dark mode’ tattoo which covers the entire upper half of his body.
Back in February 2024, the father of two first unveiled the all-black chest piece as he shared a striking Instagram photo captioned: ‘For spiritual purposes only.’
The tattoo blankets much of his upper torso in solid black ink, though remnants of his original body art remain visible through carefully placed panels along his arms and within a cross design etched across his chest.
MGK revealed that when the process began his tattoo artist had warned him that the work would take two years to accomplish but he went against professional advice and opted to get it done within two months which led to sickness.
The pop rapper told Billboard Canada in a new interview: ‘After the first week, we hit my lymph nodes around my armpits and shoulders, and I got really sick.Â
‘My skin was turning yellow. I wasn’t able to sleep. I stopped being able to move certain parts of my upper body.’
Despite the situation he was put through, the Home rapper said that he got through it and came out of recovery ‘extremely inspired.’
He explained: ‘Not just because of what I had done, but because of what I had to overcome.’
He said: ‘I was looking for a change that wasn’t just a sound wave. It had to be something physical.’
The rapper said that after the transformation he wasn’t able to recognize himself when he looked in the mirror.
MGK said: ‘I saw death and drugs in all these patterns that I was literally writing on my body.
‘There were happy tattoos, sad tattoos, holy tattoos, hellish tattoos. It was like my bipolarity was screaming off my skin.’
