Machine Gun Kelly Is Going Back to Rap on Next Album

Machine Gun Kelly is going back to rap.

After releasing a pair of rock albums with Tickets to My Downfall and Mainstream Sellout, the genre-bending artist is planning to delve back into hip-hop with his next album.

Speaking with Audacy Check In, he opened up about the direction of his next project. “I’m going to make a rap album for myself,” said MGK. “For no other reason, no point to prove, no chip on my shoulder.”

“If I keep doing things to prove things to people, I’m going to one, drive myself crazy and two, not make a good product,” he continued. “I made Tickets and Mainstream Sellout because I wanted to make them. I need to now also make people miss that sound.”

Once he wraps his tour, he plans to pick up where he left off with 2019’s Hotel Diablo. “I’m going to do this tour and I’m gonna step into where I left Hotel Diablo and expand on my storytelling as a rapper and find a new innovative sound for the hip-hop Machine Gun Kelly. That’s where my excitement is and where me as a music archaeologist wants to explore.”

MGK got his start as a rapper. His debut album Lace Up was released on Bad Boy Records in 2012 and spawned the hit “Wild Boy.” He explored a more pop-punk sound with 2020’s Tickets to My Downfall and this year’s Mainstream Sellout.

“I don’t know what that next version of that sound is, so I need to step away until I hear the right tone or the right inspiration,” he shared.

He also revealed that he’s been inspired by rappers like Lil Wayne and Young Thug, who taught him not to overthink anything. “I would be on the bus with him every day for hours and all he did was… He never played a beat and passed on a beat,” said MGK, who toured with Thug in 2019. “I learned that from him. I’m like, ‘I’m never going to a studio session again and being like, this wasn’t a vibe today.’ I’m laying down something every single time.”

In addition to music, MGK’s acting career continues to thrive. His new film Good Mourning, which serves as his directorial debut, will be released in theaters on May 20 and co-stars his fiancée Megan Fox and close friend Pete Davidson.