Machine Gun Kelly is known for, among other things, never hesitating to experiment and try new things with his appearance and how he presents himself. Well, he has just taken a major step in that department. Yesterday (February 20), MGK debuted a bold new look: a blackout tattoo that covers a good percentage of his body.
Kelly and the tattoo artist who did it shared photos of the ink on Instagram. Stark black ink now covers the area from Kelly’s shoulders down to below his chest, as well as on his arms down to his wrists. Some areas were left untouched to create line-based designs, leaving parts of his previous tattoos exposed. The two photos only show a front view of Kelly, so it’s not currently clear what his back looks like.
Sharing his photo, Kelly wrote, “for spiritual purposes only.”
For reference, check out how far Kelly has come in his tattoo journey by looking back at this 2016 video from GQ, in which Kelly shows off his ink:
He also told the publication at the time about how his tattoos impacted people’s perception of him, saying, “When I was coming out and I was wearing wifebeaters and snapbacks, and like, tattoos all out and whatever, people were like, ‘Oh, he’s trashy, he’s white trash’ — all these different kind of assumptions. Just like when I was in high school, when I said, ‘I’m gonna grow up, get a record deal, and be the biggest f*cking star in the world,’ people were like, ‘[scoffs] Yeah right, dude, no one makes it out of Cleveland, you’re a white boy trying to be somethin’ you shouldn’t.’ That same person they were calling white trash is now on the best-dressed lists.”