Machine Gun Kelly is done with pop-punk, will return to rap for next album
Kelly did not rule out completing a third pop-punk album in the future.
Photo: Ethan Miller / Getty
Rapper, guitarist and recently pop-punk singer Machine Gun Kelly has announced plans to return to rap for his next album.
In a new interview with Audacy’s Kevan Kenney, Kelly announced his plans, saying, “I’m going to make a rap album for myself. 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. I made [Kelly’s most recent albums] Tickets to My Downfall and Mainstream Sellout because I wanted to make them. I need to now also make people miss that sound.”
Kelly did not rule out completing a third pop-punk album to join the companion albums Tickets to My Downfall and Mainstream Sellout, which were released in 2020 and 2022 respectively. “I don’t think making a third that’s so [similar] is going to be exciting unless it’s missed,” the rapper shared.
For now, he plans to go on tour before stepping back into the studio to get his head back into the rap game. 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,” he explained, adding, “That’s where my excitement is and where me as a music archaeologist wants to explore.”
Kelly’s entry into the world of rock has received mixed reactions, to put it lightly. The rapper was famously met with boos at many rock festivals, including last year’s Louder Than Life. He addressed the reception in the interview as well, mentioning “gatekeeping” in the punk community as a factor.
“This happens with everybody when they start to become successful in something. Especially in Punk Rock culture, like, you fear the success and we all have gatekeeping moments, or you become [a] victim of the gatekeeping moments.”