Machine Gun Kelly recently remembered when he stopped playing the guitar shortly after first picking up the instrument. He had gotten an axe following his attendance at a fateful Warped Tour date in his early years, apparently inspired by the traveling rock festival.
The now 31-year-old musician, who of late has successfully navigated the charts from hip-hop to pop-punk, shared the memory in a post celebrating the first anniversary of his Tickets to My Downfall.
The 2020 effort, propelled by blink-182‘s Travis Barker, introduced MGK’s rock-based sound and has become the singer’s most successful yet. Sure is a good thing the rapper-turned-rocker eventually returned to the guitar, right?
“i bought a guitar after my first warped tour at 11 years old,” Kelly, whose real name is Colson Baker, recalls in the Sept. 25 tweet. “i stopped playing because i didn’t believe in myself.”
He continues, however, “it took me all this time to finally listen to my gut, so thank YOU for listening. happy one year anniversary #TicketsToMyDownfall”
Recently, Machine Gun Kelly’s name has cropped up in music news for more than just his musicianship. Over the last week, he’s engaged in a verbal feud with Slipknot and the masked metal band’s lead singer, Corey Taylor. At Riot Fest 2021, where both acts were performing, Kelly reportedly criticized Slipknot onstage, claiming later that Taylor was “bitter” over a thwarted collaboration between him and the rocker.
Taylor fired back, calling MGK childish and sharing screenshots that he’d ultimately declined the collab. Taylor had seemingly singled out Kelly, albeit without naming him, in an interview earlier this year.
Machine Gun Kelly’s upcoming album Born With Horns, another Barker-backed collection that contains last month’s single “Papercuts,” is expected to arrive at some point this year.
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