Pop-punk is no longer just a phase for Machine Gun Kelly. The rapper-turned-rock star dipped his toes into the genre on his 2020 album Tickets to My Downfall, and now the sound is officially here to stay on his follow-up, mainstream sellout, which arrived today. Leading up to the release of mainstream sellout, MGK shared three singles off the album: “emo girl,” featuring WILLOW; “ay!”, featuring Lil Wayne; and “maybe,” with Bring Me The Horizon.
While writing the project, which was predominantly produced by DTA Records founder and blink-182 legend Travis Barker, MGK drew on his own experiences—something he worries isn’t always a good thing. “The torture is real,” he told Billboard. “However, do I invite the torture or create it for myself? Probably. Do I fear a stable life? Do I fear that it’s going to stop my writing? For sure. Sometimes I wake up, and it’s like, ‘It’s sunny today. I live in this house today. What am I? I am a mainstream sellout, dude.’”
Elsewhere on mainstream sellout, MGK links up with blackbear, iann dior, Gunna, Young Thug, and Landon Barker. The album also includes a guest appearance from SNL comedian and Colson’s real-life best friend Pete Davidson on the spoken interlude “wall of fame.”