Machine Gun Kelly
Machine Gun Kelly Earns His Second No. 1 Album With ‘Mainstream Sellout’
Machine Gun Kelly’s transition from a rapper to a rocker has definitely served him well. He began the transition back in 2019 after the release of his fourth album Hotel Diablo. His next project, which was 2020’s Tickets To My Downfall, was his first full-fledge pop-punk album and it also became his first No. 1 album after it topped the Billboard 200 chart. Sure, Kelly has faced some criticism for his position in the rock world, but that hasn’t stopped his success. Less than two years after landing his first No. 1 album, Kelly finds himself on top of the charts again with his sixth album Mainstream Sellout.
In its debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, Mainstream Sellout sold 93,000 album units. That number is comprised of 50,000 streaming equivalent album units and 42,000 pure album sales, which also makes Mainstream Sellout the best-selling album of the week. Kelly’s sixth album received a boost on the charts thanks to deluxe editions and boxed sets that were made available for fans to buy on his official website. Nonetheless, Mainstream Sellout still would have gone No. 1 without any sales from non-traditional sellers which includes web-based stores.
Mainstream Sellout is the first rock album to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in over a year. The last rock album to do so was AC/DC’s Power Up when it topped the charts on November 28, 2020. Mainstream Sellout also had the largest week for a rock album since Paul McCartney’s McCartney III debuted with 107,000 units sold in its first week on January 2, 2021.
Mainstream Sellout is out now via Bad Boy and Interscope Records. You can stream it here.
Machine Gun Kelly Tells The Surreal Story Of Getting Lil Wayne On His Album Right Before It Was Due
On Machine Gun Kelly’s new album Mainstream Sellout, Lil Wayne makes two appearances, on “Drug Dealer” and “Ay!.” Kelly made an appearance of his own last night on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, where he told the wild story of how Wayne got on the album at almost the last possible minute.
Kelly said he and Travis Barker called Wayne and asked if he wanted to drop by the studio and record a verse for “Drug Dealer.” Kelly continued:
“He was super down. He was like, ‘Yeah, I’m gonna pull up.’ This is around 8 o’clock. He pulls up around 1 a.m. The sprinter’s there and there’s all these security cameras. We’re like, ‘Dude, that’s Lil Wayne’s sprinter, this is crazy.’ We wait about an hour. The sprinter door opens, we’re like, ‘Oh my god, the door’s opening.’ He walks out, he comes in. He says ‘what’s up’ to everybody, I play the song, he’s like, ‘This is what we’re doing?’ I was like, ‘Yup.’
Then, he’s like, ‘You guys got time?’ We’re like, ‘All the time you need.’ He goes in this courtyard, walks around. He walks on the courtyard for like five… comes back in at like 6 in the morning. He’s like, ‘I didn’t make you wait too long, did I?’ We were all like, ‘No, man, no. What? No.” And he goes in the booth, does it in like one take. We freak out. I get in the car, I go wake Megan [Fox] up. I’m like, ‘Oh my god, Lil Wayne just got on the album.’”
As for how “Ay!” came together, that was a little more nerve-wracking, as Kelly continued:
“And then the album has to be turned in. We have this song called ‘Ay!.’ We’re like, ‘It just sounds like Lil Wayne should be on this one, too. Should we try?’ We call and they’re like, ‘Yeah, he’s gonna skate ’til 7 a.m. but like…’ And we’re like, ‘But the album needs to be turned in at 9:30.’ And they’re like, ‘Oh yeah, he got it.’
I set my alarm for 8:30. I woke up and I’m like, ‘Dude, Lil Wayne didn’t cut a song at 8 in the morning.’ Dude, the verse was there. He did a song at 8 in the morning.”
Watch the full interview above.
Justin Bieber, Halsey, And Machine Gun Kelly Will Headline The 2022 Summerfest In Milwaukee
Summerfest will make its return this summer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The first iteration of the festival since COVID, Summerfest’s 2022 line-up boasts over 100 headliners.
Summerfest spans three weekends in June and July, with festivities taking place over the course of nine non-consecutive days. Among the headliners during the June 23-25 run are Gabby Barrett, Justin Bieber, Lil Wayne, and Wu-Tang Clan. Willow, GAYLE, 2 Chainz, Machine Gun Kelly, and Halsey will headline the weekend of June 30-July 2. During the final weekend, July 7-9. Charli XCX, Cordae, Portugal The Man, and Jojo will headline.
“It feels great to announce our highly anticipated lineup and have the festival back in its regular summer timeframe for 2022,” said Don Smiley, the president and CEO of Milwaukee World Festival, in a statement. “From Justin Bieber, Halsey, Backstreet Boys, and a special Summerfest co-headlining show with Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa, and Wu-Tang Clan, to John Fogerty, Steve Aoki, Halestorm, and others, it would be difficult to find a more diverse lineup anywhere. Make plans to join us for Summerfest this June, one of the most affordable music festivals in the world, and home to over 1,000 artists performing live over the nine-day run.”
Fans can currently purchase “Level Up” tickets, allowing them access to the Level Up Deck located in the Miller Lite Oasis, overlooking the stage. General on-sale for the festival begins Friday, April 8.
Check out the full line-up below.
Some of the artists mentioned are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Joyner Lucas Apologizes For Dissing Machine Gun Kelly In A Rant After Initially Blaming Russian Hackers
Earlier this week, Joyner Lucas fired off a lengthy Twitter rant that was directed at the lineup for Lollapalooza’s upcoming festival in Chicago. Lucas’ gripe with the festival seemed to be their decision to place artists, which Lucas called a “bunch of random n****z that nobody heard of,” above him on the festival’s flyer. “I’m the biggest independent artist period with the exception of my n**** tech [N9ne],” he said. “How is it that these festivals keep tryna bunch my name up with a bunch of n****z who ain’t on my level?” He used Machine Gun Kelly as an example, calling the punk rocker a “goofy ass n****.”
Soon enough, Lucas deleted all the tweets and gave a questionable reason for the rant. “Them Damn Russian hackers dun hacked my phone yesterday smh,” Joyner wrote in a tweet the following day. It’s unknown if he was joking or being serious, but today, Joyner took a moment to actually apologize for his rant and for dissing Machine Gun Kelly as well.
a lot of people saying things about me “crying and complaining” when shit don’t go my way. Lot of comments telling me to “work harder and stop being emotional”… you know what? You right… I have a history of being upset at certain things and taking it to social media. I own that
— Joyner Lucas (@JoynerLucas) March 26, 2022
Part of being a man is admitting when you fucked up. I be getting frustrated when I feel like I’m the underdog all the time. Maybe I ain’t put in enuff work. maybe I think I’m a bigger artist than what I actually am. Maybe you right. I own that. Real nigga shit
— Joyner Lucas (@JoynerLucas) March 26, 2022
“A lot of people saying things about me ‘crying and complaining’ when shit don’t go my way,” he wrote. “Lot of comments telling me to ‘work harder and stop being emotional’… you know what? You right… I have a history of being upset at certain things and taking it to social media. I own that… Part of being a man is admitting when you f*cked up. I be getting frustrated when I feel like I’m the underdog all the time.” He added, “Maybe I ain’t put in enuff work. maybe I think I’m a bigger artist than what I actually am. Maybe you right. I own that. Real n**** sh*t.”
As far as the @machinegunkelly shit Goes,, homie ain’t have nothing to do with my rant. Jus got caught in the cross fire of one of my bitter moments. Def sum sucka shit to come at him for nothin. I own that & I apologize. Real nigga shit. I ain’t perfect. Im growing everyday
— Joyner Lucas (@JoynerLucas) March 26, 2022
I cant deny that sometimes i come off like a jealous asshole But that aint the case. Im a fan of these niggaz. I think I been the underdog for so long, shit made me feel like I deserve certain shit. But who tf am I to determine what i deserve? Sometimes I gotta check myself
— Joyner Lucas (@JoynerLucas) March 26, 2022
He continued, “As far as the @machinegunkelly shit Goes, homie ain’t have nothing to do with my rant. Jus got caught in the cross fire of one of my bitter moments. Def sum sucka sh*t to come at him for nothin. I own that & I apologize. Real n**** sh*t. I ain’t perfect. Im growing everyday.” He added, “I cant deny that sometimes i come off like a jealous asshole But that aint the case. Im a fan of these n****z. I think I been the underdog for so long, sh*t made me feel like I deserve certain sh*t. But who tf am I to determine what i deserve? Sometimes I gotta check myself.”
Lot of artists or people in general are afraid of checking themselves. I check myself all the time. I cant throw a Tantrum and shoot at niggaz for nothin. @machinegunkelly did absolutely nothin to me to deserve that lame tweet. If u readin this, I apologize dog. real nigga shit
— Joyner Lucas (@JoynerLucas) March 26, 2022
Lucas concluded his message with one final note, “Lot of artists or people in general are afraid of checking themselves. I check myself all the time. I cant throw a Tantrum and shoot at n****z for nothin. @machinegunkelly did absolutely nothin to me to deserve that lame tweet. If u readin this, I apologize dog. real n**** sh*t.”
You can view Lucas’ tweets above.