Machine Gun Kelly

Machine Gun Kelly Earns His Second No. 1 Album With ‘Mainstream Sellout’

by
Machine Gun Kelly 2022 Howard Stern Show
Getty Image

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

by

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

by
Justin Bieber 2021 Shaquille O'Neal Foundation
Getty Image / Gabe Ginsberg

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.

Summerfest 2022 Line Up
Courtesy of Summerfest

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

by
Joyner Lucas 2019 concert
Getty Image

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,” 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.”

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.”

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.

Joyner Lucas Blames That Anti-MGK Lollapalooza Rant On Russian Hackers

by
joyner lucas mgk lollapalooza hacked
Getty Image/Ralph Ordaz

After going on an anti-MGK rant against Lollapalooza for putting his name in the small print, Massachusetts rapper Joyner Lucas is now blaming the tweetstorm on outside influences, claiming that his account was taken over by Russian hackers after deleting the tweets in question. Lucas’ tweets mystified, befuddled, or outright amused fans yesterday when he unexpectedly burst out with slams against the Chicago-based festival.

“These festivals is gon stop playing with me like I ain’t that n****,” he wrote. Putting my name next to the names of a bunch of random n****z that nobody heard of and offering me a weak ass 💰. Then I say no to the offer and these hoe ass n****z put me on the flier anyways. @lollapalooza.” Later in the rant in question, he took a jab at one of Lollapalooza’s headliners, Cleveland rapper-turned-punk-rocker Machine Gun Kelly, posting a photo of Kelly and writing, “Then you got this goofy ass nigga headlining? Smh how sway?”

Today, though, all of those tweets disappeared, replaced by a new one. “Them Damn Russian hackers dun hacked my phone yesterday smh,” Joyner claimed.

Look, we’re not totally sure why Russian hackers would want to hack Joyner Lucas’ phone, of all people, just to diss Lollapalooza and MGK. It doesn’t look like fans are buying it either, finding it more likely that Lucas’ tweets got a different reception than perhaps he was expecting — or that the Lollapalooza bag is indeed undeniable. As an independent rapper, Joyner has fewer bridges to burn so maybe this is a way for him to save face — either that or those Russian hackers are getting really good at doing pissed-off rapper impressions.

In any event, it appears both MGK and Joyner Lucas will be performing at Lollapalooza July 28-31 at Chicago’s Grant Park.

Joyner Lucas Pulls out of Lollapalooza, saying his name was too small on flier

by
Joyner Lucas

Lollapalooza might find itself looking for a new artist after Joyner Lucas took to Twitter, accusing the festival of printing his name too small on fliers before throwing shade at Machine Gun Kelly.

In a series of tweets, the ADHD rapper aired his grievances with the festival as well as other artists, namely MGK. His first tweet expressed his displeasure with the other artists whose names were surrounding his on the flier.

“These festivals is gon stop playing with me like I ain’t that n****. Putting my name next to the names of a bunch of random n**** that nobody heard of and offering me a weak a** [money bag emoji]. Then I say no to the offer and these h** a** n**** put me on the flier anyways.”

He then took the opportunity to address the disconnect between his perceived current state of success and his position on the flier.

“N***** is on gon start putting respek on my name. For years I been getting these weak a** offers like I’m some lil n****. Then n***** who ain’t even on my level or doing my numbers is getting put in BIG LETTERS while they write my s*** hella small on the flier.! How sway?!!”

“I’m the biggest independent artist period with the exception of my n*** tech. And I got the numbers & the fans & the [money bag emoji] to back that statement up. How is it that these festivals keep tryna bunch my name up with a bunch of n****who ain’t on my level?. n**** I’m JOYNER LUCAS. [emoji face with raised eyebrows]”

He then definitively let his followers know that he will not be playing at this year’s Lollapalooza.

“All I know is @lollapalooza better take my f***** name off that flier. I ain’t agree to that lineup and I don’t want that weak a** [money bag emoji] n***** tried to give me. Next thing I kno the flier goes out and they gon put my name in some tiny a** letter like i ain’t me. F*** outta here!”

To further illustrate his point, he attempted to provide a visual description of how small his name was, cracking a joke about needing a microscope and sharing a photo of newsprint with tiny writing and a red circle surrounding words too small to read.

“Bro hit me up today asking me what time is my set at @lollapalooza. I said huh? went and looked at the flier and had to find a microscope to find my name. [emoji face with raised eyebrows]. Disrespectful. They said i had to get my numbers up to be respected. So I went top 10 billboard independently. Still this…. @lollapalooza be like “and if you look real close WE ALSO GOT JOYNER LUCAS on the lineup”…

He also took aim at MGK, who is one of the festival’s headliners, tweeting the following with a picture of MGK showing off a black tongue:

“Then you got this goofy ass n**** headlining? Smh how sway?”

He concluded by referencing Eminem‘s beef with MGK from 2018 in which the two released opposing diss tracks aimed at each other.

“someone said “don’t bring out the rap devil”…[crying emoji] maaaaannnn listen. Lol What my brother Marshall did to this n**** @machinegunkelly is light compared to what’s waiting if he wanna walk down that street wit me. Ain’t nobody worried bout a n**** who paints his nails. [nail polish emoji]. foh”

For reference, the flier is shown here with Lucas’s name circled in red.

Lollapalooza 2022 flier
Lollapalooza 2022 flier

The post Joyner Lucas Pulls out of Lollapalooza, saying his name was too small on flier appeared first on The Source.