By Mike Polce
On Sept. 25, singer, rapper, and actor Machine Gun Kelly released a pop-punk album titled Tickets to My Downfall, produced by Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker.
Upon the release of the album, many questioned whether or not MGK could bring back this genre of music. Some believed that his previous “hardcore” rap style set a perfect path into making punk music. Others discredited this, saying that MGK isn’t talented enough to create the same punk music like Green Day, Blink-182 and Paramore created back in the early 2000s.
MGK proved both of these ideas to be false. His album doesn’t resemble the “hardcore” tone that his rap records brought to the table. His album also doesn’t follow in the footsteps of the early 2000’s pop-punk bands, but not due to his lack of talent. Much of the album consists of slow and melodic records. These songs include, “lonely”, “my ex’s best friend”, “play this when I’m gone”, “Jawbreaker” and “All I know” featuring Trippe Redd.
While the album still contains upbeat records like “Forget me too” featuring Halsey, they are overshadowed by the beauty within the calm melodies the slow tracks hold.
This album also doesn’t replicate early 2000’s punk music. Features from iann dior, Trippe Redd and Halsey help contribute to this. These features help modernize this genre. They add a new “rap” element to punk that’s never been done before. At least not to this extent.
Most of the album’s lyrics are depressing and gory, but that is exactly what MGK was going for. The very first song on the album is a suicide note. The song goes over his drug issues and his constant battle with depression. The song “lonely” depicts his father’s death. While the song “play this when I’m gone” depicts what his daughter’s life would be like if he died. Yeah, it’s that heartrending.
Raw emotion is key to a pop-punk album. The songs shouldn’t sound too processed and mixed. MGK hit it right on the head with this. This album topped the charts, selling 126,000 records within its first week. In essence, it lives up to its hype. Not many rappers can do what MGK did.
To be honest, I don’t believe any rapper can do what MGK did. He completely transformed his style in less than a year, and as a musician let me tell you, that is not easy. He did have some production help along the way, but don’t let that blind you from the fact that MGK is an extremely talented artist. I’ve been listening to the album every day since its release, and I learn something new from it every time.
If you haven’t listened to it yet, I would definitely recommend it, even if you’re not interested in that style of music. On a scale of one to 10, I rate this album a nine.
