- Hey, what's up, you guys?
Chelsea Briggs here, coming to you from
the Billboard Hot 100 Festival,
and I am joined by one of my favorite people,
the realest, Machine Gun Kelly.
- Yo.
- How are you doing?
- Pretty good.
- Yeah? Excited to be here? - Yeah.
- Yeah.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I want to talk about your "Loco"--oh.
Spitting the gum out?
Want me to take it for you? - No.
- Like I'll be like your mom. (laughs)
- No, it's alright.
- Can someone come grab his (laughs).
No, don't. (laughs) - It's cool.
- I want to talk about your "Loco" music video.
- Yeah.
- It's so awesome.
- Yeah, yeah, thanks.
- You and Pete Davidson, I feel like,
are like the best duo together.
- Yeah, yeah.
- Talk to me about how that concept came up,
and just working with Pete in general.
- I just left his house this morning.
That was pretty funny. - You did?
- Yeah.
I had an off day and I was, we were staying in the city.
So I wanted to, you know, he let me crash at his spot.
So I mean, it started by us just being good friends.
He's around when I'm making the music,
and "Loco" is just his favorite one
and we happened to be shooting a movie in Syracuse,
and, you know, it's time to start
dropping us some new music,
so it just felt right.
I was just like, you know what, I'm going to fly my guy out.
We have between 2:30 a.m. and like 11 a.m.
Until they start shooting again.
Like that's how much--we stopped filming
the movie at 2:30 a.m., and I had Pete
until 11 a.m. the next morning.
- Stop.
- To shoot "Loco."
So we'd be doing, you know, we just went crazy that night.
Had to start shooting again, didn't get all the shots.
We wanted one more shot, and it was where I bought
this yellow car.
We saw a yellow car on the side of the road,
and me and Pete raced to see who could buy it first.
(laughs)
And so I got it, and I was like,
well, we gotta get a shot of this yellow car, right?
And there's a blue wall, and so we had a lunch break
when we were filming, we went and filmed
in front of the blue wall.
And if you look, my double-X tattoo
isn't even in that shot because I still had
the movie makeup over the double-X.
- Oh my God (laughs).
- So if you look at me in that,
like when we're by the yellow car,
that whole scene, I don't think he has
his neck tattoo, either.
None of us have our
neck tattoos. - That's hilarious.
- Wait, how did you guys become friends?
What was the connection there?
How did you guys link up?
- We met each other at "Wild 'N Out", way back.
And then met each other years later
when I was filming that Motley Crue movie.
- Gotcha.
- Because he's in the Motley Crue movie.
- Yeah, that's right.
- And, you know, we're stuck down there in New Orleans,
and we were just both like super stoners.
We were both just, you know, listen to the same music.
So that's my boy.
- So is this the beginning of something really special?
Will you guys be doing more songs together?
More music videos together?
- Me and him talked about a little,
like a pop-up tour, where we did something kind of,
you know, just really fun and random.
Just because, you know, it's rad when two people
are great friends and they're really talented.
I mean, he's really talented, I'm alright.
- Yes, you are!
Well, your fans loved it when you
brought him out onstage during the show, too.
- Oh, yeah.
- Like they were living for that.
- The irony of Pete and I performing "The Fun Song"
the week that it was the 17-year
anniversary of "The Fun Song"
is pretty crazy. - It's so good.
- It's almost as crazy as 6000, 7000 grown people
knowing the words to "The Fun Song."
(laughs)
- And can you confirm that Pete Davidson
and Ariana Grande are the cutest couple ever?
And relationship goals?
Because I know she was on set for that video.
- (laughs) She was on set for that video.
- (laughs) Do you have a good story?
- I don't have any stories.
- No?
Can you confirm - I plead the Fifth.
They're a great couple?
- Yeah, a great couple.
- Are you super happy for them?
- Yeah, absolutely.
- Will you be at the wedding? (laughs)
- Yeah, I'll definitely be at the wedding.
You already know.
- I want to talk, obviously you brought up
the Motley Crue movie.
You're playing Tommy Lee in it.
Such an iconic role to be playing.
Talk to me about how you've been preparing for that role
and what it's been like on set.
- Tommy's real free, right?
He's just very free, like true rock star,
lived the lifestyle, was a great showman on the drums,
and so I mean, aside from the obvious
of taking drum lessons and taking that seriously,
I just went and lived the lifestyle he was living.
Me and the cast all lived with each other.
- Wow.
- So it was almost like we were in college.
- Crazy.
- Which is very scary to imagine.
- So this is leading up to filming the movie?
You guys all lived together. - Yeah.
- They brought us down there for a month.
- Wow.
So you literally were family.
- Yeah. (laughs)
By the time we were shooting. - A full on band.
- We were best friends, and by the time,
yeah, you'll see.
- Did you shadow Tommy Lee?
- Yeah.
- What were the conversations you had
with him about the role?
- Yeah, I would pull up to his house,
I remember throwing the script in his lap one time,
and was like, dude this is such a weird,
like this couldn't have gone down like this.
He was like, "Nah, dude, it was just like this."
And, you know, I'd be like, well, say it how you said it,
and he said it, and it was like,
that's exactly how I would've said it.
You know, like we're so similar.
It wasn't too far from home for me.
- Do you feel pressure playing,
I mean, being in a biopic,
it's a lot of pressure, taking on someone's life role.
How do you handle that sort of pressure?
What's your pep-talk you give to yourself?
- It was about, the main focus with doing a biopic
is not and should not be,
does this person look exactly like the person.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- It's about the aura, because you're in a movie.
Right, so you have to act.
So you can look as much as you want.
I'm sure there's someone who looks identical to Tommy,
right, has his Greek nose,
but you can't be an actor
and play Tommy Lee, dude. - Yeah.
- You've got to be a rock star.
There was only one fit for that role.
- And obviously now you're balancing your time
between acting and music,
is there one that you're liking more than the other,
right now at this time in your life?
Or are you having a hard time balancing it?
- I'm done doing movies for a minute.
I'm only--
- You're done doing what?
- I'm done doing movies for a minute.
- Really? Yeah.
- Why is that?
Time to focus on the music?
- It's time to come back and take what has kind of
drifted off and become others'.
Like, we created something and I just thought
that because we had created something
that that was good enough.
But, you know, I didn't realize that we had to
really just sit there and own it.
And just stay on that for years.
- Yeah.
- I thought it was like, time to evolve and move on.
It's like oh, no, no.
I didn't rub it in enough.
- Interesting.
- So it's, I gotta go back to my crazy ways.
So "Loco" is in full effect.
- It probably messed with your head a little bit,
that you're kind of playing--
- I'm back to not giving a fuck.
- (laughs) Yes, and I love that about you.
We were talking about it a little before,
just this crazy industry and how, you know,
dealing with haters, and I think you've always
done such a good job.
You're really good at doing that.
And just not caring.
What's your advice to people that deal with haters,
and that, you know, I don't know.
I'm curious to hear your point-of-view.
Because I think you're--
- Don't deal with people on the internet.
- Yeah.
- Start going back to like, taking it into your own hands.
Do it, you know, use your words.
Conversations are amazing.
- Yeah.
- You know, like, standing up for yourself is rad.
I'm just, you know, I think that's what I'm on.
I think I want to change the narrative.
- I love that.
I want to talk about Camila Cabello,
because I know that you guys love each other very much.
Do you think, do you see yourself
working with Camila at all in the future?
I know your fans are very--I said I was
interviewing you today and a lot of people
wanted to know if you see yourself
working with Camila in the future again.
- Yeah, absolutely.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- I would really like,
I would really like for fans to see the real
ending of the "Bad Things" music video.
- Yes.
What would the ending be?
Can you tease a little bit? - There's an ending.
- They cut it right before it happened.
- Do they end up together?
- You gotta--they gotta release it.
- Okay.
Oh, so you actually cut it?
It's out there right now?
- Oh, there's one that exists. - Wow.
Does it link to another song?
Or is it like "Bad Things 2"?
- No, no, no, I'm saying, at the ending of
the "Bad Things" music video,
there was a, to me, a very beautiful ending.
- Yeah.
- It cuts before we see it.
And I think that it would be really cool.
Because it's a piece of art.
That video, I thought it really showed,
young love and young, you know,
weird love, in a cool way.
And, you know, with that comes some darkness.
And I think that people can handle darkness in art.
Because that's where all the great art is.
And there's something really beautiful
at the end of that video.
- Huh.
- And it would be really cool for the people to see that.
- You don't know if they will release it?
You don't know if it's--?
- Yeah.
- You must be so proud of Camila.
She's had such an amazing couple years.
- Absolutely.
- Can you speak on that?
Just being proud of someone that,
you know, you really kind of took her
under your wing in the beginning.
I think that's really cool.
- Just very happy.
I mean, yeah.
I mean, very happy, obviously.
I can't say anything more than
the world already doesn't know.
You know what I mean? - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- Everyone's happy for her, dude.
She's like, she's a little sweetheart.
- Awesome.
I want to talk about (laughs),
I'm obsessed with your relationship with your daughter.
You guys are like the cutest father/daughter duo.
And she seems like she's pretty musically talented, too.
Do you see her going into music?
- No, she doesn't want to go into music.
- No, she doesn't?
- No, no.
- I love that she knows all your songs.
It's so stinking cute.
She's like your biggest fan.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- How has being a father inspired you as an artist?
- I'd say I did a lot of what I did
with songs like "At My Best" and et cetera et cetera
because of the influence of my daughter.
You know what I mean?
- Uh huh.
- People have to understand that as wild as I am,
I still have to go home at night.
And there still is someone that is sitting there,
like, you know, "I'm six years old, and I can't handle
you being as gnarly as you are as a personality."
You know, it's a lot to take in.
When everyone else's dad is so normal.
It's not like she's in L.A., either,
where everyone's dad is you know,
like off-the-wall, or creative, or crazy,
or wearing pink all the time, you know?
It's just not like that where we're from.
We're from the mid-West, so everyone's like.
- They don't get it. - And then there's me.
- You know what I mean?
(laughs)
What's up?
Here to pick my kid up.
So I wanted to make her proud, you know what I mean?
And a lot of fans saw that as like,
is this soft?
It's like, no, it's the most beautiful thing you could do.
This is my gift as a father to my daughter.
Here's something you can listen to
that still has my pain in it and still
is teaching you something that I want you to know.
To me, that was, you know, I'm not that great of a speaker.
I can't speak.
I don't like watching my own interviews.
I think I suck at talking.
But one thing I can do is move my pen,
and if that's how I have to speak to my daughter,
then let me do that.
Don't think that just because I'm writing pop hits
that I won't pop you in the motherfucking face
if you get out of line.
I don't change up who I am.
It doesn't mean I'm like kissing ass to be
performing at these places.
I've taken so much away from--
no, I don't want to talk about this.
Dude, I've done this so many times.
Can we just--I don't want to do an interview, man.
- Hey.
- Can we just, like, I don't.
- MGK.
- I want to let my music speak for me.
I don't have shit to say.
I've been saying shit for years, dude.
- Listen.
- Y'all listen.
Listen to my fucking songs.
- MGK.
- I love you.
- Listen. I love you. - You know I love you so much.
- I'm just not in the mood for talking.
- Can I tell you something? - I don't need this.
- Listen.
- This is what I'm talking through.
- Listen.
We're so excited for your music.
- In 2019.
- Thank you.
'18.
- What's your message to your fans?
- I'm coming.
And message to my enemies: I'm coming.