In his latest single, MGK, also know as Machine Gun Kelly, dives deep with topics on substance abuse, mental health, and the miscarriage that he and Megan Fox went through.
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After his shockwave social media reveal of a new black-out style chest and arm tattoo on Tuesday night, Kelly also revealed his new single. Released just last night as an audio and music video, “dont let me go" features only the rapper, his own piano playing, and a beat he made by tapping pens on a table. With this rawness and minimalism, the song is much more than a catchy single, it is a powerful testament to the hardships that the rapper and musician has faced, including childhood and adulthood trauma.
While the song itself is more akin to a ballad, MGK’s rap flow is speedy yet weighted. And considering the serious and somber nature of all he has to say, his delivery meets the moment. “I wish they would understand me one time / I had a breakdown and tatted my entire body except one line / Everything's just fine” he raps in the first verse, addressing his shocking tattoo. As the song continues, the listener discovers that MGK isn’t "fine" at all. “Who am I when the music stops?” he asks no one. “And the character that I been playin' / Is really just broken and f*****' lost?”
The chorus is a repetition of the line “I'm comin' back, just let me go” before the rapper again contradicts himself. Revealing his truer need for acceptance, MGK changes the line and the music drops out as he says, “I'm comin' back, don't let me go.”
In addition to topics of childhood trauma and substance abuse, MGK also discusses the pain of losing an unborn child. His fiancé Megan Fox revealed that she went through a miscarriage with the publication of her poetry book, Pretty Boys are Poisonous, last November. The collection spans 176 pages, which includes at least two poems discussing her experience. “I will pay any price,” Fox wrote, “Tell me please / what is the ransom / for her soul?”
For MGK, this is his first time discussing the loss publicly. In the second verse of his "dont let go" single, Kelly raps, “Rehab patient with a pen and some paper / this psychiatrist keeps evaluating / How can I live with the fact that my hand wasn’t on her stomach when we lost the baby?” He continues on to express an uncertainty on how to process the experience, as his own parents have already passed.
Overall, the song and accompanying music video see its performer going through a back-and-forth battle that is not one for the faint of heart. Check out Machine Gun Kelly Radio on the free Audacy app to hear "dont let me go" in the mix, and be sure to watch the full music video above.