Rap and rock artist Jelly Roll, shared his insights on the Popcast YouTube channel about why rappers like Machine Gun Kelly are attracted to rock music. He believes it was an individual choice shaped by artists’ early influences in rock. He pointed out that MGK has long been identified with rock, both in style and spirit. He was even surprised that MGK switched to rock music later than he expected. He said:
“I’m sure it’s based on an individual thing. I know me and MGK share the spirit of we both were just influenced by rock music. MGK’s early stuff, he always referenced himself as a rock star. He always rock and roll closed. Like that ‘Half Naked and Almost Famous’ doc (MGK’s documentary, and album release) was like you’ve seen the evolution of the rock star coming.”
Jelly even shared that Machine Gun Kelly’s transition to rock music was later than he expected. He added that MGK, who is now preparing to make a rap album again, inspired him to rap. He continued:
“I actually think it came later than I thought it would. I thought we were going to see that from Kells way earlier to be honest. So to see that his heart is still so hip-hop that he’s turning right around and working on a hip-hop record right now. I mean he is bold. I don’t know if I’ll ever put out another rap project. I’ve lowkey wrote a couple raps just watching him, you know what I mean, just being like ‘yo, maybe I might still have it.'”
Rappers Turned Rock Stars
The music industry has witnessed a trend of rappers converting their sound to rock music. These artists, originating from a rap background, are experimenting with rock music in order to explore the early rock inspirations in their lives, as Jelly Root has said.One of these artists who later switched to rock music is Post Malone.
Post Malone, who did rock covers before he became famous, made a name for himself with his hip-hop hits. As his career progressed he showed flashes of rock n’ roll, and on his last album ‘Austin’ he embraced the rock sound. In an interview with Esquire in October, he talked about his music style, which has evolved over time. He said:
“I don’t know. I write songs and I sing them the best I can, and I just am myself, and I just want to go and rock ’n’ roll… You used to get trapped in one thing and you’re like, ‘Oh, well, this is all I listen to. And that’s what I think has made my career so interesting, just being able to fucking take what I like and mix it in a way that is authentic to me.”
Another example is none other than Kid Rock. Although he is known for blending the two genres, Kid Rock started his career as a rap artist. The young Kid Rock was fired by his first record label and returned to Detroit in the early 90s. There, he started his career as a full-blown rapper. Then he added rock and country elements to his sound.
Joe Nieporte, ex-manager of The Rits, who was there in Detroit in the early nineties when Kid Rock was just starting out in music, described Kid Rock’s rap history like this:
“Bob was just straight-up rap then. He didn’t have a band. You’ve heard that early stuff — a lot of profanity, real edgy, hard-core. I wasn’t a big rap fan, but I liked his stuff. But I remember telling him, ‘Dude, if you’re going to make it to the next level, you’ve got to clean it up.'”
You can watch the full interview below, where Jelly Roll talks about his thoughts on rappers who switched to rock music using Machine Gun Kelly as an example.
