Machine Gun Kelly says he has “no idea” how he convinced Bob Dylan to work with him
In June, Machine Gun Kelly called upon Bob Dylan to narrate the trailer for his new album, Lost Americana. Now, MGK admits to having “no idea” how it happened.
In the clip, the unmistakable raspy tones of Dylan can be heard saying: “Lost Americana is a personal excavation of the American dream; a journey to find what’s been lost. This album is a love letter to those who seek to rediscover — the dreamers, the drifters, the defiant.”
The unlikely pair’s relationship began in February when Dylan unexpectedly shared a video, recorded in 2016, on his Instagram page of Machine Gun Kelly performing at Park Avenue CDs in Orlando, Florida.
Machine Gun Kelly shared his disbelief on social media, saying in a video, “He’s just the originator of doing everything, opposite of what people wanted him to do, randomly posting a video of me back in the day rapping in a vinyl shop. I’m like, ‘What the fuck, dude’. Trust the signs, man. I’m so grateful.”
He then attended one of Dylan’s Outlaw Music Festival dates this summer, and wrote on X following the show: “I met and had a conversation with someone last night that I never thought I’d get the honor to meet all because of a video of me rapping in a music store 10 years ago. I love music.”
Now, during an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on August 4th, Machine Gun Kelly (real name Colson Baker) confirmed it was Dylan. However, Baker kept his cards close to his chest when asked about how it occurred, “Well, to be honest, I don’t want to mess my friendship up.”
In fear of angering Dylan, he continued, “And I’m pretty sure that if I say the wrong thing, I’ll mess it all up, so I’ll just shut up and accept whatever Bob Dylan throws my way.”
Nevertheless, he’s eternally grateful, stating, “Something’s going on in the stars where, like, good things keep happening… I don’t know how it keeps happening.” He continued: “Then Bob Dylan, who’s the king of just getting all the outside noise out and trusting what’s within stamps… I don’t know, I feel like he’s just in on some giant cosmic joke.”
It still remains unclear how Dylan stumbled upon a video of Machine Gun Kelly performing at a Florida record store in 2016. In a Bluesky post, Dylan expert Ray Padgett suggested, “All because the dude has the same name as an old gangster Bob was googling.” While this theory certainly makes sense, like all things Dylan, a sense of mystery still lingers.
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