Machine Gun Kelly enjoyed some downtime on Thursday after attending the protests in Los Angeles for multiple days in a row.
The 30-year-old rapper, singer and actor relaxed in the driveway of his LA home with his friends and fellow rappers Mod Sun and Dubxx.
Earlier in the day, he surprised his 6.1 million Instagram followers by dropping a cover version of Rage Against the Machine’s Killing In The Name, which was inspired by copious videos of policy brutality shot by protestors in recent days.
Down time: Machine Gun Kelly, 30, and his friends Mod Sun and Dubxx relaxed outside his house in Los Angeles on Thursday after multiple days spent protesting
Kelly (real name: Colson Baker) looked casual in a plain black T-shirt with black barbed wire pin stripe pants and simple black sneakers.
His pal Mod showed off his tattoos on his shirtless torso while wearing a pair of baggy acid wash jeans with sparkling silver panels over his knees.
Kelly’s friend and collaborator Dubxx also stuck to a toned-down look with a black T-shirt and orange pants.
Back in black: Kelly (real name: Colson Baker) looked casual in a plain black T-shirt with black barbed wire pin stripe pants and simple black sneakers
Eye-catching: His pal Mod showed off his tattoos on his shirtless torso while wearing a pair of baggy acid wash jeans with sparkling silver panels over his knees
Earlier in the day, the rapper and sometime-singer revealed a rushed cover of Rage Against the Machine’s Killing In The Name, one of the band’s signature songs that appeared on its self-titled 1992 debut.
The song was released only months after the 1992 LA Riots, and lyrics like ‘some of those that works forces / are the same that burn crosses’ reference documented cases of white supremacists infiltrating police departments, which the FBI warned about in 2006.
The clip featured black and white footage taken from this week’s protests in Los Angeles, along with clips of Kelly and his friend Travis Barker rocking out in the studio.
Timely: ‘they wrote this song in 1992 it’s been 28 years since, and every word still applies,’ Kelly captioned the video
Topical: Earlier on Thursday, Kelly released a cover of Rage Against the Machine’s Killing In The Name with Travis Barker. The song was inspired by white supremacists infiltrating police departments; the band pictured in 1993
Verité: The video featured black and white footage taken from this week’s protests in Los Angeles
Music makers: The footage alternated with clips of Kelly and his friend Travis Barker rocking out in the studio
According to Billboard, the two musicians headed into the studio to record the cover on June 2, shortly after they attended the protests together.
‘they wrote this song in 1992 it’s been 28 years since, and every word still applies,’ Kelly captioned the video.
He also included the hashtags ‘#RageAgainstTheMachine,’ ‘#ProsecuteKillerCops’ and ‘#BlackLivesMatter.’
Kelly and Barker are both shown at the protest in the video, with the Bloody Valentine singer holding a sign reading, ‘Stop arresting protestors! Arrest killer cops!!’ and the Blink-182 drummer carrying a sign that said, ‘No justice. No peace.’
Kelly also turned to show the back of his shirt, which read: ‘1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, f*** 12,’ with ’12’ being a slang term referring to police.
Starring role: Kelly and Barker are both shown at the protest in the video, with the Bloody Valentine singer showing the back of his shirt, which read: ‘1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, f*** 12,’ with ’12’ being slang referring to police