Travis Barker confirmed that Blink-182 will drop a new record in 2021 and that it will feature Grimes, Lil Uzi Vert and Pharrell. Guesting on the show Rock This with Allison Hagendorf, the drummer also revealed that the band is “60 percent” done and “slowly finishing up this album,” which is the follow-up to 2019’s NINE.
He says, “There’s a lot of cool stuff, like a song with Grimes right now that’s really, really cool that I love. There’s a song with Uzi that’s really, really cool that we did with Pharrell.”
Barker was on the program alongside rapper-turned-rocker Trippie Redd, to talk about why they HAD to collaborate (most recently with SPIN cover subject Machine Gun Kellly and blackbear) and more.
Lest you think the collabs will take the pop-punkers out of their comfort zone, Barker affirms, “I mean, it’s not like blink’s making a rap song or anything. It’s like bringing Uzi over to our world. So it’s more of a punk kind of like reggae feeling song. And yeah, I mean, I don’t think blink will ever be anything but like a pop-punk band,” he says.
Barker also explained that the fans come along on the band’s musical asides. “I mean, that’s who we are. And I feel like our fans have kind of journeyed with us when we’ve done songs like ‘I Miss You’ or ballads like ‘Adam’s Song.’ But like we’re never going to veer too far off from what we are – like, I’m like a punk kid at heart, you know what I mean?
“Whether it’s like pop-punk with Blink or whatever with [Machine Gun Kelly] or whatever with Trippie, that’s where my heart’s at,” he says. ” Like, I was raised on rap music and punk rock music. It’s kind of all I know.”
Last August, Blink shared the aptly titled song “Quarantine,” and Barker also spoke with SPIN about working with Post Malone for a Nirvana cover set for charity.
