Machine Gun Kelly (musician) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids MGK
MGK in 2023
Born	Colson Baker (1990-04-22) April 22, 1990 (age 35) Houston, Texas, U.S.
Other names	Machine Gun Kelly
Occupation	Rapper singer songwriter actor guitarist
Years active	2006–present
Works	Discography filmography
Children	1
Awards	Full list
Musical career
Origin	Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop pop rap rap rock pop-punk alternative rock
Instruments	Vocals guitar
Labels	EST 19XX Bad Boy Interscope
Signature

Colson Baker (born April 22, 1990), known professionally as Machine Gun Kelly (MGK, stylized in all lowercase), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor.

MGK released four mixtapes from 2007 to 2010 before he signed with Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records, an imprint of Interscope Records the following year. His debut studio album, Lace Up (2012), peaked at number four on the US Billboard 200 and was led by the single "Wild Boy" (featuring Waka Flocka Flame), which marked his first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 and received triple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). His second and third albums, General Admission (2015) and Bloom (2017), were both met with critical praise and similar commercial success; the latter was supported by the single "Bad Things" (with Camila Cabello), which peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100. His 2018 single, "Rap Devil", was a diss track aimed at fellow rapper Eminem, and peaked at number 13 on the chart despite mixed critical response. His fourth album, Hotel Diablo (2019), experimented with rap rock and saw a critical incline.

MGK's fifth album, Tickets to My Downfall (2020), saw a complete departure from hip-hop in favor of a pop-punk sound and aesthetic, with its production entirely helmed by Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker. It debuted atop the Billboard 200—becoming the only rock album to do so that year—and was supported by the single "My Ex's Best Friend" (featuring blackbear), which peaked within the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100. Its sequel, Mainstream Sellout (2022), served as his sixth album and matched its commercial success, although critical reception was mixed.

MGK had his first starring role in the romantic drama Beyond the Lights (2014), and since appeared in the techno-thriller Nerve (2016), the horror Bird Box (2018), the comedy Big Time Adolescence and portrayed Tommy Lee in the Mötley Crüe biopic The Dirt (both 2019). In 2022, he and Mod Sun made their directorial debuts.

Early life

Baker was born on April 22, 1990, in Houston, Texas, to Christian missionary parents. Baker and his family moved all around the world and he lived in Egypt for the first 4 years of his life. He also moved to Germany as well as throughout the United States, in Chicago, Denver, and Cleveland. Baker's mother left home when he was nine years old and he and his father moved to Denver to live with Baker's aunt. Baker's father fought depression and unemployment. Baker says he had just two school outfits and that he endured bullying from children in his neighborhood.

He began listening to rap in the sixth grade, when he attended Hamilton Middle School, a school with an ethnically diverse student body in Denver. While he lived in Cleveland, Baker attended Shaker Heights High School.

The first three rappers that got him into the genre of hip hop as a child were Ludacris, Eminem and DMX, with Baker gaining interest in the genre after listening to DMX's "We Right Here" from the album The Great Depression (2001).

Career

Early career

MGK's music video "Alice in Wonderland", 2010

In March 2009, while he was on the verge of getting evicted, Baker traveled to Harlem's Apollo Theater, where he had consecutive victories, making him the first ever rapper to win at the Apollo Theater. He recorded music in his home studio, which he refers to as the "Rage Cage", and started to gain exposure when he was featured on MTV2's Sucker Free Freestyle, where he freestyled numerous verses from his "Chip off the Block" single. In February 2010, he released his second mixtape 100 Words and Running, where he derived his catchphrase, "Lace Up", which started as a mixtape interlude, before making it a prominent reference in his music. Despite his rising popularity, Baker found himself working at Chipotle to afford rent, as well as being kicked out by his father after high school. Baker soon also became a father.

In May 2010, he made his national debut with the single "Alice in Wonderland", which was released on iTunes and accompanied a music video along with the song. It was released via Block Starz Music. The single earned Baker the "Best Midwest Artist" at the 2010 Underground Music Awards and his "Alice in Wonderland" clip won Best Music Video at the 2010 Ohio Hip-Hop Awards. He released his second mixtape in November 2010 titled Lace Up which featured the hometown anthem "Cleveland", which was then played at Cleveland Cavaliers home games and went on rotation on Z107.9 in Cleveland. The mixtape was recorded in three months in 2010 during a creative burst. Following the release of the mixtape, he was featured in the magazine XXL in 2011. He then appeared on the Juicy J track "Inhale", which also featured Steve-O from the television series Jackass, in the music video.

In March 2011, Baker participated in his first SXSW show in Austin, Texas, and at the show, he was approached by Sean Combs, who had offered Baker a recording contract with Bad Boy Records, which is associated with and has its content distributed by Interscope. Prior to the contract, he was featured on the XV song "Finally Home".

2012–2015: Lace Up and General Admission

Performing in Pittsburgh in March 2013

Baker announced that his debut album would be titled Lace Up and would have an intended release on October 9, 2012. "Wild Boy" served as the lead single for the album and the song peaked on the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 98. It was soon certified gold by the RIAA. The song "Invincible" was released on iTunes on December 16, 2011, featuring co-writer and singer Ester Dean as the second single of the album. The song is featured in a commercial for the HTC ReZound as well as the official theme song of WrestleMania XXVIII. WWE also used the song to highlight John Cena in his match at the event, with Baker also performing at WrestleMania prior to the main event between Cena and The Rock. "Invincible" was also used as the theme for Thursday Night Football when it was on the NFL Network. WWE also used the song "All We Have" to again highlight Cena on his rematch with The Rock at next year's event. On December 14, 2011, Baker was named the Hottest Breakthrough MC of 2011 by MTV. On March 18, 2012, Baker won the MTVu Breaking Woodie award before being featured on the cover of XXL as part of their annual "Top 10 Freshmen list" along with fellow rappers Macklemore, French Montana, Hopsin, Danny Brown, Iggy Azalea, Roscoe Dash, Future, Don Trip and Kid Ink. On August 13, 2012, Baker self-released a mixtape titled EST 4 Life, which contained both old and recently recorded material.

Lace Up was released on October 9, 2012. The album featured guest appearances from Bun B, Cassie, DMX, Ester Dean, Lil Jon, Tech N9ne, Twista, Waka Flocka Flame, Young Jeezy and Dub-O. The album debuted at number 4 on the US Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 57,000 copies. It slid down to No. 22 in its second week, giving it a total of 65,000 copies sold. As of September 2015, the album has sold 263,000 copies.

Performing at RiP in 2017

In early 2012, Baker announced that he would be releasing a new mixtape. Pusha T and Meek Mill were the first artists to be featured on the mixtape, both appearing on the track "Pe$o". Baker also announced that Wiz Khalifa will be featured on the mixtape. On February 18, 2013, Baker announced the name of the mixtape as Black Flag and revealed the cover. He also released a music video for "Champions" which features Diddy and samples The Diplomats song "We Are the Champions", as the music video release served as a promotional video for Black Flag. On June 26, Baker released Black Flag without prior announcement. The mixtape also featured guest appearances from French Montana, Kellin Quinn, Dub-O, Sean McGee and Tezo. On June 4, 2013, Baker posted a picture of a letter on his social media accounts which read:

This project is dedicated to love, because for my entire life it has been taken from me. Granted, when it was given, I pushed it right back. I couldn't handle it. This was until I experienced the loss of love for what I love doing most: music. That was the one thing worth fighting for, even more-so then[sic] the love of my father. I've found that love again. And I plan on never surrendering it. Find what you love and fight!! Black Flag.

Following the release of Black Flag, rumors surfaced that Baker had begun working on his second studio album. In January 2014, he confirmed that he was in the early stages of working on the album, with 2015 being the scheduled year of release. On January 5, 2015, Baker released the song "Till I Die", which was accompanied with a music video on his VEVO account. Months later, a remix of "Till I Die" with hometown fellow hip-hop group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony was confirmed and released on June 5, 2015. The song aired via WorldStarHipHop and featured French Montana, Yo Gotti and Ray Cash. On May 18, 2015, the music video for another song titled "A Little More" was released, with the single featuring vocals from Victoria Monet. Baker also updated the status on his second studio album, noting that the album is finished, and stating that the album would contain "more lyricism and [would be more] stylistically [influenced by] hip-hop but musically, sonically [would contain] more live instrumentation."

On June 25, Baker released the title of his second album as General Admission, due to be released in late September 2015.

2020–present: Tickets to My Downfall and Mainstream Sellout

On January 14, 2020, Baker announced the title of the project as Tickets to My Downfall, and that it would be released on September 25, 2020. On March 17, 2020, he released the song "Bullets with Names", featuring Young Thug, RJMrLA and Lil Duke, a rap track not associated with the album. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, Baker began to release daily recordings, covers, and collaborations as part of his #LockdownSessions series. Releases included covers of "Misery Business" by Paramore (with Travis Barker), "Champagne Supernova" by Oasis (with Yungblud), and a remix of "My House" by PVRIS. Some tracks were later re-released on special editions of Tickets to My Downfall. Tickets to My Downfall's first single "Bloody Valentine" was released on May 1, 2020, followed by "Concert for Aliens" on August 5 and "My Ex's Best Friend" featuring Blackbear on August 7.

In August 2020, Baker opened his own coffee house called 27 Club Coffee in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. On September 29, 2020, a music video was released for the Tickets to my Downfall song "Drunk Face", directed by Mod Sun, which was followed on October 22, 2020, by a music video for "Forget Me Too". Throughout October 2020, the four episodes of Halloween in Hell, a fictionalised musical horror podcast that Baker created and starred in, were released. The series also starred Iann Dior, 24kGoldn, Dana Dentata, Phem and Tommy Lee. The podcast was accompanied by the album Audio Up presents: Original Music from Halloween In Hell a soundtrack performed collaboratively by all the actors involved, and written and composed by Jared Gutstadt. Baker directed the music video for Mod Sun's song "Karma", which was released on November 12, 2020.

On November 22, 2020, after his performance at the AMAs, Baker announced his album Tickets to My Downfall was going to be turned into a "first of its kind musical film experience" titled Downfalls High which will air in January 2021. On November 30, 2020, Yungblud announced on Twitter he'll be releasing a new collaboration featuring Baker and Travis Barker titled "Acting Like That". On January 15, 2021, Baker released Downfalls High on his Facebook page followed by a release to YouTube on January 18. Directed by Baker and Mod Sun and narrated by Baker and Barker, the film stars Chase Hudson and Sydney Sweeney as teenage lovers in what Baker described as a "pop-punk [version of] Grease". Iann Dior, Phem, Jxdn, and Trippie Redd, also make appearances.

On March 12, 2021, he released the single "DayWalker" featuring Corpse Husband. On April 29, he released the single "Love Race" featuring Kellin Quinn, the pair's third collaboration.

On August 9, 2021, he announced that his next album would be titled Born with Horns and would be another collaborative project with Barker. The first single, "Papercuts", was released on August 11. On January 30, 2022, he posted a preview of a collaboration with singer Willow titled "Emo Girl".

On August 26, 2021, it was announced that he would star in and co-direct the film Good Mourning, alongside Mod Sun, Dove Cameron, Megan Fox and Becky G. On February 5, 2022, MGK performed during the 2022 NHL All-Star Game halftime show in Las Vegas.

On January 31, 2022, he announced that the album had been retitled to Mainstream Sellout. Critical reception was mixed.

Musical style and influences

Baker's musical style has been mainly described as hip hop, pop-rap, and rap rock. His fifth album, Tickets to My Downfall, marked a change in sound and has been described as pop-punk and alternative rock.

Baker cites DMX and Eminem as music influences, as well as listening to rock bands Guns N' Roses and Blink-182 during his youth. Baker cites these rap and rock artists as major musical influences. In an interview discussing his collaboration with DMX, Baker called the rapper his idol. He also stated that DMX's music helped him through his troubles while growing up, especially bullying.

Acting career

Baker made his film debut in the 2014 romantic drama Beyond the Lights, where he played a "shallow, self-important" rapper named Kid Culprit. In 2016, he co-starred and co-executive produced the drama film The Land, a Cleveland-set drama produced by fellow rapper Nas. The same year, he had a minor role in the techno-thriller adventure film Nerve with Emma Roberts and Dave Franco; and had a recurring role on the Showtime comedy-drama series Roadies as Wes, a former Pearl Jam roadie.

He played Felix in the 2018 Netflix post-apocalyptic horror thriller film Bird Box with Sandra Bullock, and portrayed drummer Tommy Lee in The Dirt, a 2019 Netflix biographical comedy-drama about Mötley Crüe. He played the role of Newt in the 2020 superhero film Project Power opposite Jamie Foxx, and the following year, he co-starred with Bruce Willis and Megan Fox in the crime thriller film Midnight in the Switchgrass; and starred in the action western film The Last Son with Sam Worthington. Baker played the role of "London Clash" in the self-directed film Good Mourning, released in 2022.

Personal life

In his teens, Baker was in a relationship with Emma Cannon, with whom he has a daughter, who was born in July 2009.

In a 2012 interview, he stated that he identifies politically as an anarchist. In 2022, when he was asked on whether he plans to vote in the midterm elections, he replied: "I have anarchy tattooed on my stomach. I'm not a political person".

In May 2020, he began a relationship with actress Megan Fox after the two met while filming Midnight in the Switchgrass. On January 12, 2022, Fox announced that the two were engaged. In March 2024, Fox revealed that the couple had called their engagement off. In November 2024, Fox revealed on Instagram that she was pregnant with his child, following a miscarriage earlier in their relationship.

In 2021, Baker reverted back to his birth name, Colson Baker.

Backing band

Current members

• Steve "Baze" Basil – bass, keyboards (2017–present)
• Brandon "Slimxx" Allen – keyboards, backing vocals (2017–present)
• JP "Rook" Cappelletty – drums (2017–present)
• Travis Barker – drums (2019–present)
• Justin "Jus" Lyons – guitars (2021–present)
• Sophie Lloyd – guitars (2022–present)

Former members

• AJ Tyus – guitars (2017–2021)

Discography

Studio albums

• Lace Up (2012)
• General Admission (2015)
• Bloom (2017)
• Hotel Diablo (2019)
• Tickets to My Downfall (2020)
• Mainstream Sellout (2022)

Tours

Headlining tours

• Hostile Takeover Tour (2012)
• No Class Tour (2014)
• Alpha Omega Tour (2016)
• 27 World Tour (2017)
• Hotel Diablo World Tour (2019)
• Tickets to My Downfall Tour (2021)
• Mainstream Sellout Tour (2022)

Co-headlining tours

• The Justin Bieber Big Tour (with Young Thug) (2019)

Filmography

Film

For film roles, he is credited as Colson Baker unless otherwise noted.

Television & video games

Internet

Audio

Awards and nominations

See also

In Spanish: Machine Gun Kelly (músico) para niños