MGK
Colson Baker, known professionally as MGK and formerly Machine Gun Kelly, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, producer and actor. The stage name "Machine Gun Kelly" is derived from the nickname of Prohibition-era gangster George Kelly Barnes.
MGK released four mixtapes from 2007 to 2010 before he signed with Sean Combs' Bad Boy Records, an imprint of Interscope Records, in 2011. His debut studio album, Lace Up, peaked at number four on the US Billboard 200 and was led by the single "Wild Boy", which marked his first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 and received triple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America. His second and third albums, General Admission and Bloom, were both met with critical praise and similar commercial success; the latter was supported by the single "Bad Things", 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, experimented with rap rock and saw a critical incline.
MGK's fifth album, Tickets to My Downfall, 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", which peaked within the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100. Its sequel, Mainstream Sellout, served as his sixth album and matched its commercial success, although critical reception was mixed. In 2024, he released the collaborative extended play Genre: Sadboy with fellow Ohio-based rapper Trippie Redd. In 2025, he moved more towards pop-rock with his seventh album, Lost Americana.
MGK had his first starring role in the romantic drama Beyond the Lights, and since appeared in the techno-thriller Nerve, the horror Bird Box, the comedy Big Time Adolescence and portrayed Tommy Lee in the Mötley Crüe biopic The Dirt. In 2022, he and Mod Sun made their directorial debuts with the stoner comedy film Good Mourning, which they also wrote, produced, and starred in.
Early life
Colson Baker was born on April 22, 1990, in Houston, Texas. Baker's parents were both Christian missionaries and moved all around the world during his childhood. He lived in Egypt for the first four years of his life and learned to speak Arabic before he learned English. He later lived in Kenya and Germany, as well as throughout the United States in Texas, Los Angeles, California, and Chicago, Illinois. Baker's mother left home when he was nine years old and he and his father moved to Denver to live with his aunt. His 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. He attended Thomas Jefferson High School his freshman year. When 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.
Career
Early career
After high school, Baker was kicked out by his father. 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 mixtape 100 Words and Running, where his catchphrase, "Lace Up", started as a mixtape interlude before becoming a prominent reference in his music. Despite his rising popularity, Baker still worked at Chipotle to afford rent. He soon also became a father.In May 2010, Baker made his national debut with the single "Alice in Wonderland", which was released on iTunes and accompanied by a music video. 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, where Sean Combs offered Baker a recording contract with Bad Boy Records, an imprint of Interscope Records. After Bad Boy parted ways with the label in favor of Epic Records as its distributor in 2015, Baker remained signed with Interscope in a joint venture with Bad Boy. Prior to the contract, he was featured on the XV song "Finally Home".
2012–2015: ''Lace Up'' and ''General Admission''
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.
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 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 soon had an interview with MTV, describing the reason as to why he wrote "A Little More". Stating in the interview: "People always came up to me after the first album and a lot of my friends back home said 'we need something for the streets' and then I did 'Till I Die'. Months later, when I look back at the video I like 'Okay, he's in jail, he's shot, he's dead, he snitched' and just to the point where it's sad and I wrote the song to describe how I see the world as a much mature person." He 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 stylistically hip-hop but musically, sonically 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.