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Machine Gun Kelly (musician)

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MGK
MGK in 2012
MGK in 2012
Background information
Birth nameRichard Colson Baker
Also known asMachine Gun Kelly
Born (1990-04-22) April 22, 1990 (age 34)
Houston, Texas, United States
OriginCleveland, Ohio
GenresHip hop
OccupationRapper
Years active2005–present
LabelsEST19XX, Bad Boy, Interscope
Websitewww.mgklaceup.com
For the article about the Turkish National Security Council, see National Security Council (Turkey).

Richard Colson Baker[1][2][3] (born April 22, 1990), better known by his stage name MGK or Machine Gun Kelly is an American hip hop recording artist from Cleveland, Ohio, signed to Bad Boy and Interscope Records.[4] His stage name was given for his rapid-fire lyrical flow and is a reference to notorious criminal George "Machine Gun" Kelly. He rose to fame after releasing his first four mixtapes, Stamp Of Approval (2006), Homecoming (2008), 100 Words and Running (2010), and Lace Up (2010). He also has been featured in XXL.[5] In mid 2011 MGK signed a deal with Young and Reckless Clothing. On December 14, 2011, Machine Gun Kelly was named the Hottest Breakthrough MC of 2011 by MTV.[6] On March 18, 2012, Machine Gun Kelly won the MTVu Breaking Woodie award.[7]

Life and career

Baker was born on April 22, 1990 in Houston, Texas to missionary parents. He is of German descent on his father's side and Norwegian descent on his mother's side.[citation needed] Baker and his family moved all around the globe and took up residence abroad in Egypt and Germany, as well as throughout the United States in Chicago, Los Angeles, Denver, and Cleveland.[1] Since he lived the first four years of his life in Egypt, he spoke Arabic before English.[8] He started listening to rap in the sixth and seventh grade when he went to Hamilton Middle School, a school with an ethnically diverse student body in Denver, Colorado.[8] At the age of fourteen, Baker moved to his now hometown Cleveland, where he attended Shaker Heights High School.[8]

On the verge of getting evicted, Baker went to Harlem's Apollo Theater in March 2009 where he had back-to-back victories, making him the first ever white rapper to win at the Apollo Theater.[1] He records music in his home studio which he refers to as the "Rage Cage".[8] Baker first 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 debut mixtape 100 Words and Running.[1] In May 2010, he made his national debut with the single and video for "Alice In Wonderland" from the Midwest Block Starz compilation released by Block Starz Music.[9][10][11] He released his second mixtape in November 2010 titled Lace Up which featured the hometown anthem "Cleveland" which is played at Cleveland Cavaliers home games and is on rotation on Z107.9 in Cleveland.[1] Lace Up was recorded in three months in 2010 during a creative burst.[8]

2011-present: Recording contract and Lace Up

He has forged a friendship with Three 6 Mafia's Juicy J who tapped Kelly to appear on his track "Inhale" in January 2011 which was produced by Lex Luger and featured Steve-O from Jackass in the music video.[1]

In March 2011 he participated in his first SXSW show in Austin, Texas. At the SXSW show he was approached by Sean Combs and since then has gained massive exposure throughout the music scene. In 2011 Machine Gun Kelly signed with Bad Boy Records which is associated with Interscope[12] He was featured on the XV song "Finally Home".[13] On November 15, Machine Gun Kelly released a music video for the song "Wild Boy" featuring American rapper Waka Flocka Flame. On December 8, 2011, Machine Gun Kelly appeared on BET's 106 & Park alongside Waka Flocka Flame to premiere the video. In February 2012 Machine Gun Kelly hinted on Twitter that his long awaited album Half Naked & Almost Famous would be released in March 2012. Machine Gun Kelly tweeted from his Twitter page @machinegunkelly "Once March hits ... it's gonna be a wild ride for all of us. We're gonna watch something we've seen come from the bottom rise way up. LTFU".

MGK was signed by Jimmy Iovine and Diddy to Interscope and Bad Boy Records on August 3, 2011.[4] In official statement given, Kelly's debut album is titled Lace Up due October 9, 2012.[citation needed] The first single of the album, "Wild Boy" featuring rapper Waka Flocka Flame was released on September 27, 2011.[14] On the week of January 28, 2012, The song debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 on at number ninety-eight.[15] His song "Invincible" is featured in a commercial for the HTC ReZound[16] as well as the official theme song of WrestleMania XXVIII and WWE also used the song to highlight John Cena in his match with The Rock at the event. It is currently the theme for Thursday Night Football on NFL network. The song was released on iTunes December 16, 2011 featuring co-writer and singer Ester Dean as the second single of the album.[17] In 2012, Machine Gun Kelly was 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 (rapper), Don Trip and Kid Ink.[18]

A performance of MGK on Friday September 28 in a Microsoft Store went out of hand. He was escorted out of the store by police as he was performing on a table giving the middle finger to store employees asking him to get down.[19]

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

List of albums with selected chart positions
Title Album details Peak chart positions
US US R&B US Rap CAN
Lace Up 4 2 2 14

EPs

List of albums with selected chart positions
Title Album details Peak chart positions
US US R&B US Rap
Half Naked & Almost Famous 46 10 9

Mixtapes

  • Stamp of Approval (2006)
  • Homecoming (2008)
  • 100 Words and Running (2010)
  • Lace Up (2010)
  • Rage Pack (2011)
  • EST 4 Life (with Dubo) (2012)

Singles

As lead artist

List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name
Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
US US
R&B
"Wild Boy"
(featuring Waka Flocka Flame) 		2011 98 49 Half Naked & Almost Famous and Lace Up
"Invincible"
(featuring Ester Dean) 		108 — Lace Up
"Hold On (Shut Up)"
(featuring Young Jeezy) 		2012 — 86
"—" denotes a title that did not chart, or was not released in that territory.
List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
US US
R&B
"I Don't Dance"
(DMX featuring MGK) 		2012 — — Undisputed
"—" denotes a title that did not chart, or was not released in that territory.

Guest appearances

List of non-single guest appearances, with other performing artists, showing year released and album name
Title Year Album Other artist(s)
"My City" 2011 Kid Ink, Killa Kyleon, Red Cafe
"Boatload (Inhale)" Rubba Band Business 2 Juicy J
"OHMYGOD(OMGMGK)" Before, Volume 1 The Madden Brothers
"My Life" 2012 Follow the Leaders The Kickdrums
"It's My Party" 2.0 Roscoe Dash, Lil Jon

Awards and nominations

mtvU Woodie Awards

Year Nominated work Award Result
2012 MGK Breaking Woodie Won

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f XXL Mag April 2011; "Show & Prove" (Machine Gun Kelly)
  2. ^ Pinellas County Sheriff's Office Charge Report. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
  3. ^ "Machine Gun Kelly, rising rap star and Shaker Heights High School grad, busted for 'brawling' in Florida." The Plain Dealer. January 30, 2012. Retrieved 2012-02-26.
  4. ^ a b Machine Gun Kelly Announces Deal With Bad Boy/Interscope: 'They Understood Our Idea'. VIBE. Retrieved on 2011-08-24.
  5. ^ “Who Can Get Busy”: XXL’s Feature On the Growing Trend of White Rappers [April 2011 Magazine Excerpt. Xxlmag.Com. Retrieved on 2011-08-24.
  6. ^ Machine Gun Kelly Named MTV 'Hottest Breakthrough MC Of 2011'. Baller Status. Retrieved on 2011-12-15.
  7. ^ Machine Gun Kelly wins MTVu Breaking Woodie 2012. MTV. Retrieved on 2012-03-19.
  8. ^ a b c d e Cleveland's own Machine Gun Kelly is riding a wave of 'raging' rap. cleveland.com. Retrieved on 2011-08-24.
  9. ^ Twista, Shawnna, Big Sean & Rhymfest Join Forces On "Midwest Block Starz" | Hot 107.5. Hothiphopdetroit.com (2010-04-08). Retrieved on 2012-10-09.
  10. ^ iTunes - Music - Alice In Wonderland by Machine Gun Kelly. Itunes.apple.com (2010-08-11). Retrieved on 2012-10-09.
  11. ^ Machine Gun Kelly - Alice In Wonderland | BlockStarzMusic.com. YouTube. Retrieved on 2012-10-09.
  12. ^ Video: Machine Gun Kelly – Naked & Almost Famous (Ep.1). The Source (2011-03-20). Retrieved on 2011-08-24.
  13. ^ New Music: XV x Machine Gun Kelly "Finally Home". Rap Radar (2011-02-22). Retrieved on 2011-08-24.
  14. ^ Connecting to the iTunes Store. Itunes.apple.com. Retrieved on 2012-10-09.
  15. ^ "Billboard.com: Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2012-01-19.
  16. ^ MGK “Tears Up” Verizon Commercial. Rap Radar (2011-11-17). Retrieved on 2012-10-09.
  17. ^ Connecting to the iTunes Store. Itunes.apple.com. Retrieved on 2012-10-09.
  18. ^ "And XXL's 2012 Freshmen are…". 2DopeBoyz. 2012-02-28. Retrieved 2012-02-28.
  19. ^ "Rapper's wild Microsoft Store performance triggers police call". CNET. 2012-10-02. Retrieved 2012-10-02.
  20. ^ Diddy Presents MGK With Gold Plaque. Rap Radar (2012-10-05). Retrieved on 2012-10-09.

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