MGK, or Machine Gun Kelly, is a Cleveland rapper born Richard Colson Baker. Taking his stage name from the notorious mobster and applying it to himself for his rapid-fire lyrical flow, MGK started rapping while still in high school and quickly gained a large local following through the release of several mixtapes, 2006's Stamp of Approval, 2008's Homecoming, and 100 Words and Running and Lace Up, both released in 2010. In 2011 the MC appeared on the track "Inhale" by Three 6 Mafia's Juicy J, and in its video, which also featured Steve O from television's Jackass. Later that year, after a performance at the South by Southwest Music Conference, Kelly was approached by Bad Boy CEO Sean "Diddy" Combs and eventually inked a deal with Bad Boy/Interscope. In March of 2012 he released the Half Naked & Almost Famous EP under the name MGK, followed in October of the same year by his proper debut, Lace Up. During this time, he also signed a deal with Young and Restless to work on a clothing line. In 2015 he released General Admission, a dark, autobiographical effort released under the full name of Machine Gun Kelly.
Fred Thomas
AllMusic.com
