H-2 Machine Gun Kelly

MGK showing his symbol the "L" for Lace Up.

Machine Gun Kelly, also known as MGK, is a up and coming rapper from Cleveland, Ohio. MGK's lyrics are delivered at an extremely fast pace and sometimes it is hard to catch what he is saying. He has incredibly emotional lyrics that people fail to recognize. They just hear the bass and snare beats and assume that he is just like every other rapper out there, which is simply not true. I was starting to lose hope in the rap community of today except for a few select artists, and MGK is one of the main artists that restored my faith. Before he was offered a record deal by Interscope records, he released three mix tapes with childhood friends who had the sa I would highly recommend checking it out. 

me terrible living conditions that he did. The mix tapes were titled "100 Words and Running" "The Rage Pack", and “EST 4 Life". All three of them were not widely received by the public, but all that it did was inspire him to write more and more. All he would want to do was write, record, and play music. In 2009, MGK's first real album came out. It was titled "Homecoming". The whole album was a tribute to his home city of Cleveland. It vividly described how rough growing up was, and how in a way, the mean streets of Cleveland raised him to be a man. They taught him how to deal with his anger issues, and how to get by in life. The album got much more publicity than the mix tapes, but still, he was not satisfied. All throughout this time, he had started a movement. EST, 19XX, and the Lace Up movement are all essentially the same thing. Some people mistake it for a gang, but that is so wrong. There has never been a report of any violence or gang like activity involving Lace Up. All it simply is, is a group of people who accept each other for who they are. It doesn't matter where you came from, or who you are, you are part of the movement. In 2012, MGK's first major album dropped. Respectively being titled "Lace Up", the album was phenomenal. It got great ratings from music critics everywhere, but even better than that, it spread the Lace Up movement. That was MGK's main goal. In a quote from his song "Halo", there are lyrics going "I didn't ever want to be a celebrity, so put that camera down and stand next to me". That gives you some insight on his morals and opinions. After "Lace Up' came out, he hadn't released anything for some time. On July 3rd, 2013, "Black Flag" was released. In my opinion his greatest work. There is so much passion and meaning in that album. Machine Gun Kelly's music has been an incredible influence on my personal life. You can really feel the emotion and meaning behind his lyrics. You have to feel something when listening to at least one of his songs. I had the honor of meeting MGK. I was stupidly nervous at the time, but when I got to talk to him, all of the nervousness disappeared. He was like a friend that I had known my entire life. It takes a special kind of person to be able to do that. From the best live show i've ever seen, to someone who treats you like family is pretty rare. I cannot wait to see what he comes out with next. The potential is endless.