Rapper Machine Gun Kelly, MGK, for short, is probably the most buzzed about up-and-coming rapper in the game. A tall, tatted up white boy from Cleveland, Ohio who loves to rage and “lace up,” is catching the eye of everyone who’s everyone in the music industry.
He first made waves nationally when he did four showcases down in Austin, Texas during the SXSW Music Festival. MGK even caught the eye of Diddy who tweeted, “This kid MGK is a star!” He met Diddy after his show at Fader Fort and now he’s opening for Diddy on his “Coming Home” tour.
GlobalGrind caught up with MGK while he was gearing up for a show in Atlanta. MGK talked about his craziest moment down in SXSW, which happens to be a juicy sexual encounter, meeting Diddy, how white boy rap is wack, and of course his album.
Check out the exclusive interview below!
GlobalGrind: We hear you’re in Atlanta right now, what’s going on down there?
MGK: I have a show with Puff tonight for his “Coming Home” tour, radio with DJ Drama, and DJ Drama’s birthday party on Thursday.
You’re really popping and have a busy schedule right now.
Yeah, I have a show every day for the next two weeks until our big homecoming show in Cleveland at the House of Blues.
How did it feel when you noticed Diddy shouted you out on Twitter when he first watched you perform at SXSW?
I was happy for anyone to show me love quite honestly. That was huge though. I wondered like what if that dude (Diddy) tweeted me one day, and then he did. I was like, holy sh*t!
[pagebreak]
Diddy gave you a bottle of champagne after you killed your performance at SXSW. How was your journey down in Austin?
It was long. It was really good though. Every show was amazing. In my opinion we’re like the best live performers period. We just went down there and opened everyone’s eyes to the crazy antics and the awesome stage performances. We’re really happy that we got booked for as many shows as we did. We did four shows in two days. One of the shows, the mics and the speakers went out after the first song, so we had to do our show a capella. We had a lot of trials and tribulations down there, but it all worked out.
What was the craziest thing that happened to you down at SXSW?
Umm, the craziest thing that happened to me was sexual. I don’t know if that’s what you want to hear.
No, go ahead and share with GlobalGrind, we love crazy stories.
I got clutch ass head from a band promoter.
A band promoter? You must be really swagged out then?
Yeah.
You didn’t even get busy with a fan, but you got with a band promoter. That’s pretty popping.
Nah, no fan. A band promoter. Straight up getting it in.
You went H.A.M. down at SXSW.
Yea, oh yeah, we go H.A.M everywhere we go.
[pagebreak]
Can you describe the art of raging?
It’s turning a bunch of pent up anger into a giant fun time. It’s going crazy wherever you’re not supposed to go crazy. Artists get off stage and make excuses like ‘man there was only 20 people there, how am I supposed to have a good show if no one is here?’ I’m like f*ck you man, you’re supposed to be going crazy even if it’s only 20 people at the show. There are 20 people that want to see a good show, so go hard.
When did you first start rapping?
When I was 14 years old.
In an interview, you mentioned you hated rap. What did you mean by that?
I don’t hate rap. Rappers don’t make you feel good anymore. A lot of rappers do stuff for shock value and gimmick.
How does MGK change the rap game up?
I have a different voice. I have a passion. I have energy. I have a story. There’s no gimmicks. No shock value videos.
If you could collaborate with any one right now, who would you collaborate with?
Jeezy. He has the million dollar voice.
[pagebreak]
Where do you get a lot of your musical inspirations from?
DMX, everyday life experiences, and when I was a kid I always went hard when I wrote my rhymes.
You have a daughter, is she your motivation to succeed in this rap game?
Definitely.
You have a million and one tattoos, how many tats do you officially have or do you even keep count?
I have one.
Only one tattoo?
Yea, one big ass tat.
Are you the dude who’s going to bring white boy rap back?
I never knew white boy rap was here in the first place. That sh*t is corny as f*ck. I’m not down with that frat rap. I didn’t go to college. I don’t do music telling people to put their red cups in the air and sh*t like that. That sh*t is wack.
If you could only take three albums to a deserted island, what three albums would you take?
“The Eminem Show,” Red Hot Chili Pepper’s greatest hits and Young Jeezy.
[pagebreak]
If you could describe yourself in one sentence, how would you describe yourself?
Machine Gun Kelly is a young, energetic, Midwest boy who has a dollar and a dream.
When can we expect an album from you?
This fall, I’m determined to make it happen this fall.
Are you working with anyone hot on the album?
Yea, me and Mike Posner did a crazy joint together. Me and Bun B did a song together. I’m just working hard to make sure the album is hot.
You moved around a lot when you were a kid, how has that affected you musically or as a person?
Hell yeah, it makes you kind of a loner.
Since you’ve lived so many places, what was it about Cleveland that made you want to claim it as your home?
People from Cleveland are like the underdogs like me. A very blue collared city. They’re about what i’m about.
Is there anything else you want to share with GlobalGrind?
Check out the “Lace Up” mixtape at MGKlaceup.com.
[pagebreak]
Rapper Machine Gun Kelly.
[pagebreak]
Rapper Machine Gun Kelly visits Harlem, New York.
[pagebreak]
Rapper Machine Gun Kelly.
[pagebreak]
Rapper Machine Gun Kelly.
