
Richard Colson Baker (22 April 1990-), known professionally as Machine Gun Kelly (MGK), is an American rapper from Cleveland, Ohio.
Biography[]
Richard Colson Baker was born in Houston, Texas in 1990 to missionary parents, and he lived in places such as Egypt, Germany, Chicago, Denver, and Cleveland. While attending middle school in Denver, he was first exposed to rap music, and he recorded his first amateur demo tape in his aunt's basement while his father moved to Kuwait. He was nicknamed "Machine Gun Kelly" due to his rapid-fire delivery, and he attended high school in Cleveland, where he released his 2006 mixtape Stamp of Approval. In May 2010, he made his national debut with the single "Alice in Wonderland", and he released the hometown anthem "Cleveland" that November. In 2011, he secured a recording contract with Bad Boy and Interscope Records, and he released his major label debut album Lace Up in October 2012. He had drug problems, previously doing heroin, and smoking marijuana daily. He identified as an anarchist. In 2018, Machine Gun Kelly released his EP called BINGE, which featured the track "Rap Devil", which was a diss track directed towards the rapper Eminem.