Happy Birthday, Machine Gun Kelly!

Today, April 22, is the 28th birthday of Cleveland rapper Machine Gun Kelly. Born Colson Baker in Houston, Texas, MGK moved around a lot in his adolescence before settling in Cleveland, the city he reps, and getting into hip-hop at the age of fourteen.

MGK began to gain notoriety when he appeared on MTV2's Sucker Free Freestyle and dropped his mixtape, 100 Words and Running in 2010. Known for his rapid, spit-fire lyrical style, Kelly inked a deal with Interscope and Bad Boy Records in 2011 and found breakout success with his first single under the label, "Wild Boy" featuring Waka Flocka Flame. An obvious turn up banger, "Wild Boy" debuted at number 98 on the Billboard Hot 100 and shot MGK into stardom.

MGK was featured as one of the XXL Freshman in 2012 along the likes of Macklemore, French Montana, Future, Kid Ink and Iggy Azalea. Industry cosigns, a climbing single and this notoriety fueled MGK's debut album, Lace Up (2012). Lace Up debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 but instead of dropping a follow up album right away, Kelly took his time with a sophomore LP.

After sporadic singles, MGK followed up with General Admission in 2015. Continuing his rise as a legit rap star, Kelly returned in 2017 with his Bloom album, a project that featured the Hailee Steinfeld-assisted single "At My Best" and the Camila Cabello-featuring "Bad Things." The latter peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart.

Adding to his repertoire, MGK was chosen to play the role of Motley Crue frontman, Tommy Lee, in the forthcoming group biopic, The Dirt.

Happy Birthday, MGK!

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