Machine Gun Kelly Talks Releasing Debut Album Lace Up Today

The day that Machine Gun Kelly has been waiting on finally arrived today (October 9)—his debut album, Lace Up, hit stores.

“Personally, between me and my fans, this is the biggest moment of my career, really,” the Bad Boy rapper told XXL. “It poses even more of the underdog story that we’ve kept from day one. I feel like people are going to give it a chance and it’s going to be one of those word of mouth type of things.”

The latter has definitely been true thus far, as Lace Up was No. 2 on iTunes’s Top Albums list, just behind another 2012 XXL Freshman, Macklemore’s The Heist, by the afternoon.

Lace Up features guest appearances from the likes of Bun B, Lil Jon, Waka Flocka Flame, Tech N9ne, Twista, Young Jeezy, Cassie and MGK’s childhood rap idol, DMX.

Kells celebrates the release of his debut album today in his hometown of Cleveland.

“Seeing people that knew me back when we were hustling just to get studio time in high school STILL supporting me is beautiful,” Kelly added on his Twitter. “It takes a lot to support someone else, and I wanna thank those who’ve done that for me and these kids.”

Just last week, MGK's boss, Diddy, presented the Cleveland rhyme slinger with a gold plaque for his smash single, "Wild Boy."—Mark Lelinwalla