At first glance, some may write off Machine Gun Kelly’s seemingly endless energy as a by-product of his age, but when sitting down with the Cleveland native it becomes apparent there is a fire burning inside the rapper, that is in no danger of extinguishing anytime soon, regardless of how old he is. HNHH caught up with MGK in Atlanta during the BET Awards, where the always mischievous Kelly had the misfortune of getting caught up in the aftermath of the Young Jeezy and Rick Ross melee.
A reflective Kelly talked to HNHH about the dangers of the party lifestyle in the rap game, the tussle between Rozay and Jeezy in Atlanta, and the “movement” which is his upcoming album Lace Up. MGK talks about how he combined different genres on the LP, describing the sound as “rebellious”. Lastly, the Bad Boy signee revealed he was a huge fan of HNHH, but had a major grievance to air with us.
Well aware of his image as a “Wild Boy”, MGK was asked about the party lifestyle, and although he admits that he likes to indulge, he warns people of the dangers involved, “We all let the partying get to a certain extent that we never would have thought it got to, that put people into fucked up situations...I seen kinda where partying goes wrong.”
These fallbacks have made Kelly weary of rappers who promote the party/drug lifestyle, especially when they do so solely to sell records, “I’ve been unsupportive of artists that are pushing drugs, or usage of drugs, just for cool points. Especially those that really don’t live that life.” He is quick to add however, “I’m not no preacher ass muthafucka myself.”
To him, this is much more than just “party and bullshit”, this is a way of life, and Kelly views himself as a counter culture-ist, leading a movement. He says, “When other people view you as like this revolutionary and shit”, he adds that some people will ask, “who the fuck is this Wild Boy to say he’s a revolutionary?" The Cleveland rapper ignores these critics and realizes they are missing the point of his music, “If you listen to my music dog, it’s so deep man.”
With the recent altercations at the BET Awards making the headlines, MGK mentions how he does not get wrapped up in the glitz and negativity that can stem from being a rapper, “I just witnessed some crazy shit at the awards, when that beef shit goes too far... you see all this shit man, this red carpets this glam, this shit all temporary though, it’s all facade.”
Lace Up is dropping next week, and Kelly has mentioned in the past how the experience of working on the album has changed him, and he has greatly matured. When discussing the LP, MGK says it has a fusion of disparate genres, “We almost created like a new genre with this album. I have a metal band opening the album...but it’s talking about some hood shit.”
Recording the album, all the guests were in-studio, foregoing the typical route of emailing verses, “the features were all nuts cause we were all in the studio together.” Describing the sound of the LP containing so many various influences, Machine Gun Kelly maintains his “revolutionary” stance and says the album is “rebellious.” The Bad Boy talent adds, “Lace Up is gonna change the world, a revolution is gonna spark up...this shit’s not about me, this shit is real.”
In closing the interview, MGK mentions he’s a “huge fan” of HotNewHipHop, but has not been a fan of our recent "Hottest" lists. Kelly takes us to task for omitting him from both the “10 Hottest Mixtapes of the Summer”, and the “10 Hottest Upcoming Fall Albums” features. The Cleveland rapper references his original videos of a fifteen year old MGK rapping when he was “in the gutter”. Even when discussing something as seemingly mundane as a Top 10 list, Kelly’s passion is apparent. This same passion can be heard in his rhymes. As a rapper, and person, Machine Gun Kelly always puts everything on the table.
We here at HNHH just want to say: we see you MGK, and keep an eye out for upcoming album lists, because with this heart and passion put on wax, Lace Up looks primed to be an absolute beast of an album.
Check out the exclusive interview below.
