Background and career
Colson Baker (born April 22, 1990), known professionally as MGK (stylized in all lowercase) and formerly Machine Gun Kelly, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, producer, and actor. His original stage name "Machine Gun Kelly" was derived from the nickname of Prohibition-era gangster George Kelly Barnes. MGK self-released four mixtapes from 2007 to 2010 before he signed with Sean Combs' Bad Boy Records, an imprint of Interscope Records, in 2011. His debut studio album, Lace Up (2012), peaked at number four on the US Billboard 200 and was led by the single "Wild Boy" (featuring Waka Flocka Flame), which marked his first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 and received triple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). His second and third albums, General Admission (2015) and Bloom (2017), were both met with critical praise and similar commercial success; the latter was supported by the single "Bad Things" (with Camila Cabello), which peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100.
His 2018 single, "Rap Devil", was a diss track aimed at fellow rapper Eminem, and peaked at number 13 on the chart despite mixed critical response. His fourth album, Hotel Diablo (2019), experimented with rap rock and saw a critical incline. MGK's fifth album, Tickets to My Downfall (2020), waived any semblance of hip-hop in favor of a pop-punk sound and aesthetic, with its production entirely helmed by Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker. It debuted atop the Billboard 200—becoming the only rock album to do so that year—and was supported by the single "My Ex's Best Friend" (featuring blackbear), which peaked within the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100. Its sequel, Mainstream Sellout (2022), served as his sixth album and matched its commercial success, although critical reception was mixed. In 2024, he released the collaborative extended play, (EP) Genre: Sadboy, with fellow Ohio-based rapper Trippie Redd, and delved into pop-rock with his seventh album, Lost Americana (2025).
MGK had his first starring role in the romantic drama Beyond the Lights (2014), and since appeared in the techno-thriller Nerve (2016), the horror Bird Box (2018), the comedy Big Time Adolescence and portrayed Tommy Lee in the Mötley Crüe biopic The Dirt (both 2019). In 2022, he and Mod Sun made their directorial debuts with the stoner comedy film Good Mourning, which they also wrote, produced, and starred in.
Colson Baker was born on April 22, 1990, in Houston, Texas. Baker's parents were both Christian missionaries and moved all around the world during his childhood. He lived in Egypt for the first four years of his life and learned to speak Arabic before he learned English. He later lived in Kenya and Germany, as well as throughout the United States in Texas, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Baker's mother left home when he was nine years old and he and his father moved to Denver to live with his aunt. His father fought depression and unemployment. Baker says he had just two school outfits and that he endured bullying from children in his neighborhood. He began listening to rap in the sixth grade, when he attended Hamilton Middle School, a school with an ethnically diverse student body in Denver. He attended Thomas Jefferson High School (Denver) his freshman year. When he lived in Cleveland, Baker attended Shaker Heights High School.
How Machine Gun Kelly makes money
MGK self-released four mixtapes from 2007 to 2010 before he signed with Sean Combs' Bad Boy Records, an imprint of Interscope Records, in 2011.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth, in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
