Machine Gun Kelly -- MGK for short -- is leading a quick tour of his recording studio, aka the Rage Cage, in the basement of a Mayfield Heights home. "I'm known for what they call 'raging,' which is basically nonstop energy," the up-and-coming local rapper says.
Hit the break to read the rest of the article.
A tiny vocal booth is lined with dozens of empty sangria bottles. They're there to conjure a vibe, not for any special acoustical properties, MGK says. Standing 6-feet-3, he ducks his head as he enters the adjacent control room. His new album, "Lace Up," was recorded here in a three-month burst of creativity, starting in August. He'll celebrate the arrival of the self-released project with a concert Thursday night at the Grog Shop in Cleveland Heights. MGK, whose real name is Colson Baker, was born in Houston and spent the first four years of his life in Egypt. "I spoke Arabic before I spoke English," he says. When he was growing up, his family moved often. He also lived in Chicago, Los Angeles and Denver before settling in Cleveland six years ago. MGK, 20, feels at home here. His civic pride comes across loud and clear (with expletives for emphasis) on "Cleveland," a highlight of the new album. "I waited a long time to feel like I was part of something," he says. "Cleveland is just like me -- an underdog. To be able to do something here and to be appreciated so much, it's nuts." At Shaker Heights High School, even teachers called him MGK. He earned the name Machine Gun Kelly because of his rapid-fire, rat-a-tat-tat delivery, inspired by another Cleveland act, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. "They were the reason I tried rapping fast," MGK says. "I didn't listen to hip-hop until I moved to Denver. In fourth grade, I moved to a predominantly black school. I got my