10 Things You Didn’t Know About Machine Gun Kelly

The American rapper and actor from Cleveland, Machine Gun Kelly was born Richard Colson Baker on 22 April 1990 in Houston, Texas. He started to gain exposure when he was featured on MTV2’s Sucker Free Freestyle, where he freestyled numerous verses from his “Chip off the Block” single. In May 2010, he made his national debut with the single “Alice in Wonderland”, which earned him the “Best Midwest Artist” at the 2010 Underground Music Awards and his “Alice in Wonderland” clip won Best Music Video at the 2010 Ohio Hip-Hop Awards. He secured a recording contract with Bad Boy and Interscope Records in 2011. He has also appeared in various films, starring in the critically acclaimed Beyond the Lights, as Kid Culprit. There is no doubt that the 26-years-old American actor and rapper has definitely paved a successful path for himself in the music industry.

Here are 10 things you probably didn’t know about the American raper and actor from Cleveland, Machine Gun Kelly:

1. Machine Gun Kelly was born Richard Colson Baker on 22 April 1990 in Houston, Texas.

2. He started listening to rap in the sixth grade, when he attended Hamilton Middle School, a school with an ethnically diverse student body in Denver, Colorado.

3. The first three rappers that got him into the genre of hip hop as a child were Ludacris, Eminem and DMX.

4. While attending Shaker Heights High, he convinced a local t-shirt shop owner to become his manager, as the shop owner would double as a MC Manager.

5. He started to gain exposure when he was featured on MTV2’s Sucker Free Freestyle, where he freestyled numerous verses from his “Chip off the Block” single.

6. In March 2009, he travelled to Harlem’s Apollo Theater, where he had consecutive victories, making him the first ever rapper to win at the Apollo Theater.

7. In May 2010, he made his national debut with the single “Alice in Wonderland”, which earned him the “Best Midwest Artist” at the 2010 Underground Music Awards and his “Alice in Wonderland” clip won Best Music Video at the 2010 Ohio Hip-Hop Awards.

8. He released his second mixtape in November 2010 titled Lace Up which featured the hometown anthem “Cleveland”, which was then played at Cleveland Cavaliers home games and went on rotation on Z107.9 in Cleveland.

9. His major label debut album, Lace Up, was released in October 2012 to critical success. It debuted at number 4 on the US Billboard 200 chart.

10. He has also appeared in various films, starring in the critically acclaimed Beyond the Lights, as Kid Culprit.