If you only know the guy from his neon-pink pop-punk phase or those viral red-carpet moments with Megan Fox, you’re missing the wildest part of the story. Honestly, the Machine Gun Kelly before the platinum records and the blackout tattoos was a completely different person. He wasn't just some kid with a dream; he was a guy living in a basement in Cleveland, working at Chipotle, and literally fighting for his life.
Colson Baker’s journey is messy. It’s a story about being a "missionary kid" who lived in Egypt before he could speak English, only to end up being bullied in Denver and eventually finding a home in the gritty rap scene of Ohio. People like to act like he just switched genres on a whim to stay relevant, but if you look at his early days, that chaotic energy was always there.
From Egypt to the "Rage Cage"
Most people assume MGK is a Midwest kid through and through. Technically, yeah, he claims Cleveland. But his early childhood was spent in places like Egypt and Germany because his parents were missionaries. He actually spoke Arabic before he spoke English. Think about that for a second. That kind of rootless upbringing usually does one of two things: it breaks you, or it makes you incredibly adaptable.
For Colson, it was a bit of both.
By the time he hit middle school in Denver, his mom had left. His dad was struggling with depression and unemployment. Imagine being the new kid in an ethnically diverse school, carrying that kind of baggage. He got bullied. Hard. He found his escape in rap—specifically DMX and Ludacris.
By 2005, he landed in Cleveland. This is where the Machine Gun Kelly before fame really took shape. He set up a home studio he called the "Rage Cage." It wasn't fancy. It was basically a basement with some cheap gear and a lot of teenage angst. But that’s where the "Lace Up" movement started. It wasn’t a marketing slogan; it was a mindset for a kid who felt like he had nothing else.
The Chipotle Days and the Apollo Win
There’s a legendary bit of MGK lore that sounds like a movie script, but it’s actually true. In 2009, he was on the verge of being evicted. He was broke. He ended up traveling to Harlem to perform at the Apollo Theater’s Amateur Night.
He didn't just perform. He won.
He was the first rapper to ever win back-to-back victories at the Apollo. That’s a tough crowd. If they don't like you, they boo you off the stage before you can finish a sentence. Winning there as a skinny white kid from Cleveland gave him the validation he couldn't find anywhere else.
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But winning at the Apollo didn't mean he was rich. Far from it.
Even as his local fame grew, he was still clocking in at Chipotle to pay the rent. He’d be rolling burritos during the day and performing for a handful of people at night. It’s a side of Machine Gun Kelly before the money that fans often forget. He was also a young father at the time, which added a level of "do-or-die" pressure to his music career. He had to make it. There was no Plan B.
The Mixtape Grind
Before the Bad Boy Records deal, he was flooding the streets with mixtapes:
- Stamp of Approval (2006)
- 100 Words and Running (2010)
- Lace Up (The mixtape, not the album)
These weren't polished. They were raw, fast, and aggressive. If you listen to "Alice in Wonderland" or "Chip Off the Block," you hear a guy who is trying to rap his way out of poverty.
The Bad Boy Era: When Things Changed
Everything flipped at SXSW in 2011. Sean "Diddy" Combs saw him perform and realized the kid had a rockstar energy that didn't exist in hip-hop at the time. Signing with Bad Boy was the big break, but it was also the start of a very complicated decade.
The industry didn't really know what to do with him. He was a rapper, but he looked like a punk rocker. He was doing stunts on stage and stage-diving into tiny crowds. His debut album, Lace Up, hit number four on the Billboard 200, but he was still fighting for respect in the rap world.
He was also battling a heavy drug addiction. He's been open lately about how he used to think he needed drugs to be creative. He’s admitted to a long struggle with Adderall and other substances, believing they "unlocked" something in his brain. Looking back at the Machine Gun Kelly before his 2020 sobriety journey, you can see the toll it took in his interviews and his more erratic behavior.
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Why the "Before" Matters Today
If you ignore the early Cleveland years, you don't understand why he's so defensive of his "EST" crew (Everyone Stands Together). That’s his family. They were there when he was sleeping on floors.
The transition to pop-punk with Tickets to My Downfall felt like a betrayal to some rap purists, but it was actually a return to form. In the "Rage Cage" days, he was already listening to blink-182 and punk bands. He was always that kid. The tattoos, the hair, the genre-hopping—it’s all part of the same restless kid who was trying to find a place to belong.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Creators
- Dig into the mixtapes: If you only know the hits, go back to 100 Words and Running. It’s a masterclass in double-time rap and pure hunger.
- Study the "Lace Up" Philosophy: It’s about preparation and resilience. MGK didn't blow up because he was "lucky"; he blew up because he had 10,000 hours of basement recording and Apollo wins under his belt before he ever met Diddy.
- Respect the Evolution: Whether you like his new music or not, the "before" proves he's a survivor. He’s one of the few artists who successfully navigated the transition from the "blog era" of rap to modern superstardom.
The Machine Gun Kelly before the fame was a kid with a lot of trauma and a microphone. That hasn't really changed. He just has a bigger stage now.
To really see the contrast, check out some of his 2009 freestyle videos on YouTube—the ones where he's wearing baggy clothes and a Cleveland jersey. It’s the best way to understand the engine that still drives him today.