Colson Baker, who was born on April 22, 1990, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and producer as well as an actor under the professional name of MGK (written in all lowercase) and previously known as Machine Gun Kelly. The original stage name “Machine Gun Kelly” came from the nickname of the Prohibition-era gangster George Kelly Barnes. From 2007 to 2010 MGK put out four mixtapes before joining Sean Combs’ Bad Boy Records, a label under Interscope Records, in 2011.
His first studio album, Lace Up (2012), reached number four on the US Billboard 200 and was opened with the single “Wild Boy” (featuring Waka Flocka Flame), which was his first appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 and has since been given triple platinum status by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Both of his second and third albums, General Admission (2015) and Bloom (2017), received favourable critical reviews and achieved similar commercial success; the latter was backed by the single “Bad Things” (with Camila Cabello), which in turn reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100.
The single “Rap Devil”, released in 2018, was a diss track directed at rapper Eminem and managed to reach number 13 on the chart even though it received a mixed critical response. His fourth album, Hotel Diablo (2019), experimented with rap rock and this led to a more positive critical reception. Profile Summary CategoryInformation Full NameColson Baker BornApril 22, 1990 (age 36) BirthplaceHouston, Texas, U.S.
Other NameMachine Gun Kelly OccupationsRapper; Singer; Songwriter; Record Producer; Actor Years Active2006–Present WorksDiscography; Filmography PartnerMegan Fox (2020–2024) Children2 AwardsFull list Musical OriginCleveland, Ohio, U.S. GenresHip-hop; Pop rap; Rap rock; Pop-punk; Alternative rock InstrumentsVocals; Guitar LabelsEST 19XX; Bad Boy; Interscope Age Colson Baker was born on April 22, 1990 (making him 36 years old) in Houston, Texas, USA.
Biography Colson Baker was born on April 22, 1990 in Houston, Texas. Both of his parents were Christian missionaries and during his childhood they moved frequently all over the world. He spent the first four years of his life in Egypt, where he learned to speak Arabic before picking up English. Later he lived in Kenya and Germany, as well as in various parts of the United States including Texas, Los Angeles and Chicago.
When Baker was nine years old his mother left home and he and his father went to Denver to live with his aunt. His father suffered from depression and was also unemployed. Baker states that he had only two school uniforms and that he was bullied by the children in his neighbourhood. He started listening to rap during the sixth grade at Hamilton Middle School, a school which has a student body drawn from various ethnic groups in Denver.
He went to Thomas Jefferson High School (in Denver) in his first year of high school and, while he was in Cleveland, attended Shaker Heights High School. When Ludacris, Eminem and DMX were the first three rappers to interest him in hip hop as a child, his interest in the genre developed after he listened to DMX’s “We Right Here” on the album The Great Depression (2001). Musical style and influences Baker’s musical style has mostly been referred to as hip-hop, pop rap, and rap rock; his fifth album, Tickets to My Downfall, represented a shift in his sound and was described as pop-punk and alternative rock.
Baker says that DMX and Eminem are his musical influences, and that when he was younger he used to listen to the rock bands Guns N’ Roses and Blink-182. He considers these rap and rock artists to be major influences on his music. In the interview in which he spoke about working with DMX, Baker referred to the rapper as his idol and also mentioned that DMX’s music had helped him cope with the problems he experienced during his childhood, particularly the bullying.
Acting career Baker first appeared in films in the 2014 romantic drama Beyond the Lights, in which he played a ‘shallow, self-important’ rapper called Kid Culprit. In 2016 he took on a co-leading role and also served as co-executive producer on the drama The Land, a film set in Cleveland and produced by the rapper Nas. That same year he had a small part in the techno-thriller adventure film Nerve, which starred Emma Roberts and Dave Franco, and also had a recurring role on the Showtime comedy-drama series Roadies as Wes, a former Pearl Jam roadie.
He appeared as Felix in the 2018 Netflix post-apocalyptic horror thriller Bird Box alongside Sandra Bullock, and took on the part of drummer Tommy Lee in The Dirt, the 2019 Netflix biographical comedy-drama concerning Mötley Crüe. He portrayed Newt in the 2020 superhero film Project Power which starred Jamie Foxx, and the next year acted with Bruce Willis and Megan Fox in the crime thriller Midnight in the Switchgrass; he also starred in the action western film The Last Son with Sam Worthington.
Having earlier been credited as Machine Gun Kelly for his acting, Baker started to use his birth name in film credits in 2021. He played the role of London Clash in the self-directed film Good Mourning, released in 2022. Personal life When he was in his teens Baker was in a relationship with Emma Cannon and they have a daughter named Casie who was born in July 2009. He admits to using cannabis and has said in interviews that he smokes it every day, referring to it as “a source of happiness and a way for people to feel a bit more love themselves”.
He has often included references to cannabis in both the sources of his music and in his rap persona, making it a central aspect of both his rapping and his personal character.[106] Prior to the release of Lace Up, he was addicted to heroin; he had also been a heavy user of cocaine and alcohol, although in 2020 he revealed that he had become addicted to Adderall and was then seeking treatment.
He said in an interview given in 2012 that he sees himself politically as an anarchist; and in 2022, when asked if he intended to vote in the midterm elections, responded by saying, “I have anarchy tattooed on my stomach. I’m not a political person”. He started a relationship with actress Megan Fox in May 2020 after the two had met while filming Midnight in the Switchgrass. On January 12, 2022, Fox announced that they were engaged.
In March 2024, Fox stated that the engagement had been called off. In November 2024, she told her followers on Instagram that she was pregnant with his child, having suffered a miscarriage earlier in the relationship. Their daughter was born on March 27, 2025. Backing band Current members Steve “Baze” Basil – bass, keyboards (2017–present) Brandon “Slimxx” Allen – keyboards, backing vocals (2017–present) JP “Rook” Cappelletty – drums (2017–present) Travis Barker – drums (2019–present) Justin “Jus” Lyons – guitars (2021–present) Sophie Lloyd – guitars (2022–present) Andrew “No Love for the Middle Child” Migliore – guitars, backing vocals, cello (2025-present) Former members AJ Tyus – guitars (2017–2021) Discography Studio albums Lace Up (2012) General Admission (2015) Bloom (2017) Hotel Diablo (2019) Tickets to My Downfall (2020) Mainstream Sellout (2022) Lost Americana (2025) Tours Headlining tours Hostile Takeover Tour (2012) No Class Tour (2014) Alpha Omega Tour (2016) 27 World Tour (2017) Hotel Diablo World Tour (2019) Tickets to My Downfall Tour (2021) Mainstream Sellout Tour (2022) Lost Americana Tour (2025–26) Co-headlining tours The Justin Bieber Big Tour (with Young Thug) (2019) Net Worth As of 2026, Machine Gun Kelly’s estimated net worth is $25 million.
