Machine Gun Kelly has apparently changed his stage name to mgk, as seen on music streaming platforms and social media.
While his birth name is Colson Baker, Machine Gun Kelly is the moniker he adopted for his music career. He’s been using it consistently since his very first album Lace Up (2012), keeping it even when he shifted toward pop-punk in 2020 with Tickets to My Downfall.
“I got the name Machine Gun Kelly because of my rapid-fire delivery when I was 15 and started doing shows,” he was quoted as saying in a First Avenue biography.
Machine Gun Kelly was often shortened to MGK for convenience, but it seems as though he’s officially adopting the condensed version as his new pseudonym — in all lowercase letters, however. His profiles on various streaming platforms including Spotify and YouTube, as well as his X account all display mgk as his name.
mgk recently wiped his Instagram, leaving only a photo of his new blackout tattoos which cover the majority of his upper body and arms. Since then, he released a new piano rap ballad titled “Don’t Let Me Go,” which is the second bit of new music he released since his sophomore rock album Mainstream Sellout (2022).
Previously, his newest release had been the 2023 track “Pressure,” which marked his return to rap, something he said he was planning on doing in 2022.
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“I’m going to make a rap album for myself. For no other reason, no point to prove, no chip on my shoulder… If I keep doing things to prove things to people, I’m going to, one, drive myself crazy and, two, not make a good product,” mgk affirmed to Audacy’s Kevan Kenney after Mainstream Sellout came out.
We’ve seen a few other rock and metal artists clear their social media profiles lately when preparing to enter a new album cycle, such as Sleep Token. It’s possible that mgk’s name change is meant to serve as a rebrand to coincide with his return to rap. Whether he keeps it permanently or decides to change it back to Machine Gun Kelly at some point is unclear.
mgk, ‘Don’t Let Me Go’
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You know ’em by their stage names.
Gallery Credit: Lauryn Schaffner