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Does Machine Gun Kelly’s stage name change to mgk herald a new musical direction?
His name has been changed across social media and streaming platforms.
Image: Scott Dudelson / Getty Images
Machine Gun Kelly has apparently changed his stage name after more than a decade.
The musician — whose real name is Colson Baker — recently updated his profile across various streaming platforms and social media accounts to just ‘mgk’. His original moniker, taken from the nickname of a Prohibition-era gangster, has been in use since his debut album Lace Up in 2012.
According to a biography on First Avenue, the rapper-turned-rocker said he “got the name Machine Gun Kelly because of my rapid-fire delivery when I was 15 and started doing shows.”
The artist’s latest single Don’t Let Me Go, which dropped on 21 February, marks the first release under his new alias. The change also comes more than a year after comedy duo Chad and JT petitioned for mgk to remove “machine gun” from his name in order to not “glorify machine guns.” We reiterate that it’s highly unlikely this caused Kelly to actually change his name.
A change of identity such as this could be indicative of a new musical direction, and we know mgk is no stranger with experimentation. In 2020, he (temporarily) ditched the hip-hop with which he made his name, to release one of the most stellar guitar albums of that year, the pop-punk driven Tickets To My Downfall. Does his new name change signal a revert to his rap roots, or perhaps a foray into yet uncharted territory? Only time will tell.
Earlier this year, mgk teamed up with Schecter on a quirky-looking Razor Blade signature model. The guitar, as its name suggests, features a solid basswood body that’s carved into the shape of a razor blade, with a silver metallic scratch plate covering the entire body and a matching chrome headstock. It is equipped with a Schecter Pasadena Plus single humbucker with a volume knob, and features a single toggle kill switch, which can be used for instant muting.
While there’s been a good amount of trolling aimed at the model’s release, Testament’s Alex Skolnick who got his hands on the instrument at NAMM 2024 has said that the guitar actually “plays well”.
“I was surprised how fluent it feels, I thought it would be a little more of a struggle than it is. It happens to be strong with very thick strings, which I’m used to, but they feel extra thick. I don’t know if that’s the gauge or the guitar, but it’s easier to play than you would expect,” he told Reverb.