Machine Gun Kelly – Golden Brand or Personality?

The hype was real, but very little else was.

Cleveland rapper  Machine Gun Kelly’s packed out show had flashes of energy, showmanship and a fantastic backing band. However, this was balanced out by his limited technical skill and the jumbled array of musical pastiches that made up his set list.

Looking like the lovechild of Vanilla Ice and Rhys from Malcom in the Middle, MGK came out swinging with his braggadocios track The Gunner. With its stereotypical bling-era gangsta beat complete with gunshots, it immediately sent the crowd into a frenzy that did not let up for the first fifteen minutes.  Following with Golden God MGK asserted that he is the David Bowie of his generation but this reviewer did not see enough originality, ability or boldness for him to even begin to back up this claim.

The problem with MGK is that he is more of a brand than a personality. Like so many rappers before him, MGK has a rags-to-riches tale that undoubtedly strikes a chord with those who choose to become vested in it. While it’s admirable that he has succeeded in the face of adversity, it doesn’t detract from the fact that the music MGK creates is basic in every sense of the word.

Effectively, what he delivered in his hour long set was the worst aspects of hip-hop over the last 32 years to an audience perhaps too young to remember it.  Songs like Alpha Omega showcase the awkward coupling of rock and rap first seen in 1986 (Run DMC and Aerosmith with Walk this Way) and again in 2004 with Jay-Z and Linkin Park’s EP Collision Course. Trap is the culprit for the likes of The Break Up, while Bad Things (ft pre-recorded Camila Cabello) saw MGK relapse into the most saccharine bits of Eminem’s Recovery era. Slim Shady would’ve wept.  Finally Bad Motherfucker (ft. pre-recorded Kid Rock) sounded like it was salvaged from the garbage bin of Lynyrd Skynrd’s recording studio had they tried to be relevant in 2003. Terrible beats aside; MGK doesn’t have a rich enough vocabulary to create a rich or varied flow. His rhyme scheme was persistently one note, his singing (as witnessed during his cover of Linkin Park’s Numb) not much better. When he took a break from dropping eye-rolling one liners to attempt to say something personal or even deep, it was lost in the aforementioned obnoxious rhythm.  Machine Gun Kelly can be his own worst enemy- lack of depth undermining the lyrics of more emotional songs, lack of originality undermining the punch of his club bangers.

Despite the shortcomings, MGK proved to be a high energy performer who truly believes in his music and has genuine love for his fans – traits which cannot be faulted. The crowd were genuinely thrilled to be in the same room as him, with the front rows barely pausing for breath all night. The energy and dance moves of those around me held my interest as the music waxed and waned.

An evening where earnest belief and a strong back up band barely helped to mask the artistic shortcomings of a self-proclaimed Golden God whose disciples cannot or do not want to recognise his clay feet.

Machine Gun Kelly, Logan Campbell April 28 2018

Kate Powell

Click on an image to view a photo galley by Reuben Raj: