text: Machine Gun Kelly is as self-effacing as he is talented. Known also by his real name Colson Baker, MGK effortlessly defies easy categorization. From his rise to stardom and life in the spotlight, the complexities he shares in his song lyrics, Machine Gun Kelly has paved his own path on his own terms. With so much talent in one place; hard work, brilliance, and a certain kind of honest vulnerability, Machine Gun Kellys open enthusiasm has been inextricable from his lifes work. Machine Gun Kelly is a testament to his chameleonic qualities --- and to the fact that he is ultimately only ever himself. Theres something gratifying about seeing someone like Machine Gun Kelly grow because one knows there will be so much more to his story. Here is what we know so far...
  MGK: What up guys, this is Machine Gun Kelly in the city of fuckin devils and angels, here shooting my cover for Modeliste.
  Modeliste: We are excited to have you as the first male cover for Modeliste Magazine!
  MGK: Tight.
  Modeliste: Can you share with us what your favorite look was from todays shoot?
  MGK: My favorite look today came in the form of a very simple accessory, and that was just taking a button-up and tying it around... I mean, classic move for... Yeah, for a rock and roll soul and just flipping it halfway around. Who would have thought that probably the least expensive item in here added to the outfit the most? So that one, the long trench half flipped around, button-up tied around, and extremely, overly long earring. Theres only probably one person that could pull it off. Not naming any names.
  Modeliste: How would you describe your personal style?
  MGK: I like passing by mirrors or windows, especially since I travel so much, or when you get a glance, youre, like, oh shit, and then youre, like, oh shit, thats me. Tight. You know what I mean? Like, oh shit moments, you know? I used to pride myself on making really classic casual looks pop. I used to be big on black leather vests and just classic, nice-fitting black t-shirts with black skinny jeans. I branded that with me for the first five, six years of my career, and then now Im kind of giving people the excitement of seeing me look different every time they see me. So its almost like you go to a Machine Gun Kelly show and you do expect to look onstage and be entertained by not just the voice or the band, but by the outfit as well.
  Modeliste: Youre also the face of the fall/winter 2017 John Varvatos campaign. How did you get involved with John Varvatos?
  MGK: Me and John Varvatos met outside of one of his shows a couple years back that I was invited to, and I was actually leaving the event to go smoke a joint. Varvatos was walking past me, and a mutual friend was like, hey, John Varvatos, this is Machine Gun Kelly. Machine Gun Kelly, this is John Varvatos. John was like, oh, wow, cool. Nice to meet you, man. Where are you going? And I was like, Well, Im gonna actually go smoke this joint, if you want me to be completely honest with you. And hes like, Im coming with you. And apparently were still riding that same high, because were good friends and were campaigning together.
  Modeliste: Tell us about your collaboration with Reebok.
  MGK: I think theres a huge, kind of, cultural renaissance of classic styles, and I dont think there is a 90s era without speaking about Reeboks. Being a 90s kid myself and carrying a lot of that spirit around with me, I think Reebok needed the Young Gunner and the Young Gunner needed Reebok. You know what I mean? So I think were two people with the same initiative at the same time, to, like, bring cool shit back and make it the shit again!
  Modeliste: So going to your music, where do you draw your inspiration from when youre creating your music?
  MGK: You know, its funny. On my last album, I wrote the song 27, and I was talking about how you almost have to create pain just to get inspiration when you get to a point where your normal pain is gone. Its weird because normal pain is of an average kid growing up and you realize, oh, well, the real world is here now and, like, Im broke and I dont have future plans, and I dont know what Im gonna do. That creates this beautiful hunger that people tend to lose. I dont know if Im just really good at having bad luck, or really good at just creating my anxiety and pain, but it just keeps coming and the hunger just keeps getting better, and crafted better. Its not like Im fucking Lauryn Hill over here, but, like, theres just something cool about the way I sing the lyrics I write, and I just realized that on my third album. So it seems like Im just finding out how to use my voice, which is crazy.
  Modeliste: Do you have a favorite song on this album?
  MGK: My favorite song on my new album is Let You Go. Its a song I wrote in my bedroom after the biggest breakup of... probably the first real, intense... thats a lie. The first grown, intense breakup for me. Its like, I wrote three chords, four chords, and it fuckin goes off when we perform it live. And you know what? I love looking in the crowd and seeing a bunch of beautiful women with broken hearts just singing the night away. Thats where Im at right now. Women singing and being free and sharing their big, bright smiles makes me happy.
  Modeliste: What is a collaboration which you would love to have?
  MGK: It would be pretty cool to do stage collaborations right now. I think studio collaborations, I dont know... Sometimes you collab with people and you never know if youre gonna get the gem you want from them. Im more looking for, like, a really cool tour to do. Me and Linkin Park were supposed to do a generationally untouchable tour... The idea of it is still grand, and forever will be grand, and its fucking awesome. I think, Im just now looking for something to fill that void, because that was, like, the ultimate collaboration.
  Modeliste: You perform with a full band and tie together both rock and hip-hop elements to your performance. Would you say that the traditional boundaries of musical genres are dead?
  MGK: I would say that the traditional boundaries are dead, but back when they werent, I was still doing music and I remember people being like, well, how do you categorize your music? Or, like, what genre are you? Cause I would come out with a fucking club banger and Id still have a six-inch mohawk. Ive always been very hard to put in a genre. Yeah, I dont know, I dont know.
  Modeliste: What do you enjoy most and feel most passionate about when youre on stage and touring? Do you have any of those ah-ha moments when youre onstage, and youre like, wow?
  MGK: Yep, Ive had a handful recently. I had a stop-and-stare moment and a soak-it-all-in moment the other day onstage. I was actually here in Los Angeles performing outside of the Colosseum, which I think its, like, 90,000 capacity or something like that. And Im on the show and I go out there, and Im performing this song called Kiss the Sky. And, ironically, theres this patch of clouds and then the sun popped out, that was tight.
  I started wearing sunglasses in concert because sometimes I just want to cover who I am and I dont want to let people in yet. Sometimes Ill keep them on the whole show, other times Ill keep them on maybe until, like, the sixth song or something, or other times maybe theyll just make me feel so comfortable right away that Im like, fuck this, look at me! But other times, Im like, just depending on my mood... like, that was a really dark week for me last week, so I had my fucking glasses on. But Ill tell you what, I looked up and through the clouds, a giant airplane just burst through the clouds. I forgot LAX is, like, right there, and it was just like, stop the whole song, but the chords are still playing. Im like, everybody, look up at the fucking plane and just look around. And its, like... what a beautiful moment, you know what I mean? It sounds lame and maybe I was just high, but it was really... I mean, its just a fuckin plane, but to play in that setting is, like, whoa.
  Recently, I was just in Norway playing at the top of a hill, like, the top of the hill, and I, like, looked over and theres this lake, and then youre in Norway. Then the police come and detain you, and you get arrested, and then et cetera. But until that point, it was a really, really beautiful view, hahaha.
  Modeliste: What do you like to do most when youre not working?
  MGK: I dont do anything else. I just obsessively pluck at Machine Gun Kelly. Yeah, when Im not doing cool things as Machine Gun Kelly, Im mostly just criticizing how much I should be doing something cool at that very moment. So it took me eight months to use my pool that I had in the back of my house, which was a fuckin lit, cool pool. I just never did normal things. I would never leave my room or a studio because it was just, like, at any moment, you could create the best song ever. Like, you need the best song ever. You need it, man. Like, youre not filling up arenas, dude. You need the best song ever. I just sit there, and I just sit there until it hits me. Obviously I havent made the best song ever yet, so Im just probably gonna keep sitting here until it happens.
  You know what I mean? So Im gonna chill for sure, but its just not now, so what do I do in my spare time? I focus on becoming a better friend, better father, better entertainer. I have sex, smoke, and just work on Frankenstein dude. Just pick at Frankenstein all day. He hasnt woken up yet, so Im gonna just keep picking at Frankenstein until he decides to get up and beat my heart.
  Modeliste: Whats something on your bucket list that you would love to accomplish in the next five years?
  MGK: On my fuck it list? Everything. Im just playing, fuck it. Bucket list would probably be... Bucket list would be just getting in a mood and being in a mood at the Met Gala or something. Do you know what I mean? Like, just a classic career moment, like, dude, Machine Gun Kelly got wasted and this happened. Like, just getting one of those under my belt is, like... Just because Im already stuck in the job of a celebrity at this point. You know what I mean? Quote-unquote. So its like, I might as well get a... Like, God, that Kanye, Taylor Swift moment was, like... I mean, you look back and youre like, its fucked up, but its just like prime TV, dude. Its so good. And, you know, its in hindsight, so its like fuck off. We were all sitting at the edge of our seat like, oh shit! You know what I mean? Im good for that, trust me. I live in my skin. I didnt do all these oh shit moments just for the six people that were there to enjoy it. Six million people need to see a good MGK, like, fuck it moment.
  Modeliste: Well, were sorry for that.
  MGK: I just hope my... Its cool, I dont, like... Get the wrong moment, its like, oh fuck, dude.
  Modeliste: Someone makes you the moment?
  MGK: If it doesnt turn out, oh yeah, then well see how it goes. I wont try, Ill just keep letting it naturally happen.
  Modeliste: Itll happen.
  MGK: Yeah, itll happen. Its gonna happen, dude.
  Modeliste: Do you have any particular artist or record that you feel inspired you to follow the path of becoming a musician?
  MGK: Okay. When it comes to inspiration I guess, or how I started, I think I spoke on how I started, but I think there got to be a point where I was re-inspired and was able to talk about things a little differently, a little bit... Im a pretty dark person, without the stigma of, like, oh yeah, Im dark, Im emo. I say I dont try to be, its just naturally what it is, and its, like, something Im just... its just, fuck it is. Sometimes I just like being sad, you know what I mean? Like, sometimes its just not... You know, Im just not... My chemicals in my body are, like, the first emotion that comes is not happiness. So I kinda was struggling with that, trying to cover it up, and then I discover, like, gonzo journalism and I was like, whoa, this is really intense, and its really graphic and dark, and the subject matters are weird. Hunter S. Thompsons one of the faces of gonzo journalism, if not the creator of gonzo journalism, and he was a very, like, quirky, weird guy. I was telling him earlier, its funny if you work with me. Im a very, very untraditional co-worker. Very, yeah, I have methods that I just tapped into and try to attain whatever vibe it is that I want to put out on a record.
  So I think that Ive achieved... Like, 27? I dont give a fuck what you think about Machine Gun Kelly. 27 is absolutely, from front to back, a perfect example of how you can display the most pure form of yourself on a song.
  Modeliste: Wow.
  MGK: You know what I mean? There should be classes on that song, because it blows my mind every time I hear it, and I fuckin wrote it. But you know whats crazy? I didnt even write... The most intense part of the song, I didnt write. I just picked up a little demo mic, and I just sat. They were playing something, and I just said the first thing that came to mind, and it was the chorus of the whole song. It was just super... It was just like my subconscious speaking, because I didnt even think about it. I sort of just said it. It was the darkest, and everyone was like, holy shit, and the room just stopped and it was weird. Then we pressed record and no one said anything about it. And then we put the song out and the fans said everything about it.
  Modeliste: Thats amazing. about any upcoming projects you have?
  MGK: I have this movie coming out next year called Captive State. Its the first... Huge is a big word, but its the first big budget, big, big budget, motion picture that Ive been a part of. First sci-fi thing Ive been a part of.
  Ive just been doing a lot of music, and I think I owe the streets some bounce. I think I owe the rock community some more of that. People keep trying to figure out who I am. Im just the Gunner dude. Its just, there is no fucking genre. I make what type of music I want to make. Im a punker, Ill beat your motherfuckin ass, and Ive been through a lot of shit. You cant put me in a box, bitch. Im six foot four, it doesnt fit.