You can make something out of nothing. I proved that with my career, making it out of the city that I'm from.
— Machine Gun Kelly
I don't think that my music without pain is good music - and I wouldn't know, because I haven't made any music without pain.
I think that me as a person, and as a personality, even my name alone, 'Machine Gun Kelly' - it is very loud, and it says a lot.
I want to keep the whole 'Lace Up' movement going. I want to take it national and international with a machine, a label.
Every time I perform, I always try to have that 'wow' factor.
I've never been a bandwagon Clevelander. I've been talking about Cleveland and holding up Cleveland since before we were champions.
I think I've watched and been around so many people that are of a high celebrity grade that I've attempted to soak in every kind of way to deal with fame.
I don't believe in hopping from one social issue to the next to be a part of the movement for a moment. Anything I'm involved in is something that I would die for. I can't support things that don't feel genuine.
I'm not that great of a speaker. I don't like watching my own interviews. I think I suck at talking, but one thing I can do is move my pen, and if that's how I gotta speak to my daughter, then let me do that.
Fame is the weirdest thing ever.
Is there someone who can play guitar better than me technically? One hundred percent. But does anyone look better playing a guitar in my generation? Absolutely not.
I'm fortunate to have a baby girl who's super into everything that I say and do and really cooperative and just fun to be around. I couldn't imagine having a rebellious kid like me.
I would never think twice about marching next to my brother for an issue we both believe in.
Economics runs the world.
I write all my hooks.
It's an honor to step onstage and celebrate the service and sacrifices of our soldiers.
I'm here to make an impact on the kids who truly care.
I was never supposed to get a record deal - that's one in a million.
I love looking at pictures of me in 2012-2017, because every single one of those Machine Gun Kellys looks different.
Every night, we put on shows that are deteriorating our bodies' life span... we don't do it for it all to be in vain.
The thing I stress to my fans is that I've been making big, universally friendly-type music for a long time now. I never really made underground music.
There's something about America's sweetheart and America's bad boy. That juxtaposition is what everyone desires.
I feel like a celebrity is someone who sits and takes pictures with people 'cause they love themselves and how they look and how people look at them. But I just want to be regular and respected for my artistry because music doesn't necessarily have a face.
I've always been a fan of the Club C sneaker because it's super clean and timeless. It's one of those kicks that's been in the street scene forever - more than 30 years.
Everything I stood for, forever, since the beginning of time, has been about seeing people as humans. Not as man, woman, white, Hispanic, any of that stuff.
I'd say I did a lot of what I did with songs like 'At My Best' was because of the influence of my daughter.
Being a rock star rocks.
Not everyone wants to be in misery in every song!
Everything is my fault when you're me. I don't know why.
I think me and Macklemore exist in two different worlds.
I think couldn't not make a song called 'Wild Boy' and not be a wild boy.
I respect all grandpas around the world doin' it big.
Hip-hop influences my talent, but I think that punk and everything else I listened to growing up was who my idols were.
I'm probably one of the wildest, most out-of-control people in the industry.
With anything that happens in Cleveland, I always get involved.
I don't want to feel like the cool kid in the crowd who doesn't want to do what the artist's saying. I want to be so in awe of the artist that I'm literally jumping up and down, even if I've got on brand new Louboutins.
The last thing I want to do is be complacent.
I think more like an entertainer rather than just a rapper. My overall goal is to never be listed as just a rapper. You know how Michael Jackson was listed as a great entertainer? That's what I want to be.
I'm a storyteller.
I knew so many people were coming up to me because they knew who I was, not because they were fans of my music. That bothered me because I don't want to be a celebrity; I want to be an artist.
My executive board, my management, my friends, are so ethnically diverse.
I'm not just a great white rapper. I'm a great rapper.
When I was running away, I didn't have somebody there to help me run away. All I had was DMX's voice or Eminem's voice or Tupac's voice.
I have Nineties music oozing out of my pores. What made rock & roll back then is that it was uncensored. It was raw and dark. Think of 'Something in the Way,' by Nirvana - he was telling everyone how he felt.
When you look a certain way, or you have a certain presence, people take someone else's word over yours.
You can't tell my fans that there's a better rapper than Machine Gun Kelly... Hands down, there's no way I'm not in the top five.
Cleveland, Ohio, is the real deal.
It's awesome to have a brand like Reebok support what you stand for as well as your creative vision, and I'm excited to show you what a Reebok and Machine Gun Kelly collaboration is all about.
Every time I've partnered with WWE, we've managed to pull off something extraordinary, but to be a part of the Tribute to the Troops special is definitely the highlight.
I was a huge punker growing up.
