Indeed, Machine Gun Kelly's stage name has been changed. Three months after he urged photographers to refer to him as "Machine," the singer real name Colson Baker unveiled a new stage name.
More than ten years after making his music debut, the "Bloody Valentine" singer, whose real name is Colson Baker, changed his stage name to mgk. As of February 29, his artist profiles on Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, and YouTube now read mgk.
He also changed his name on X, formerly known as Twitter, to the initials MGK, but his @machinegunkelly handle stayed the same.
The musician's alias "machine gun" was removed more than a year ago in response to a petition from comedy act Chad and JT asking that it not be used to "glorify machine guns."
As seen in a September 2022 YouTube video, MGK was urged to ask the audience, "What do you think?" after the pair used a huge sign to ask him to make the changeover during a concert.
MGK, 33, appeared to have changed his mind last November, despite earlier fan film showing him dismissing the request.
MGK is the moniker of renowned Prohibition-era mobster George Kelly Barnes. MGK requested that guests address him by a new name while he and his fiancée Megan Fox attended the 2023 GQ Men of the Year dinner.
In a video that went viral on social media, he addressed photographers on the red carpet, saying, "I have a question: can you just hit me with the 'Machine' from now on instead of 'Machine Gun?'"
Along with the talking head emoji, he captioned a screenshot of the exchange on X with the words "'machine.'"
Still, MGK has experienced more than just a name change in the last few months.
The rapper first disclosed in a shirtless shot that he has covered up the majority of his tattoos with black ink earlier in February.
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MGK said on Instagram Story that the pattern, which consisted of big, black geometric blocks covering much of his arms and chest, required 44 needles to complete and that the alteration was made "for spiritual purposes only."
Later, on the song "Don't Let Me Go," he made a clue about the rationale behind the cover-up, rapping, "Just like I wish they would understand me one time / I had a breakdown and tatted my entire body except one line."
