Maps of Music

Lace Up (2012)

Where the lyrics of Lace Up take you, and where it was really made.

The debut reached number four on the Billboard 200, yet critics judged it a step down from Kelly's earlier mixtapes.

Place unknown

Do you know where this album was recorded, or where its cover was shot? Tell us and we will add it to the map.

Lace Up is the debut studio album by American rapper Machine Gun Kelly
Released October 9, 2012 by Bad Boy Records and Interscope Records
Puff Daddy served as executive producer
Supported by the singles “Wild Boy”, “Invincible” and “Hold On (Shut Up)”, plus the promotional single “Stereo”

Puff Daddy enlisted guest appearances from Cassie, DMX, Planet VI and Avenged Sevenfold
Production came from Alex da Kid, JP Did This 1 and J.R. Rotem, among others
Lead single “Wild Boy” featuring Waka Flocka Flame was released September 27, 2011
“Wild Boy” was produced by GB Hitz and Southside
“Wild Boy” first appeared on the 2011 mixtape Rage Pack and the 2012 EP Half Naked & Almost Famous
“Wild Boy” debuted at number 98 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number 49 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart
Second single “Invincible” featuring Ester Dean was released digitally April 24, 2012, produced by Alex da Kid
The “Invincible” music video was uploaded to YouTube on June 3, 2012
Third single “Hold On (Shut Up)” featuring Young Jeezy was released August 6, 2012
The “Hold On (Shut Up)” video was released November 19, 2012
Promotional single “Stereo” featuring Alex Fitts was released September 20, 2012 with a music video
The Music Unlimited exclusive EP Lace Up - The Prelude, released October 2, 2012, included “Invincible” and “Hold On (Shut Up)”
In 2014 Kelly toured 33 cities in the fall to promote the album, running from Casper, Wyoming to Bismarck, North Dakota
Limp Bizkit supported the tour on select dates

Colson Baker, known as MGK (formerly Machine Gun Kelly), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, producer, and actor.
Born April 22, 1990, in Houston, Texas; grew up partly in Egypt, Kenya, and Germany, and later in Denver and Cleveland.
Began listening to rap in sixth grade; DMX, Ludacris, and Eminem were early influences.
Self-released four mixtapes from 2007 to 2010 before signing with Bad Boy Records, an imprint of Interscope Records, in 2011.

Solo artist; supported by a backing band with members including Travis Barker on drums (2019–present).

Debut album Lace Up (2012) peaked at number four on the US Billboard 200; lead single "Wild Boy" was his first Billboard Hot 100 entry.
Albums General Admission (2015) and Bloom (2017) brought critical praise and commercial success; "Bad Things" with Camila Cabello peaked at number four on the Hot 100.
Tickets to My Downfall (2020), produced entirely by Travis Barker, shifted to pop-punk and debuted atop the Billboard 200.
Mainstream Sellout (2022) matched commercial success, with mixed critical reception.
In 2024 he dropped the Machine Gun Kelly name for MGK and released the collaborative EP Genre: Sadboy with Trippie Redd.
Seventh album Lost Americana (2025) moved into pop-rock.
Acting work includes Beyond the Lights (2014), Bird Box (2018), and portraying Tommy Lee in The Dirt (2019).

Reviews were generally positive, but critics felt the album disappointed compared with his previous mixtapes
At Metacritic it scored 69 out of 100 from 6 reviews, which indicates generally favourable reviews
Fred Thomas of AllMusic praised the production and the way the album put MGK in the spotlight, calling it a strong debut and one of the heaviest mainstream-friendly hip-hop releases of 2012
Adam Fleischer of XXL praised the production throughout and MGK's consistency with his rapid-fire flow
Edwin Ortiz of HipHopDX gave a mixed review, praising the intensity of Edge of Destruction and D3mons but finding Invincible and All We Have weaker
Phillip Mlynar of Spin felt the guest artists hindered the main artist more than they helped

Debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 57,000 copies
Fell to number 22 in its second week, with a total of 65,000 copies
Fell to number 37 in its third week, selling 10,000 more copies
As of September 2015, sold 263,000 copies in the United States
Certified gold by the RIAA, denoting sales of over 500,000 copies
Gold certification in Germany was awarded on 15 August 2017 for over 500,000 US sales
In France, placed second on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Top Rap Albums charts, third on Top Digital Albums and fourth on the Billboard 200

Puff Daddy, as executive producer, brought in guest appearances from Cassie, DMX, Planet VI and Avenged Sevenfold
“Save Me” includes additional vocals from M. Shadows
“D3MONS” samples “Sorrow” from the Gladiator soundtrack, written and performed by Lisa Gerrard and Hans Zimmer
“Wild Boy” was the first of his songs to chart on both Billboard charts
Limp Bizkit supported Kelly's 2014 fall tour on select dates