A few months ago, it seemed like Machine Gun Kelly (real name Colson Baker) was toying with the idea of changing his performing name. Now, he has gone ahead and done it.
As E! News notes, as of February 29, the artist’s profiles on Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, and YouTube all now say “mgk,” stylized in lower-case letters, and not “Machine Gun Kelly.” His social media handles on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram are still @machinegunkelly at the moment, but his X name has been changed to “mgk,” while his Instagram name is currently “colson xx blonde don.”
Kelly hasn’t publicly explained the reason behind the name change. As aforementioned, though, the seed seems to have been planted a few months ago. In November 2023, MGK gave an interview at an F1 race and asked photographers to refer to him as just “Machine,” saying, “Instead of Machine Gun, can you just hit me with Machine next time?”
This follows comedians Chad & JT attending one of MGK’s concerts wielding a sign asking the performer to change his name, a stunt that caught MGK’s attention. The pair then explained (jokingly) that they felt his name encouraged machine guns.
At this point, though, we don’t know much about the reason behind MGK’s name change. That said, it’s a natural shift, since “MGK” was already a widely used nickname for him.