Colson Baker was born on April 22, 1990 in Houston, Texas, but spent the majority of his childhood being moved all over the globe. He spent time in many places across the globe, such as Egypt, Germany,  and of course, all throughout the United States, in Cleveland, Ohio; Chicago, Illinois;  and finally settling down in Denver, Colorado. The family had some problems, and during this time, Colson's Mom decided to leave the home and go out on her own Colson and his father decided to move in with Colson's aunt in Denver.

This period was tough for Colson. He had to deal with endless bullying from the other kids in his neighborhood. His father was unemployed and at home struggling with depression. Colson attended Hamilton Middle School located in Denver, Colorado. The school was very racially diverse and during the sixth grade Colson began listening to rap music. His favorites during this time that influenced him to become a rapper were Ludacris, DMX, and of course, Eminem. 

At home, Machine Gun Kellys life was troublesome. He would get into arguments and fights with his father all the time. When Colson was old enough to attend high school, he went to Thomas Jefferson High School in Denver, Colorado. Once he was there, his father moved out of the house, and began working for the army in Kuwait. Colson, stayed behind and lived in his aunt's basement. Here he would begin recording his first amateur demo mix tape. 

Colson started his career as a rapper in 2006 when he released his first mix tape "Stamp of Approval" and subsequently, his second (Homecoming) in 2008 before releasing two mix tapes in 2010. His father, returning from working, decided to come back and bring Colson with him to Kuwait, but there were problems, and the two then found themselves in Cleveland, Ohio. He attended Shaker Heights High School in Cleveland when he was fourteen and had quite a bit of exposure to hip-hop and rap by then. By this time Colson was heavily into rap, and would challenge older classmates to rap battles to make a name for himself. He then, stood victorious continuously at Harlem’s Apollo Theater, making him the first rapper to win at the place.

While being enrolled at Shaker Heights High, but hardly ever attending, he convinced a local t shirt shop owner to become the manager of his music career. Colson was soon after given the name Machine Gun Kelly by his fans due to the speed at which he rapped and delivered his rhymes. He released the mix tape "Stamp of Approval" in 2006, and the release of the mix tape allowed for his reputation to grow, which allowed Colson to begin rapping at local Cleveland concerts.