''Lace Up'' is the debut studio album by American rapper

Machine Gun Kelly George Kelly Barnes (July 18, 1895 – July 18, 1954), better known by his pseudonym "Machine Gun Kelly", was an American gangster from Memphis, Tennessee, active during the Prohibition era. His nickname came from his favorite weapon, a Thomps ...

. It was released on October 9, 2012, by

Bad Boy Records Bad Boy Records (or Bad Boy Entertainment) is an American record label founded in 1993 by rapper Sean "Puffy" Combs. It operates as an imprint of Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. It has been home to many artists, including ...

and

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...

Puff Daddy Puff may refer to: Science and technology * Puff, a small quantity of gas or smoke in the air ** Puff, a light gust of wind ** Exhalation ** Inhalation * Puff model, volcanic ash tracking model developed at the University of Alaska Fairbanks * PUF ...

, who served as the executive producer on the album, enlisted the guest appearances from

Cassie Cassie is a feminine given name and a short form of various other given names mostly used in English-speaking countries. It is more rarely a surname. People and fictional characters named Cassie include: People with the name Given name or nickna ...

, DMX,

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and

Avenged Sevenfold Avenged Sevenfold (abbreviated as A7X) is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist M. Shadows, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Zacky Vengeance, ...

; as well as the production that was provided by

Alex da Kid Alexander Junior Grant (born 27 August 1983), professionally known as Alex da Kid or by.ALEXANDER, is a British musician, record producer, songwriter, record executive and fashion designer from Wood Green, London. He has gained recognition for p ...

, JP Did This 1 and J.R. Rotem, among others. The album was supported by four singles: " Wild Boy" featuring

Waka Flocka Flame Juaquin James Malphurs (born May 31, 1986), known professionally as Waka Flocka Flame, is an American rapper. Signing to 1017 Brick Squad and Warner Bros. Records in 2009, he became a mainstream artist with the release of his singles "O Let's ...

, "

Invincible Invincible may refer to: Film and television * ''Invincible'' (2001 drama film), a drama by Werner Herzog about Jewish cabaret during the rise of Nazism * ''Invincible'' (2001 TV film), a fantasy / martial arts TV movie starring Billy Zane ...

" featuring

Ester Dean Esther Renay Dean (born April 15, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, music producer and actress. Dean has also written songs for many artists, with numerous Top 10 hits, including No. 1 hits for Rihanna and Katy Perry, earning the name " ...

, and " Hold On (Shut Up)" featuring

Young Jeezy Jay Wayne Jenkins (born September 28, 1977), known by his stage name Jeezy (or Young Jeezy), is an American rapper. Signing to Def Jam Recordings in 2004, his major label debut, '' Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101'', was released the followin ...

, along with a promotional single, "

Stereo Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...

" featuring Alex Fitts. Reviews for the record were generally positive, but critics felt that it was a disappointment, compared to his previous mixtapes. ''Lace Up'' debuted at number 4 on the ''Billboard'' 200, with first-week sales of 57,000 copies in the United States. It was certified gold by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA), denoting sales of over 500,000 copies.

Singles

The album's lead single, " Wild Boy" was released on September 27, 2011. The song features guest vocals from fellow American rapper

, with production being provided by GB Hitz and

Southside Southside or South Side may refer to: Places Australia * Southside, Queensland, a semi-rural locality in the Gympie Region Canada * South Side, Newfoundland and Labrador, a community in the St. George's Bay area on the southwest coast of New ...

. It was initially featured on his fourth mixtape, ''Rage Pack'' (2011), and on his debut EP, '' Half Naked & Almost Famous'' (2012). The song debuted at number 98 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on the week of January 28, 2012, and number 49 on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart. It serves as his first song to be charted on both ''Billboard'' charts. The album's second single, "

" was released to digital retailers in the United States on April 24, 2012, and was solicited to rhythmic contemporary radio and contemporary hit radio on May 15 to July 31, 2012, respectively. The song features guest vocals from American singer-songwriter

, and was produced by British producer

. MGK shot a music video for the single, which features an appearance from the singer Ester Dean, and uploaded the video on

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under his

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account, on June 3, 2012. " Hold On (Shut Up)" featuring

, was released as the album's third single on August 6, 2012. The music video was released on November 19, 2012.

Promotional singles

On September 20, 2012, "

" was released with an accompanying music video, as the album's promotional single (although this track was formerly part of the mixtape with same title as the album). The song features guest vocals from Alex Fitts. The track would also be included, alongside "Invincible" and "Hold On (Shut Up)", as part of the MGK's Music Unlimited exclusive EP, titled ''Lace Up - The Prelude'' (released on October 2, 2012).

Critical reception

''Lace Up'' received favorable reviews but music critics found the record overall uneven, compared to Kelly's previous mixtapes. At

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received average score of 69, based on 6 reviews which indicates generally favourable reviews. Adam Fleischer of '' XXL'' praised the production throughout the album and MGK for being consistent with his rapid-fire flow concluding with, "though he may no longer be quite the underdog he once was, rapping like it—at least for now—still works." Fred Thomas of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

also praised the album for its production and putting MGK in the spotlight, calling it "a beast of a debut, and some of the heaviest mainstream-friendly hip-hop happening in 2012, a picture of young energy at its zenith." Edwin Ortiz of ''

HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group. ...

'' gave a mixed review of the album, praising tracks like "Edge of Destruction" and "D3mons" for their intensity but found "Invincible" and "All We Have" put MGK into "industry purgatory." He concluded with, "''Lace Up'' is an imbalanced project that fails to establish MGK’s grand message. His debut is decent at best, with hope that his following projects yield better results." Phillip Mlynar of ''

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'' felt that the special guests throughout the album were more of a hindrance to the main artist saying, "Instead of turning this debut proper into an expansive listen, the guests seem like they're papering over holes in both the music and the message."

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 4 on the US ''Billboard'' 200, with first-week sales of 57,000 copies. It slid down to number 22 in its second week giving it a total of 65,000 copies. Sliding down to number 37 in week three it sold 10,000 more copies. As of September 2015, the album has sold 263,000 copies in the United States.

Track listing

Album credits adapted from official liner notes. ;Notes * signifies a co-producer * signifies an additional producer * "Save Me" features additional vocals from M. Shadows. * "La La La (The Floating Song)" features additional vocals from Betty Idol. ;Sample credits *"See My Tears" contains a sample of "Rain" written and performed by

Armin van Buuren Armin Jozef Jacobus Daniël van Buuren ( , ; born 25 December 1976) is a Dutch DJ and record producer from Leiden, South Holland. Since 2001, he has hosted ''A State of Trance'' (ASOT), a weekly radio show, which is broadcast to nearly 40&nbs ...

and Cathy Burton. *"D3MONS" contains a sample of "Sorrow" written and performed by

Lisa Gerrard Lisa Germaine Gerrard (; born 12 April 1961) is an Australian musician, singer and composer who rose to prominence as part of the music group Dead Can Dance with music partner Brendan Perry. She is known for her unique singing style technique ( ...

. *"Half Naked & Almost Famous" contains a sample of " Young Blood", written by Thom Powers,

Alisa Xayalith Alisa Xayalith (born 24 August 1986) is a New Zealand musician, and is best known as the lead vocalist, guitarist and keyboard player for New Zealand indie electronic band The Naked and Famous. Early life Xayalith was born in New Zealand, an ...

and Aaron Short, performed by

the Naked and Famous The Naked and Famous are a New Zealand indie electronic band from Auckland, formed in 2007. The band currently consists of Alisa Xayalith (vocals, keyboards) and Thom Powers (vocals, guitars). The band has released four studio albums: ''Passiv ...

. *"La La La (The Floating Song)" contains a sample of "Video in Industry" written and performed by Trevor Bastow. *"Warning Shot" contains elements of "Electric Bloom", written by Jack Bevan, Edwin Congreave, Walter Gervers,

Yannis Philippakis Yannis Philippakis (Greek: Ιωάννης "Γιάννης" Φιλιππάκης) (born 23 April 1986) is the lead singer and guitarist of the British indie rock band Foals. Early life Born to a Greek father and a South African Jewish mother, ...

and Jimmy Smith, performed by

Foals A foal is an equine up to one year old; this term is used mainly for horses, but can be used for donkeys. More specific terms are colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, and are used until the horse is three or four. When the foal is ...

Personnel

Credits for ''Lace Up'' adapted from AllMusic. * Klaus Badlet — composer * Kenneth Bartolomei — composer * Chris Bellman — mastering * Jon "JRB" Bishop — producer * Blackbear — featured artist * Snaz — producer * Boi-1da — producer * Dame Grease — producer * Michael "Silent Mike" Brascom — composer, producer * Leslie Brathwaite — mixing * Adrian Broekhuyse — composer * J Browz — bass, guitar * Bun B — featured artist * Sean "Diddy" Combs — executive producer * Kevin "KD" Davis — mixing * M. De Geoij — composer * Ester Dean — composer, featured artist * Aubry "Big Juice" Delaine — engineer * Steve "Rock Star" Dickey — mixing * Alexander Diliplane — assistant * DMX — featured artist * Drumma Boy — producer * Dub-O — featured artist * Rami Eadeh — composer, producer * Briton "Woodro Skillson" Ewart — composer, producer * Alex Fitts — featured artist * Frequency — engineer, producer * Frequency — engineer, producer * Brian "DJ Frequency" Fryzel — composer * Synyster Gates — featured artist, guitar * GB Hitz — producer * L. Gerrard — composer * Stephanie Hsu — creative director * Anthony "DJ Xplosive" Jackson — scratching * Jazz Feezy — producer * J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League — producer * Alex Kickdrum — producer * Alex Da Kid — producer * Byron Kirkland — management * Lil Jon — featured artist *

Livvi Franc Olivia Charlotte Waithe (born 31 May 1988), better known by her stage name Livvi Franc, is a British Barbadian singer-songwriter. Early life Franc was born in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England to an English mother and a Bajan father. Franc' ...

— background vocalist for "Warning Shot" * MGK — primary artist * Juaquin Malphurs — composer * Jonathan Mannion — photography * Fabian Marasciullo — mixing * Manny Marroquin — mixing * A. Masone — composer * Justine Massa — creative coordinator * Matthew "Spordy" McMahon — photography * James McMillan — executive producer, management * MGK — engineer, executive producer, primary artist, producer * Mat Musto — piano * R. Nitzan — composer * Raz Nitzan — composer * T-Minus — producer * Harve Pierre — executive producer * Planet VI — featured artist * Justin Sampson — assistant, engineer * Ben Schigel — mixing * Phil Schlemmer — engineer * M. Shadows — featured artist, vocals * Slim Gudz — engineer, producer * Southside — producer * SykSense — producer * Tech N9ne — featured artist * Twista — featured artist * Armin van Buuren — composer * Ashleigh Veverka — management * Waka Flocka Flame — featured artist * Irvin Whitlow — composer, producer * Anna Yvette — featured artist, producer, vocals

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2012 debut albums Machine Gun Kelly (musician) albums Bad Boy Records albums Interscope Records albums Albums produced by Alex da Kid Albums produced by Boi-1da Albums produced by Dame Grease Albums produced by Drumma Boy Albums produced by J. R. Rotem Albums produced by J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League Albums produced by Southside (record producer)