Okay so I know a lot of younger people who are really big fans of rapper from Cleveland named Machine Gun Kelly (MGK for short). He promotes the city and it seems as if his fans are also beginning to be more loyal to the city. He hasn't made it big yet, but he is developing a pretty large, loyal fan base. Could this help change the perception of Cleveland for the younger generations?

 

Here are a few of his songs. He talks about Cleveland and Ohio a good amount of the time.

 

This is rap, so, NSFW.

 

Cleveland

 

Salute

Machine Gun Kelly - Salute (OFFICIAL VIRAL VIDEO)

 

Midwest Side (No video just the song)

 

The Return (No video just the song)

Well, it's certainly more effective than anything our mayor and other so-called leaders - business, political, religious - have produced in a longgggggg time.

What part of town is he from?

 

Edit: nm.... I guess the answer is in that first song.  Shaker.

He's actually a pretty talanted rapper. 

The lyrics in "The Return" are great

Never heard of him, but his stuff is actually kind of dope. I always wonder why Cleveland always has a constant flow of underground artists while Cincinnati doesn't really have any. I like the Chip the Ripper from Cleveland; he actually has a pretty large underground fanbase.

 

HiTek should have done more to help develop the Cincinnati hip hop scene, being that he is a producer. Now that he has "made it" he associates himself moreso with NYC than Cincinnati. He even went on record once saying there is no talent in Cincinnati. You don't go out and say that about your hometown, even if you think IT IS true.

 

If a rapper is portraying their city in a positive light, particularly with "anthem" songs like Wiz Khalifa's "Black and Yellow" or Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind," then it can have more of an influence than people think. When cities have songs like that, it puts them on the map and helps instill civic pride. Wiz has been doing it a while now for Pittsburgh, since his song "Pittsburgh Sound" that he recored back in late 2006.

 

I think Kid Cudi has reignited a spark for the Cleveland hip hop/pop scene, as a few have emerged after him or even as artists associated with him.

I'm not a huge rap fan, but I loved the "Cleveland" song. The kid is very talented.

 

If a rapper is portraying their city in a positive light, particularly with "anthem" songs like Wiz Khalifa's "Black and Yellow" or Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind," then it can have more of an influence than people think. When cities have songs like that, it puts them on the map and helps instill civic pride. Wiz has been doing it a while now for Pittsburgh, since his song "Pittsburgh Sound" that he recored back in late 2006.

 

MGK did a Cleveland version of that song.

 

Cleveland State of Mind (Lebron is mentioned since its kind of old)

I really like his stuff. I think I asked this once before, but never got an answer, isn't this the kid who turned his old Buick Regal into the 'Witness' mobile?

Eh.... not really that big a fan of his style.  Seems like kind of a rip off of Twista from his earlier days in Adreline Rush.  I guess that is kind of a Great Lakes / Rust Belt style with the fast tongue.  But I suppose I have soured on rap pretty much altogether as I have gotten older.  I swear.... it has nothing to do with the kid being a Faker.... I mean being from Shaker ;)

I really like his stuff. I think I asked this once before, but never got an answer, isn't this the kid who turned his old Buick Regal into the 'Witness' mobile?

 

Idk, ill try to find out for you

 

Here is another one of his songs

 

End of the Road

As for the title of this thread, and the question posed...... not much IMO.  At the absolute most, only as much as Eminem has helped change the image of Detroit...

 

Its not like he is going to rapping about our art museam... or great people... or low cost of living.  More likely, he will be telling tales of how 'real' the streets are.... how u betta watch yo back or else you'll get 'clapped'.... things like that

Eh.... not really that big a fan of his style.  Seems like kind of a rip off of Twista from his earlier days in Adreline Rush.  I guess that is kind of a Great Lakes / Rust Belt style with the fast tongue.  But I suppose I have soured on rap pretty much altogether as I have gotten older.  I swear.... it has nothing to do with the kid being a Faker.... I mean being from Shaker ;)

 

Ok, grandpa, you're like me and longing for the days when rappers rapped about good stuff....like sneakers...and waving your hands in the air... ;-)

 

I agree he's not breaking any new ground, but I still think he's better than a lot of the dreck I currently hear on the radio, and he is definitely talented in his delivery.

 

Its not like he is going to rapping about our art museam... or great people... or low cost of living.

 

 

Maybe not, but he did mention Severance Hall ;)

As for the title of this thread, and the question posed...... not much IMO.  At the absolute most, only as much as Eminem has helped change the image of Detroit...

 

Its not like he is going to rapping about our art museam... or great people... or low cost of living.  More likely, he will be telling tales of how 'real' the streets are.... how u betta watch yo back or else you'll get 'clapped'.... things like that

 

Agreed.  How many examples are there of rappers casting their hometown as anything other than a violent ghetto?  It's what's cool in that scene, it's what sells.

If he, or kudi, or even the Black Keys makes a song with the level of popularity as "black and yellow" or "empire state of mind" then.. actually YES.

 

I dont think it will make anyone move anywhere else, but that kind of support goes miles to improve the perception of a place.

"Empire State of Mind", maybe.  "Black and Yellow" is the kind of mindless dreck that's unlikely to cast a good light on anything.

You guys are forgetting that this gem already did the trick:

[/sarcasm]

BTW, the "Salute" video was clearly not shot in Cleveland.

You guys are forgetting that this gem already did the trick:

[/sarcasm]

 

That song doesn't count, it's not in English.  :-D

 

And LoL at Hts121's last post.

HiTek should have done more to help develop the Cincinnati hip hop scene, being that he is a producer. Now that he has "made it" he associates himself moreso with NYC than Cincinnati. He even went on record once saying there is no talent in Cincinnati. You don't go out and say that about your hometown, even if you think IT IS true.

 

I can't hate on Hi-Tek. I love his work and think he is talented as all hell.

I like MGK's Cleveland video and song...so much that I bought the track on iTunes...pretty creative and definitely full of Cleveland pride!

Nothing wrong with that combo!

 

"Empire State of Mind", maybe.  "Black and Yellow" is the kind of mindless dreck that's unlikely to cast a good light on anything.

 

"Black and Yellow" is horrible. I like "Empire State of Mind."

If he, or kudi, or even the Black Keys makes a song with the level of popularity as "black and yellow" or "empire state of mind" then.. actually YES.

 

I dont think it will make anyone move anywhere else, but that kind of support goes miles to improve the perception of a place.

 

Kid Cudi's song "Day 'N Night" was huge in bars and nightclubs. I heard that song every night for months (though it might have been a remix). I think it exceeded the popularity levels of "Black and Yellow," though maybe not as nationally popular as "Empire State of Mind." Kid Cudi's music is a lot of fun, and it has probably been positive for Cleveland. But, like most Ohio talent, he moved away. Is he a product of New York City or is he a product of Ohio? This question has been asked ever since the Isley Brothers. Ohio produces talent. Ohio doesn't retain talent. The laundry list of artists who move to New York, LA, and Chicago is massive. And quite frankly, it's kind of insane not to move to New York or LA. That's where the bulk of the labels are at, not to mention huge market areas. It's good testing ground. What would be great is if we could get one of our exports to come back to Ohio and start a label.

 

Detroit is pretty much the only Rust Belt city that can keep its hometown stars. Some have started labels there.

 

I think Kid Cudi has reignited a spark for the Cleveland hip hop/pop scene, as a few have emerged after him or even as artists associated with him.

 

He lives in New York City. Cleveland needs to offer him a tax incentive to start a record label.

^ At least Kid Cudi still wears Cleveland hats and stuff. It seems like he has some sort of loyalty to Cleveland, if its not tremendous. And he did come back for the Ohio Homecoming Concert. If he comes back again this year, then that will be somewhat of a good sign that he hasn't forgot about where he came from.

^Without a doubt he's a positive for Cleveland. The kids love him, and for good reason. "Day 'N Night" was a hit that really deserved to be a hit.

 

But the "spin-off" would be much greater if he were living and working in Cleveland. Think King Records in Cincinnati. Ohio historically had impressive music scenes in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Toledo (jazz), and Dayton (funk) that exported music all over the country. It was similar to the level of Detroit today (though never near the level of 1960's Detroit with Motown). The music industry consolidated on the coasts, leaving Middle America an untapped resource (though Atlanta completely exploded). Even Chicago has fewer labels than it should given the huge size of the city.

Boy, am I old. This is the last rap song I listened to all the way through (in 1980)....

 

Sadly, getting famous through some talent (in this case rapping) seems to be people's ticket out of Cleveland. It's like the Hip Hop community's equivalent of Brain Drain.

Idk though about him, his thing seems to be his loyalty to the city. I mean if he did make it big, im not sure if he'd leave. If he did go to NYC, I think he would still be more active here than Kid Cudi.

This is up my alley because I've been a big hip hop/rap fan since my childhood in the mid- to late-80s.

 

First of all, I think MGK can do a lot for Cleveland's image, and I think he is somebody who will continue to represent the city. In fact, I think he can be what Bone set out to be.

 

Let's not forget that when Bone first went big, they attempted to build Cleveland into the first rap mecca outside of New York or Los Angeles. Unfortunately, unlike Outkast (The Dungeon Family, which around the same time, exploded into dozens of other artists not-affiliated with the group but has made Atlanta the No. 3 city for rap), the artists Bone signed weren't able to gain traction into mainstream success. Bone then started going outside the area to sign talent (also to no avil), and when Bone itself wasn't able to crossover with commerical success, everything died.

 

But Bone did release "Mo Thugs: Family Scriptures" in 1996, which went platinum. It was a collarboration of Cleveland rappers. A couple of groups on that album had promise. Poetic Hustlaz released an album a year or two later, while it had great production and some deep songs, by that time hip hop had fully become commerical (money, cash, hoes) and never gained a national following. Graveyard Shift (another talented group that wasn't commerical enough to make it big time, but  had talent the talent to gain an underground following, was derailed after one of its three members, Tombstone, was gunned down in Garfield Heights ... the fourth original member, Boo, was also gunned down several years earlier, the day of Bone's first major concert in Cleveland). There were other local artists II True, Soujah Boy (the original) and Ken Dawg, who were on that album, but none were able to have any success. II True released an album, but like Poetic Hustlaz, it flopped.

 

Still, Bone was one of the most successful music groups for a 5-6 year period and gave Cleveland a lot of noteriety in the 90s. I expereinced that everytime I would go out of state and say I'm from Cleveland. The first question always was, "Do you know Bone?"

 

But once Bone fell off, the local scene, at a national level, died for almost a decade before Ray Cash (Pimp in my own mind, Bumping my music) had a little success about 3-4 years ago. Now Kid Cudi is out there, but even though he has the song "Cleveland is the city" hasn't done much, outside of Chip tha Rippa, to put Cleveland back on the map.

 

Maybe MGK can be the person who can do that. He seems to have the lyrical skills, the personality, the grasp of the current hip hop scene and the love for Cleveland to do so.

 

 

Parma State of Mind >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> everything MGK has ever done tbh

by the way, MGK signed with puffy. he announced it today

by the way, MGK signed with puffy. he announced it today

I dont understand your question. 

 

The fact that he signed with Interscope Records should be a bad sign.  IMJUSTSAYIN'

Here's the link:

 

http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.16268/title.machine-gun-kelly-announces-signing-to-bad-boy-interscope-records

 

by the way, MGK signed with puffy. he announced it today

I dont understand your question. 

 

The fact that he signed with Interscope Records should be a bad sign.  IMJUSTSAYIN'

i didn't ask a question

YouTube- Dave Chappelle does Making the Band.mp4

Um... Yeah, Bad Boy seems to not be the best label to sign to.  Maybe this is the beginning of a change with Bad Boy, but if Bad Boy's history repeats itself (again), MGK might release 2 albums then fall off the face of the planet as a performer.

Not a big fan of MGK's rap style, but anyone who represents Cleveland like that is okay in my book.  I don't know how much it can change Cleveland's image though.

Did Eminem make a difference in Detroit? I suppose at some nominal level he did, but ultimately it's pretty doubtful, and Eminem is one of the most famous musicians of all time.

I said the same thing about Bad Boy not necessarily being a good thing. Some of his artists, never get the chance to even release an album. What ever happened to Babs, Chopper or Cheree Dennis, another artist from Cleveland.

i think the MGk thing isn't about him, but it shows the music scene in cleveland is getting national attention.  Chip, Cudi, and MGk is a decent stable of rap artists.

i think the MGk thing isn't about him, but it shows the music scene in cleveland is getting national attention.  Chip, Cudi, and MGk is a decent stable of rap artists.

There is also Ray Jr., who just got signed to Interscope a few weeks ago. I don't know if just having talent from Cleveland signed will be enough to change the area's national reputation. Look at Atlanta that has many recording artist claiming to be from there. I don't think Atlanta became 'ATL' until after the '96 Olmpics and really not until about 2000. But Atlanta also has mulitple record labels, and Cable TV networks with headquarters or a presence in the area.

I think artists can have a positive (or negative) effect on how people view the city.  Heck, Bone had a positive effect on how the hip-hop world viewed Cleveland, and in fact changed hip-hop overall through their own unique style of rhyme.  That's pretty much unquestionable. 

 

MGK could have that same effect on how the hip-hop world views Cleveland, depending on how big he becomes in the national spotlight.  I just don't think that will happen with Bad Boy.  In my opinion, hip-hop definitely played an economic part in the popularity of Atlanta, and still does to this day.  It would be interesting to see a study showing the impact of hip-hop on Atlanta's tourist economy, among other factors.  It's my opinion that hip-hop made "Hotlanta" that much more enticing to visit (and the Freaknik in the 90s and early 2000s helped that as well).     

Did Eminem make a difference in Detroit? I suppose at some nominal level he did, but ultimately it's pretty doubtful, and Eminem is one of the most famous musicians of all time.

WTH/WTF??

 

i think the MGk thing isn't about him, but it shows the music scene in cleveland is getting national attention.  Chip, Cudi, and MGk is a decent stable of rap artists.

Another SMDH moment.  Until there is a label based here, or rather until a person/group plants roots here to develop a local industry here in Cleveland, we wont have significant interest.  It's like actors, we have a ton of actors in Cleveland but they are mainly represented by agencies in NYC.  We shouldn't be shipping talent out.

 

i think the MGk thing isn't about him, but it shows the music scene in cleveland is getting national attention.  Chip, Cudi, and MGk is a decent stable of rap artists.

There is also Ray Jr., who just got signed to Interscope a few weeks ago. I don't know if just having talent from Cleveland signed will be enough to change the area's national reputation. Look at Atlanta that has many recording artist claiming to be from there. I don't think Atlanta became 'ATL' until after the '96 Olmpics and really not until about 2000. But Atlanta also has mulitple record labels, and Cable TV networks with headquarters or a presence in the area.

I disagree, there is a lot of talent here.  For instance when casting for commercials, movies, tv roles, etc.  I cannot tell you how many people I see - who live in Cleveland - are coming to NYC for go-see's and auditions.

 

When we cast for the last two seasons of ANTM, there were 20 models from CLE.

 

I think artists can have a positive (or negative) effect on how people view the city.  Heck, Bone had a positive effect on how the hip-hop world viewed Cleveland, and in fact changed hip-hop overall through their own unique style of rhyme.  That's pretty much unquestionable. 

 

MGK could have that same effect on how the hip-hop world views Cleveland, depending on how big he becomes in the national spotlight.  I just don't think that will happen with Bad Boy.  In my opinion, hip-hop definitely played an economic part in the popularity of Atlanta, and still does to this day.  It would be interesting to see a study showing the impact of hip-hop on Atlanta's tourist economy, among other factors.  It's my opinion that hip-hop made "Hotlanta" that much more enticing to visit (and the Freaknik in the 90s and early 2000s helped that as well).     

 

Agreed, since market share for HH/Rap has fallen of since 2003.  HipHop to ATLs economy, I'm not sure.  I would say the minority entertainment in ATL was up in general due to the fact the city tried to paint itself as a "black mecca" for people and business.  I would say Bonner Bros, had just as much financial impact on ATL as the entertainment industry.

 

 

im not saying it will have a real economic effect on the city.  cant some things just be nice?

Well, we all know what happens to a rapper once Diddy gets him

 

WARNING: NSFW (Diddy's got a Dirty Mouth)

 

im not saying it will have a real economic effect on the city.  cant some things just be nice?

 

Id like for more creative company's industries to open up shop here. That would be nice.

Well, we all know what happens to a rapper once Diddy gets him

 

WARNING: NSFW (Diddy's got a Dirty Mouth)

 

That was the worse movie, and to make matters worse, Arthur is sitting on my desk right now.

 

Some people should really stay in their lane!

I think it's unrealistic to expect that Cleveland will ever be some sort of an entertainment hub with labels, studios, etc. setting up shop here.  There are a few gigantic cities that have an oligopoly on that industry, and that's never going to change.  Let's moderate our expectations a bit.  I'm just satisfied in seeing people who represent this city having success and continuing to shed a positive light on their roots.

^You're probably right in that it's unlikely Cleveland will ever have a booming record industry, but I wouldn't say never as in the history of this country random cities have become music industry meccas if only for a moment in time (Detroit, Atlanta).

 

On another note is a dying record industry one we would like to see in Cleveland? Will labels in their conventional sense be needed in 10 years? I don't know.