Whaddup guys. Coming to you live from my parking space in LA because the sun is out but the beaches are closed, so this outdoor parking space is all I have left. It’s day who cares of lockdown and I want to share a musical gem I stumbled upon during the many hours I now spend on YouTube looking for reasons not to snap.
While some of us have spent this quarantine finding out what it feels like to finish a family-sized jar of Nutella in 48 hours (spoiler alert: it’s a mixture of pride and self-loathing), others have been slightly more productive. One of these more productive humans is Machine Gun Kelly. The Cleveland-based singer/rapper has been using this time in isolation to record what he’s calling “Lockdown Sessions” on YouTube. They come up sporadically and range from covers to freestyles to original songs. If you haven’t listened to MGK’s music before, these sessions showcase his range and ability to switch genres not just from song to song, but sometimes within the same verse.
I first took notice when his “What’s Poppin” video showed up on my feed. It’s a freestyle rap over a Jack Harlow instrumental that brings MGK’s funny side to light while also showing that no matter how you slice it, the kid has bars.
If rap isn’t your thing, no worries, MGK also has lockdown sessions that showcase his vocals and other musical talents. His most recent installment is a Rihanna cover suggested to him by Marilyn Manson. That’s right, you just read a sentence that includes Rihanna, Marilyn Manson, and Machine Gun Kelly. Only in quarantine, am I right?
Anyway, if you’re like me and looking for even the smallest amount of excitement, these short videos have become something to look forward to. Maybe MGK will bless us with a full album of lockdown sessions, and maybe one day we’ll be able to see them performed live with just a couple other people in the room.
But, until that happens, check out his YouTube channel and turn on notifications if you want to be the first to know when a new one drops. Let me know if there are other artists you’ve discovered during quarantine and maybe I’ll spotlight them next!
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