''Lace Up'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Machine Gun Kelly. It was released on October 9, 2012, by Bad Boy Records 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 ...

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

DMX Earl Simmons (December 18, 1970 – April 9, 2021), known professionally as DMX, was an American rapper and actor. He began rapping in the early 1990s and released his debut album ''It's Dark and Hell Is Hot'' in 1998, to both critical acclaim ...

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and Avenged Sevenfold; 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 Earl Johnson II, better known by his stage name Earl St. Clair, is an American record producer, vocalist, and songwriter. Early life Earl St. Clair was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and grew up between there and Alabama. Musical career St. Clair beg ...

and

J.R. Rotem Jonathan Reuven Rotem is a South African-born record producer, songwriter and music publisher. Biography Early life Rotem was born in South Africa to Jewish Israeli people, Israeli immigrant parents. He moved to Canada at the age of two an ...

, among others. The album was supported by four singles: " Wild Boy" featuring Waka Flocka Flame, " Invincible" featuring Ester Dean, and "

Hold On (Shut Up) "Hold On (Shut Up)" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Machine Gun Kelly. The song, released on August 6, 2012, serves as the third single from his debut studio album ''Lace Up''. The single features vocals from American rapper Young ...

" featuring Young Jeezy, along with a promotional single, "

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" 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

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(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 Waka Flocka Flame, with production being provided by GB Hitz and Southside. 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, " Invincible" 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 Ester Dean, 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. "

" featuring Young Jeezy, 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

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, 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

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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 ''

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'' 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 '' Spin'' 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

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and Cathy Burton. *"D3MONS" contains a sample of "Sorrow" written and performed by Lisa Gerrard. *"Half Naked & Almost Famous" contains a sample of " Young Blood", written by Thom Powers, Alisa Xayalith 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: '' Pas ...

. *"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 and Jimmy Smith, performed by

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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 — 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)