MUSIC

Ten things you should know about Young Thug and Machine Gun Kelly ahead of Des Moines show

Sierra A. Porter
The Des Moines Register

Atlanta rapper Young Thug and Machine Gun Kelly are headed to Des Moines on Tuesday, Oct. 29. The duo will be performing at 8 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena. While fans gear up for the "Ecstasy" MC's, the Register has a list of 10 things you should know about the rappers before their fall show. 

Young Thug 

11 siblings

Young Thug was born Jeffery Lamar Williams in Atlanta. The Zone 3 rapper was born Aug. 16, 1991, as one of 11 children of which he is the second youngest. His family lived in the demolished Jonesboro South projects. Thug also has a brother who is deaf and mute. The MC had American Sign Language interpreters in his 2015 music video, "Anybody," featuring Nicki Minaj. 

A father of six 

Thug has six children — three sons and three daughters. He’s reportedly been engaged to Jerrika Karlae since April 2015.

More:Young Thug, Machine Gun Kelly to co-headline at Wells Fargo Arena

Gucci Mane signed him 

One day while in the studio, rapper Peewee brought Young Thug and two other men to Gucci's studio session. Peewee told Gucci he should sign the "So Much Fun" rapper. "Pewee is like, 'Gucci listen, they hard. They're the ones who got me to start rapping. Sign them!'" Hypebeast reported from an interview the Atlanta rapper Gucci Mane did with XXL magazine.

Gucci pulled out $25,000 and signed Thug on the spot without even hearing a song from him. In early 2013, Thug signed to Gucci's 1017 Brick Squad. Well, as you guessed, the rest was history. Back in August, Thug scored his first No.1 album on Billboard 200 Chart with his album, "So Much Fun."  

He paid Lil Baby to pursue a rap career

As Gucci took a chance on Thug, he returned the blessing and took a chance on Lil Baby. Lil Baby was making a big noise on the rap scene and revealed that it was indeed Thug who believed in him. In a video interview with XXL, Lil Baby said: "Young Thug, he gave me all the jewels." "He paid me to leave the neighborhood. (He said), 'Bruh, you can rap, you got it. You could be next. You gotta leave the 'hood ... I' ma pay you to come to the studio.'" Gucci was going to sign the MC first, but learning from the East Atlanta Santa himself, Thug already had sight of signing the rapper. 

An issue with fellow MC YFN Lucci 

Beefing in hip-hop is not uncommon; it's a competitive genre, after all. YFN Lucci gave his thoughts on Thugger's "So Much Fun" album via his Instagram story. "Cap a-- album," he wrote. He also mentioned that Thug was scared of him while the two were in an Atlanta-area mall.  

On his record "How It Is," from "So Much Fun," Thug referenced the mall incident in the song before Lucci's response. When Thug got wind of what Lucci said on his Instagram story, he took his issue to his own Instagram story, telling him he would've been killed, Lucci. Their problem seems to date back to 2017 when Thug crowned himself the new Tupac Shakur. "Pac would've never wore a dress," Lucci tweeted on his account.  

Machine Gun Kelly 

Lived in different countries 

Some people only get to see different countries when they travel as adults. Not for Machine Gun Kelly, born Richard Colson Baker. Born April 22, 1990, MGK lived in Egypt and Germany as a child because his parents were missionaries. Due to this, MGK reportedly learned to speak Arabic before English. He was raised in several American cities, as well, including Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago and Cleveland.

He has a daughter

MGK has an 11-year-old daughter named Casie Colson Baker. Casie is an only child and was born on July 23, 2008. MGK could be seen with his daughter at the 2019 Kids Choice Awards. 

Diddy signed MGK to Bad Boy Records

In 2011, Sean Combs, better known as Diddy, signed the "Till I Die" rapper to Bad Boy Records. If you know anything about Diddy, he has an eye for talent signing other notorious acts such as Biggie Smalls and Lil Kim. In an Aug. 7 Instagram post, Diddy posted a video of MGK writing that he knew "he was going to be a star." "'I'm so proud of the artist he is becoming, he's shown all the traits of an artist that will stand the test of time," Diddy added. 

According to AltPress, MGK's "Hotel Diablo," released on July 5, debuted in the top 10 on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart as No.5. "Hotel Diablo" marks MGK's fourth album to make it in the top 10. 

MGK is an actor

MGK doesn't just rock the mic. The MC has picked up a few acting credits. He has played in the popular Netflix film "Bird Box" alongside Sandra Bullock and the Mötley Crüe biopic "The Dirt."

He had an ongoing beef with Eminem 

It was diss track after diss track between MGK and veteran MC Eminem. In March 2018, MGK appeared on a record with Tech N9ne called "No Reason" and subliminally aimed at Eminem. On Aug.31, 2018, Eminem dropped his album "Kamikaze." He included the track "Not Alike," which took shots at several rappers, including the 29-year-old MC. 

The track called out MGK for a now-deleted tweet he posted back in 2012, where he commented on Slim Shady's daughter Hailie. While in the tweet, MGK mentioned that Em is King, but apparently, Em didn't appreciate the rapper calling his daughter hot. MGK responded with "Rap Devil," and then Eminem followed up with "Killshot," which became a debate about who won. 

Fellow tour mate Thug gave his thoughts on an Instagram Story with a video of MGK. The caption read, "The one guy that murdered' M." It looks like Thug announced MGK as the clear winner.  

If you go

When: Tuesday, Oct. 29, at 8 p.m. Doors open at 7 p.m. 

Where: Wells Fargo Arena, 233 Center St. 

Tickets: Tickets can be purchased at Hy-VeeTix.com, (844) 554-9833, the Wells Fargo Arena Ticket Office or any Des Moines Arena or Ames Hy-VeeTix.com outlet locations.

Sierra Porter covers entertainment for the Des Moines Register. She can be contacted at Sporter@registermedia.com. 

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