The Lace Up movement from this tenacious and defiant MC reflects a pick-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps mentality that earned him a legion of diehard fans before he ever released a studio album. As showcased on his full-length debut, Lace Up, MGK (a.k.a. Machine Gun Kelly) spits rapid-fire flows that mix technical skills with an impassioned delivery that emanates a rowdy, underestimated, and at-times angry aesthetic. The Cleveland representative pulls no punches. Any subject matter is fair game, which makes his art so compelling—this is why it's our Editors’ Choice. While on his own he can carry tracks that'll get listeners riled up ("Half Naked & Almost Famous"), MGK also teams with his favorite rapper, DMX, on the haunting “D3mons.” Young Jeezy, Waka Flocka Flame, Bun B, Lil Jon, and more A-list collaborators also grace Lace Up.