Singer-songwriter Machine Gun Kelly, who was born Colson Baker, has opened up about growing up with a father who stood trial for murder at a young age. The singer discussed the deep impact this had on his childhood and music during a recent podcast.
Baker, who was born in Houston, traced some of his personality traits, both positive and negative, back to experiencing his father’s mental struggles from a very young age. His father, who passed away in 2020, carried significant trauma from witnessing a jarring event at only nine years old.
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Machine Gun Kelly Reflects On His Father’s Childhood Murder Trial
As Baker explained on the Dumb Blonde podcast, the story he was told was that his paternal grandfather accidentally dropped a gun, which then discharged and fatally shot him in the head. Both Baker’s father and grandmother were tried for his murder but were ultimately acquitted.
Baker said dealing with this as a child undoubtedly affected his father’s mental health for life. It gave him a split personality and caused him to struggle with depression and anxiety. “It made me hate him“, Baker admitted of how his father’s trauma affected him. “And then you sit there and you think about a kid who was on trial at nine years old for the murder of his father“, he said.
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Kelly Regrets Not Acknowledging His Father’s Struggles
As an adult, Baker’s perspective has changed and he realizes why his father struggled so much with showing emotion. “I wish I could’ve told him before he died that I was really inspired by how emotional he was,” Baker said.
His father’s ability to wear his heart on his sleeve and feel emotions intensely is something Baker recognizes in himself. The singer credits some of his own mental toughness and ability to shake off criticism to be the man his father couldn’t.
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