General Admission (MGK album)

Promotion

In preparation for the official release of General Admission, MGK released a 10-track mixtape, titled Fuck It, on July 23, 2015. MGK had reportedly released the mixtape out of frustration, following Bad Boy delaying the release of General Admission several times. The mixtape is compiled of songs that were left off of General Admission, and was released to his fans as an apology for the delays. MGK released the album artwork and revealed the release date on September 10, 2015, via Instagram. Many fans took it upon themselves to spray paint the album title around their hometowns to show their support and loyalty to MGK's EST movement.

Singles

The album's lead single, "Till I Die", was released on January 5, 2015 via YouTube, through MGK's VEVO account. The song was produced by MGK, alongside Casey McPerry and the production team J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League. The song charted at number 104 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 32 on the Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. In June 2015, MGK released the single's sequel through WorldStarHipHop, which features guest vocals by the Cleveland-based hip hop group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, fellow Bad Boy artist French Montana, and rappers Yo Gotti and Ray Cash, along with the accompanying music video.

The album's second single, "A Little More", was released on March 30, 2015 through the same channels, with the accompanying music video releasing on May 18, 2015. The song features guest vocals by American singer-songwriter Victoria Monet, with production provided by Tommy Brown. "A Little More" charted on the two respective charts, performing marginally worse at 108 and 35 respectively; however, the song did chart at number 81 on the Canadian Hot 100.

The tracks "World Series" and "Gone", featuring Leroy Sanchez, were released via the same channels as their predecessors. However, these tracks did not chart due to the singles being album specifics, and were released with the intention to promote the album, as both were released a few weeks prior to the album.

Reception

Chris Mench of XXL found the album a step up from his debut effort, finding those elements toned down and allowing for a more musically focused record that carries deep storytelling and new-found maturity, saying that, "General Admission has its low moments — the series of emotional, down-tempo songs is a bit repetitive by the end — but it feels much more cohesive than his last effort." David Jeffries of AllMusic admired MGK for his clever take on mixing dark, introspective tales with his aggro rap rock tracks, concluding that "General Admission can be corrosive and coarse like Nirvana's In Utero, but while it lacks that album's artistic weight, it's proud to be unattractive which, oddly enough, becomes this druggy downer's allure." Marcus Dowling of HipHopDX said that despite some mixed attempts of borrowed flows and samples in certain songs, MGK is able to craft material that contains his usual vocal dexterity with more emotional poignancy to his lyrics, calling it "a mixed-bag of an album that aims high and falls short, but an amazing story is told along the way."

Commercial performance

General Admission debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200, powered by first week sales of 56,000 equivalent album units; it sold 49,000 copies in its first week, with the remainder of its unit total reflecting the album's streaming activity and track sales. The album also debuted at number one on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.