Lace Up

Updated on Dec 30, 2023

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Recorded 2010–12 Lace Up (2012) Black Flag (2013) Release date 9 October 2012		Length 63:59 Artist Machine Gun Kelly Genre Hip hop music

Released October 9, 2012 (2012-10-09) (see release history) Producer Puff Daddy (exec.) Harve Pierre (co-exec.) Alex da Kid Alex KickDrum Aliby Anna Yvette Boi-1da Dame Grease Jazzy Drumma Boy Frequency GB Hitz J.R. Rotem J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League JP Did This 1 JRB MGK Rami Beatz Silent Mike Slim Gudz Southside Swirv Syk Sense Woodro Skillson Label Insomniac/Interscope Records Similar Black Flag, General Admission, Rage Pack, Rage Pack (Deluxe Edition), Black Flag (Deluxe Edition)

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Lace Up is the debut studio album by American rapper MGK. It was released on October 9, 2012, by Bad Boy Records and Interscope Records. Puff Daddy, who is serving as the executive producer on the album, enlisted the guest appearances from Cassie, DMX, Planet VI and Avenged Sevenfold; as well as the production that was provided by Alex da Kid, JP Did This 1, J.R. Rotem and Alex da Kid, among others. The album supported by four singles: "Wild Boy" featuring Waka Flocka Flame, "Invincible" featuring Ester Dean, and "Hold On (Shut Up)" featuring Young Jeezy, alongside a promotional single, "Stereo" featuring Alex Fitts.

Lace Up debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 57,000 copies in the United States. Upon the release, the album received a generally positive reception, however, critics felt that it was a disappointment, after his previous mixtapes.

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Singles

The album's lead single, "Wild Boy" was released on September 27, 2011. The song features guest vocals from a fellow American rapper Waka Flocka Flame, with the production that was provided by GB Hitz and Southside. The song was initially featured on his fourth mixtape, Rage Pack (2011), and on his debut EP, Half Naked & Almost Famous (2012). It debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 on the week of January 28, 2012 at number 98, and on US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs at number 49. It serves as his first song to be charted in both the Billboard's 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 an American singer-songwriter Ester Dean, with the production that was handled by a British record producer Alex da Kid. MGK shot a music video for the single, which features an appearance from the singer Ester Dean, and uploaded the video on YouTube under his VEVO account, on June 3, 2012.

"Hold On (Shut Up)" 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, "Stereo" 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 positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, 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 AllMusic 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 HipHopDX 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

Notes

All song samples, writing and production credits are according to the album booklet.

Sample credits

"See My Tears" contains a sample of "Rain" written and performed by Armin van Buuren 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.

"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 Foals.