Written by Anna Callahan, CNN
“We’re going to go get a drink sometime, OK?”
The opening shot of rapper Machine Gun Kelly’s 2017 American Music Awards red carpet shoot captures him at the crack of dawn, limping into the sweltering L.A. heat for a quick run for a few margaritas.
Remarkably, he is the only one of the five other models rocking a pair of knee-high
athletic socks for the promotional shots.
But that is because what makes Kelly different — apart from his slicker-than-stylish Longchamp leather backpack — is that he is himself.
Life as a “model family man”
“It’s been fun to show how a model family man makes it,” the 27-year-old rapper says, in an interview before the awards show, which airs on ABC on Monday night.
“I don’t think a lot of them are talking about having their wife and kid out there and modeling with them. Me and my wife Stephanie Rose (Thompson) are, we don’t mind our family out there and I think everybody appreciates that.”
Which is particularly poignant when you remember his latest album debut only hit number 3 on the Billboard chart last week, less than three months after its release.
This experience is even more strange, since it has come as a surprise to both himself and his wife.
“I was one of those people who at first was, like, ‘Oh shit, what am I doing to my child?’” he says.
But then came the questions: “What about me modeling? What does that mean?
“When it comes to the modeling side, the touring, recording, it is what it is,” he says. “The sacrifices I make for my family are huge and I’m very, very fortunate, but I’ve never been given everything I ever wanted — for sure.”
Family and career: ‘I’ve never been given everything I ever wanted’
So how will Kelly manage when his daughter will be a teenager? “I’ll be there for a minute,” he admits. “Then we’ll see. The way I am, that’s how it’s always been.”
“I’ve never been told how or when I should introduce my daughter or my wife to the world,” he continues. “It doesn’t matter — I’m just going to be there.
“I don’t think they should take away all the bad stuff I do or that I do on the road. I really like my craft and I like to show people what I can do.
“I take it very seriously,” he adds. “But I do like to show people why it is different.”