“The hardest part of being an artist wasn’t before I was signed. It was once I got signed,” says Machine Gun Kelly during his candid conversation with Rap-Up TV. The Cleveland “Wild Boy” admits that his rise to superstardom has taken a little longer than he had hoped.

He chronicles his journey to achieving the dream in his upcoming documentary. “It just shows what really goes into trying to make a big impact in music and how hard it is when you have this kid you believe is gonna be a superstar,” shares the 22-year-old. “It shows what happens when it doesn’t go like that. We all thought my success was gonna be immediate and it’s so slow.”

Although he’s been signed to Bad Boy for over a year, he still gets starstruck when he’s around his label boss Diddy. “Me and Puff definitely do not always get along, but Puff always has my best interest in his heart,” he says. “Me and Puff live completely different lifestyles. The one thing we have in common is the hot headedness.”

MGK’s debut album Lace Up is due later this year featuring appearances from Tech N9ne, Twista, Bun B, and Lil Jon, who contributes to the anthemic title track. He also hints at a special guest feature on the intro from a lead vocalist for “one of the greatest metal groups to ever do it.”

Now that he’s collaborated with DMX (“I Don’t Dance”), he hopes to one day work with another one of his idols, Eminem, who he calls the best rapper alive. “That would be a fan favorite if an MGK-Eminem song ever went down,” says the “Invincible” rapper. “If those two [DMX and Eminem] could be knocked off, I won’t have any more on my bucket list really.” -Rap Up