A mosh pit, at a rap concert? At first I was surprised to see such an event, but while the show went on it made sense. As I got to understand the rebel punk rockesc nature of both the fans and the music the pushing, shoving and head banging seemed to fit perfectly.

On August 6, 2015, self-proclaimed “wild boy” Machine Gun Kelly performed at The Fillmore Silver Spring. His stage presence and performance filled the venue with an aggressive but weirdly loving energy. Despite his bad boy demeanor, MGK showed immense appreciation to his fans. The fans in return jumped, screamed, and chanted along with the artist.

Many aspects of MGK’s performance was different from other rap shows. He crowed surfed like it was 1977 and he was Joey Ramone. He jumped into the crowd and started his own mosh pit. And the most interesting part, he covered two different songs, not rap songs, but rock anthems: “All The Small Things” by Blink 182 and “Swing Life Away” by Rise Against.

He even made the night extra special for one lovely couple by allowing Keith to ask Katie to marry her on stage.

“This is real music, these are real musicians, not some monkey sitting behind a computer” MGK shouted to his fans.

By bringing 2 violinist on stage for his final song and thanking the band he played with individually at the end of the concert MGK showed he has an appreciation for music outside of hip hop.

Overall MGK made the night special for his fans and proved why he has such a strong and cult like following.