Ok, here goes... (if you're reading this and have no idea who MGK/EST is or what I mean by the movement, you'll be confused lol.)
So after a really amazing night finding out when MGK's Lace Up is being released in stores (October 9, 2012/Lace Up Day) and hearing that EST will be releasing a mixtape Monday, August 13, 2012 called EST4LIFE, something crazy started to happen. I wasn't directly involved in it, and maybe that doesn't give me the right to comment on it, but I will anyway. It appears that there are members of the EST family that have a problem with HOW LONG others have been a part of the movement. When I first saw someone tweet about people talking shit I didn't really pay attention to it. After three people that I follow felt like they had to defend themselves against the negative people/comments, I thought to write something about my feelings. As far as I know the idea behind EST, the MEANING of it is "Everyone Stands Together"... how, if that's our motto, are people going to talk smack about anyone that claims EST as their family? I haven't been a fan since Kells spit his first verse but does that make me LESS of a fan? Does that make it any less important that I hear truth in every single word that man says? Did my length of being a fan make my reaction to hearing See My Tears any less profound? (I cried like a baby because I felt like he was taking words from my mind and saying them). I love the idea of EST and I love having a group of people with a common goal, to support the hell out Kells and the guys AND each other. I loved the idea of belonging to a group of people that has struggled like I have. I feel like I could really make some good friends on this journey, I think that as much as K is on a journey we are too, and I was excited to connect with a ton of laced up people on Twitter and Facebook. I didn't always feel this way though. The reason I have just become vocal on Twitter and Facebook about my love for all things MGK & EST is that I thought I wasn't good enough to be part of the movement. I always considered myself part of EST but I didn't know if it was ok to love him as much as I do and be vocal about it due to the fact that I only became a fan just before SXSW last year. I thought I would be called out as a poser, I thought that I wouldn't be welcomed. Once I watched more Kellyvision episodes, listened to more of his music as it came out, kept feeling the way I felt when I heard his words, I knew that there was a reason I felt the way I did. I have only spoken to a few members of the EST family as of yet but I hope that I can find more laced up people in Chicago. I introduced my best friend to MGK's music and she loves it to. We both claim EST as our team. I might not be able to see every Ustream, but I sure do try. Wild Boy isn't the first song of his I heard, but I do like it. I might not have seen him every time he was here in Chicago, but I did see him the last time he was here and I RAGED HARD. I might not be able to eat, sleep and breathe the movement but it's in my HEART. I have been sick and in & out of the hospital for the past 4 years, this movement helped me feel like there was hope. It gave me something to believe in and showed me that there are tons of others out there bound by a common love for a regular kid like us. I don't think the amount of time you've been a fan of MGK and EST is the point. I don't think that shows people how LACED you are. I think how you represent the team shows how laced you are. I think how MUCH you love Kells, the guys, the music and the movement show how laced you are. I LOVE THIS FAMILY! I may not be in high school, or even college age anymore, I am an adult with a great love for an artist, his music and his team. I don't know Machine Gun Kelly, Kells, K... But I feel like I would really like to chill with him if I had the chance. If I met him I would tell him how much he has helped me get through some really tough shit. I'm not "in love" with him the way a teeny bopper loves Bieber. I love him in the way that a person loves a poet or author. His words speak to my heart and I think that's the whole point. If you consider yourself part of EST, I consider you family and that's my bottom line. I don't ask people how long they've been a fan, I don't care.
Lace Up!
xoxo
HG www.twitter.com/purpleturtles33