Machine Gun Kelly Elevates Ivy League Business Lecture: “Harvard Has a New Professor”

Colson Baker, professionally known as Machine Gun Kelly (MGK), has long moved between rap, emo-punk and pop — and he’s also developing a film career. This week he added an unexpected line to his résumé: he served as a guest lecturer at Harvard Business School.

Baker documented the visit on his Instagram feed, sharing photographs of the trip, including one beside the Harvard sign. His look combined relaxed tailoring with streetwear: roomy grey trousers, a brown bomber jacket, a button-down shirt and two ties — one neatly knotted, the other draped — finished with a white baseball cap promoting his album Lost Americana. (View his post on Instagram.)

The images show him preparing on a commuter train with a thick textbook, posing on campus steps with students, and hanging out on the quad. One candid shot captured him standing among classmates while making a dismissive gesture; others show him interacting playfully with the crowd.

In the post’s caption he joked, “Harvard has a new professor,” and a short clip circulating from the visit shows him writing the words “Water Fire Air Earth” on a chalkboard before snapping the chalk in mock frustration — prompting laughter from students in the room.

On his Instagram Story he introduced himself to the classroom with “hi class, my name is mr. machine,” later removing a scholarly tie and scrawling “class dismissed” as Fisher and AATIG’s “Take It Off” played in the background.

Baker has spoken before about his relationship with formal education. In a 2011 interview he said he finished high school in Cleveland but hadn’t planned to attend college, adding that while education matters to him, a degree isn’t the only measure of intelligence.

At the time this piece was written, representatives for MGK and Harvard Business School had not responded to Billboard’s request for details about the appearance or the lecture’s content.

The campus visit followed a recent public appearance at the Fashion Media Awards: on Sept. 12, 2025, Baker accepted the Style Icon award at the Rainbow Room, accompanied by his teenage daughter Casie and friend Pete Davidson. Davidson praised Baker’s versatility and influence, highlighting his abilities across music, acting and fatherhood.

Baker released his seventh studio album, Lost Americana, in August 2025; the record includes the single “Cliché,” which reached No. 62 on the Billboard Hot 100.

See MGK’s Instagram post ·
2011 interview ·
Fashion Media Awards post

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