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Mk.gee
American singer-songwriter and music producer (born 1996) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Michael Todd Gordon[2][3] (born September 27, 1996), better known by his stage name Mk.gee, is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, and multi-instrumentalist.[4][5] His career began in 2017 with the release of his debut single "I Know How You Get".[6] In 2018, he followed up with two EPs Pronounced McGee and Fool,[7][8] before releasing his debut mixtape A Museum of Contradiction in 2020.[9] In 2024, Gordon released his debut studio album Two Star & the Dream Police.[10] Aside from his own work, Gordon has collaborated as a songwriter and producer with various artists, including Dijon, Omar Apollo, Kacy Hill, Fred Again, Bon Iver, and Justin Bieber.[11][12][13]
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Early life
Michael Todd Gordon[14] was born on September 27, 1996, in Somers Point, New Jersey, to parents Maureen and Todd Gordon.[15][16] He grew up in nearby Linwood, New Jersey.[17] His interest in music began at an early age when he started taking piano lessons at the age of 6 or 7,[1][3] and by 11, he started learning to play guitar. While attending Mainland Regional High School,[16] he joined a band with some of his schoolmates. However, he preferred to play solo and began to record his own demos, playing all the instruments by himself.[1] After graduating high school, Gordon moved to Los Angeles to study at the USC Thornton School of Music, but dropped out before graduating.[1][18]
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Career
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Solo music career
Gordon released his debut single "I Know How You Get" in 2017, which became the lead single of his debut EP Pronounced McGee, released on May 18, 2018. The EP also featured the singles "Roll with the Punches," "Over Here," and "You".[19] He followed this with his second EP Fool, released on November 25, 2018,[20] led by the singles "Come On (You Know That I'm a Fool)" and "New Year".[21]
In 2019, Gordon signed with IAMSOUND and Interscope Records and released the single "Untitled".[22] That year, he also supported Omar Apollo on his The Voyager Tour and Wallows on their Nothing Happens Tour,[23][24] and made his music festival debut, performing at the Pitchfork Music Festival in Paris.[25][26]
On May 22, 2020, Gordon released his first mixtape A Museum of Contradiction. The mixtape was preceded by the single "cz", which was released on February 22, 2020. Rhys Buchanan, a writer from NME, praised the mixtape and gave it a four out of five stars rating, describing it as "a release that merges genres from different worlds with both maturity and ease" and noting Gordon's natural ability to balance emotional depth with musical complexity. Buchanan also called the mixtape "an important stepping stone" and predicted Gordon’s rising stardom.[27]
On February 9, 2024, Gordon released his debut album Two Star & the Dream Police, via R&R, to critical acclaim.[28] Praised by Pitchfork as one of the best albums of the first half of the 2020s,[29] the album was supported by five singles: "Candy", "How Many Miles", "Are You Looking Up", "You Got It", and "Dream Police".[10] Commercially, Two Star & the Dream Police became his first charting album, peaking at number 12 on the Scottish Albums Chart and number eight on the UK Indie Albums Chart.[30] To promote the album, Gordon embarked on a North American headline tour from April to May 2024,[31] followed by a world tour between September and December of the same year.[32] The concerts received praise from several publications.[33][34][35][36] On May 15, 2024, he surpassed 1 million active monthly listeners on Spotify for the first time.[37]
Following the debut album, Gordon has released two standalone singles: "Lonely Fight" and "Rockman".[38][39] In December 2024, "Rockman" became his first charting single, entering the US Adult Alternative Airplay Chart, the US Rock & Alternative Airplay Chart,[40] and the US Alternative Airplay Chart.[41]
Gordon made his debut television appearances in 2024. On April 11, he performed "Are You Looking Up" on the late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live! and later appeared as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live on November 9, performing the album track "Alesis" alongside "Rockman".[42][43][44] In 2025, Gordon has performed at multiple music festivals, including the Governors Ball Music Festival, Lollapalooza Music Festival, and Way Out West Festival.[45][46][47]
All of Gordon's releases to date have been home-produced by himself.[2][18]
Songwriting and producing
In addition to his solo work, Gordon has contributed as a songwriter and producer for several artists. He co-produced Omar Apollo's mixtape Apolonio (2020) and Dijon's debut album Absolutely (2021). He co-wrote "Mountains", performed by Charlotte Day Wilson, which was later sampled in "Fair Trade" by Drake featuring Travis Scott from the album Certified Lover Boy.[48]
In 2023, Gordon produced and co-wrote the track "Kids Are Growing Up (Part 1)" for The Kid Laroi's debut album The First Time.[49] In 2024, Gordon was credited as a co-writer on the tracks ".One" and ".Ten" from Fred Again's album Ten Days, which sampled his 2020 single "cz".[50] In 2025, he co-wrote the track "From" from Bon Iver's album Sable, Fable,[51] and co-produced and co-wrote "Daisies" from Justin Bieber's album Swag.[52] The latter song reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100.[53]
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Artistry
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Gordon's musical genres have been described as indie, alternative,[3] lo-fi,[2] experimental indie,[18] R&B, and soft-psychedelia.[54] His musical influences include Eric Clapton,[1] Jimi Hendrix, Prince, Perfume Genius, Taj Mahal,[55] The Black Keys, Sly Stone, Larry Graham,[3] Grouper, Julianna Barwick, and Down to Earth.[56]
Gordon has been highly regarded for his technical ability, composition, and creative experimentation on the guitar, and being credited with developing an original style of instrumentation.[1][17] He learned the basics of guitar from somebody who played an upright bass, recalling: “I never liked the idea of getting lessons from a guitar player, and thought it would be more useful to learn from someone who didn’t play the guitar at all — someone who could give musical lessons that were more exploratory, more about trying things out.”[57][58] As of 2024, Gordon's primary instrument is a Fender Jaguar which he strings as a baritone guitar.[58][59]
In May 2024, when asked about modern guitarists who excite him, Clapton mentioned Gordon, commenting that he is "unique" and that "He has found things to do on the guitar that are like nobody else. [...] And he can do it live." Clapton also compared Gordon's "innovative style" to that of Prince "when [he] came on the scene".[60]
Tours
Headlining
Opening
- Nothing Happens Tour (with Wallows) (2019)
- The Voyager Tour (with Omar Apollo) (2019)
Band
- Absolutely (Dijon album) with Dijon Duenas (Spring 2022)
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Touring band members
- Andrew Aged – guitar (2023–present)
- Zack Sekoff – drums, bass, samples (2023–present)
Discography
Albums
Studio albums
Mixtapes
Extended plays
Singles
Songwriting and production credits
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Awards and nominations
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References
External links
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