CLEVELAND, Ohio – In early July, Machine Gun Kelly released the video for “Candy,” his collaboration with rapper Trippie Redd that already has 11 million views on YouTube.

Soon after, MGK got a call from his label Interscope Records. Not to congratulate him, but to ask something: “What the f--k is wrong with you?”

The video for “Candy” features MGK with a glazed-over look in his eyes, hanging out in the medicine aisle of a pharmacy. Actor and Machine Gun Kelly’s BFF Pete Davidson is advising kids on how to score drugs in between references to Xanax, Adderall and other substances, legal or otherwise.

“They were absolutely serious,” says Machine Gun Kelly, who will take the stage at EST Fest in Butler, Ohio, this weekend. “[Interscope was] like, ‘Why do you look like you’re dying? And why are kids smoking cigarettes and hitting joints in the video?’ Hey. My art is my art.”

In Interscope’s defense, MGK’s music, lifestyle and propensity for absolute honesty can’t help but beg the question: What is wrong with Machine Gun Kelly?

It’s a question that’s followed Colson Baker most of his life. Born in Houston to missionary parents, the kid who would become Machine Gun Kelly moved around the world during his childhood.

Along the way, his mother walked out on the family. MGK’s dad lost his job and suffered from depression. Eventually they found their way to East Side of Cleveland, which Machine Gun Kelly has called home ever since.

Those details and so much more about his personal life have been mainstays in MGK’s music since the very beginning. The best way to learn about the 29-year-old rapper and what he’s been through is to study his four studio albums, eight mixtapes and two EPs.

That often leads to dark places. For instance, “Save Me,” the opening track Machine Gun Kelly’s 2012 debut album “Lace Up,” tells the tale of his struggle with heroin addiction and how he overcame it.

Listening to MGK’s new album, “Hotel Diablo,” it’s easy to connect the dots of Machine Gun Kelly’s life right now. The album touches on everything from his obsession with mortality (“Death in My Pocket”) and use of cocaine (“5:3666”) to attempting suicide after putting his daughter to bed on the revealing “Glass House.”

“I added that verse months after everyone first heard [“Glass House”],” Kellz says. “I think everyone thought [it was too revealing]. That was an uncomfortable moment for sure.”

Yet, that level of vulnerability is a big reason why so many fans connect with Machine Gun Kelly. Public appearances produce mobs. One Instagram post can inspire half a million likes.

Machine Gun Kelly isn’t just Cleveland’s biggest music star. He’s an international force in the entertainment world.

During the past year, Machine Gun Kelly has starred in four major films, including playing rock star Tommy Lee in Netflix’s “The Dirt,” with several more projects to follow. His last four albums have debuted in the top-10, while a public feud with Eminem earned MGK, arguably, more attention and respect than he’s ever seen.

That’s what makes the sadness and anger on “Hotel Diablo,” which debuted in the top five on the charts, so striking.

For Machine Gun Kelly, having hit singles, a countless number of followers and millions in the bank doesn’t necessarily equate happiness. As he raps on “Death in My Pocket”: “I just bought a brand new car, I wanna crash it now. How much darkness does it take to get this flashy now?”

Another recurring theme on “Hotel Diablo” is betrayal. Lead single “Hollywood Whore” references an unnamed “snake” who was once close to MGK but then stabbed him in the back.

Fans have speculated on who that person might be since the song dropped in May. But recent events may shed some light on the real story.

According to Page Six, Machine Gun Kelly is embroiled in a legal battle with business partner James McMillan. The entertainment lawyer with ties to Cleveland is suing for breach of contract after MGK refused to sign a merchandise agreement.

The lawsuit states that McMillan helped Machine Gun Kelly get his record deal with Interscope back in 2011. The two formed and operated the entertainment company Est 19xx LLC and its subsidiary Make Millions Music LLC. However, MGK began doing business under MGK Media Group LLC last year.

Combining the information in the lawsuit with the lyrical content on “Hotel Diablo,” one could reasonably assume McMillan is the alleged “snake” mentioned in “Hollywood Whore.”

Machine Gun Kelly hasn’t addressed the lawsuit publicly. But it’s one of several things from his past that explains why the rapper keeps such a tight inner circle.

“Kellz does not trust people because of what he’s been through,” says alternative rapper and close friend Mod Sun. “I’m fascinated by Kellz as a person. When we met, I was like, ‘This guy is f***ing special!’ The power of what he’s taught me is just saying what’s on your mind and what you feel at any given time.”

Mod Sun will perform with Machine Gun Kelly at this weekend’s EST Fest. Though it’s a 90-minute drive from downtown Cleveland, the festival has become MGK’s de facto, hometown summer showcase.

“I think it embodies everything he stands for,” says festival manager and co-founder Andre Cisco. “The way the festival was founded, nobody wanted to book MGK because his stage show was deemed too rowdy at the beginning of his career. So we started our own festival. It’s that do-it-yourself, blue-collar Cleveland work ethic.”

EST Fest began in 2014 and has grown into an event that draws 7,000 people each year from 10 different countries. This year, Machine Gun Kelly will play “Hotel Diablo” live, from start to finish.

The album has become a fan favorite less than a month after its release. But it’s a project that almost didn’t happen. Machine Gun Kelly initially had a different album lined up for release last year, but scrapped the entire thing.

“I realized I wasn’t making the music I want to make and it was definitely not getting the reactions I wanted to from the people whose opinions I respect,” MGK says of the album that wasn’t. “I write my best stuff when I’m sad. So I just let the sadness in. The first song was ‘Hollywood Whore.’ I had to come clean with that. Then there were so many other things.”

Ultimately, “Hotel Diablo” functions as a concept album where each song acts as a window into the soul. And while there’s plenty of darkness to go around, It’s worth pointing out the album ends with a track called “I Think I’m OKAY.”

When asked how he fights his demons, Machine Gun Kelly refers back to the song that made his record label call him with concerns in the first place.

“I keep that candy, yeah,” he proclaims with a laugh.

It’s the closest thing to an answer we’re going to get.