Eminem vs Machine Gun Kelly. It's the hottest beef in hip-hop, and the most hilarious example of white-on-white crime. It all started in 2012, when MGK tweeted that Eminem's 16-year-old daughter, Hailey, was "hot as f*ck." He deleted the tweet, but wasn't forgiven. He claims Eminem banned him from the radio station Shade45. Six years later, MGK threw shots at Em on No Reason. Em called MGK out on Not Alike. MGK responded with the diss track Rap Devil. Eminem ranted about MGK in an interview, then responded with the diss track Killshot. Who won? I'd say, hip-hop fans.
Their unlikely beef captured the world's attention. People dug up MGK's old tweets praising Eminem, calling Kells the original "Stan." A video appeared to show MGK getting booed, while performing Rap Devil in concert. Twitter users spread conspiracy theories about how the beef was "staged," and shared an image that appeared to prove MGK recorded Rap Devil six months ago. This morning, Machine Gun Kelly appeared on the New York City radio show The Breakfast Club to clear the air. (And drink tequila and tomato juice.)
Regarding the Hailey tweet, MGK said, "I didn't know how old she was." He just stumbled upon an article about her. "All the headlines said was: This person, who we had known through records, was all grown up," said the rapper. "I made a comment, I didn't feel like it was disrespectful but I'm a father, I have a 9-year-old daughter, I get it, 100 percent."
So, MGK tried to handle the situation behind the scenes. Since it was impossible to get the "recluse" Eminem on the phone, he spoke to Eminem's manager, Paul Rosenberg. MGK agreed to delete the tweet and apologize privately, but not publicly. "Public apology? Come on... We're talking about the same guy who shits on dead people [and] Christopher Reeves in a wheelchair... It was a silly comment to have started all of this. It's something silly to trip on. I get it if it was like, you know, gruesome words were used or like, there was, you know, sexual implications in it. [I just said] she's hot."
When asked if the beef was a ploy to help him records, MGK joked, "Oh, man, that would be great! That would be a big help." Although he and Eminem used the same producer, and are both signed to Interscope Records, the beef is not "staged." MGK said he doesn't need help, either. "I've sold over 20 million records... I've been in ten movies, four of which come out [between] December and April." He adds that he made the single Til I Die, which has no features, and went double platinum.
"The narrative is becoming a little unfair right now," the Wildboy rapper continued. "I stepped in a boxing ring by myself... And here is this audience, throwing banana peels, while I'm fighting." You know that viral video of MGK getting booed, while performing Rap Devil in concert? It turns out the boos were edited into the audio track by Eminem stans. You can see the unedited original footage here.
In addition, Kelly says, no, he didn't record Rap Devil six months ago. You'd think this would be obvious, since screenshots can be doctored, and the lyrics specifically reference Eminem's lyrics in Not Alike, a song on an album surprise-released two weeks ago. But many people found the conspiracy theory compelling. "I recorded [Rap Devil] Friday, the day [Eminem] released his shit," said Kelly. He added that despite what you saw in Wikipedia screenshots, he wrote the song himself.
Of course, MGK trashed Eminem throughout the interview. He said the Rap God lied about not calling Diddy to get him blackballed. He said Em's interview with Sway wasn't "real," because Sway is Eminem's employee at Shade45. He said Em took two weeks to reply, recording in a million dollar studio, while he took two days to reply, recording in a dressing room while on tour. He said his man-bun haircut was for a movie, his "track record of beef isn't Christina Aguilera and Mariah Carey," and he is not a mumble rapper. "You called me a 'mumble rapper'? Can we just pour some out for this old dumbass?" MGK said, pouring out liquid from a cup onto the floor. "I can't even."
Oh, and MGK confirmed those embarrassing Stan tweets praising Eminem were real. However, he says to look at the timestamps. It's true he used to idolize Eminem - he admits it in Rap Devil - but he doesn't think Slim Shady is cool anymore. And neither does his 9-year-old daughter. "I honestly don't think my daughter would want [the autograph]," said MGK. "She texted me when that 'KILLSHOT' came out and was like, 'Eh.' At 9 years old. You can't even offend a 9-year-old?"
When asked if he'd talk things out with Eminem, MGK said no, "F*ck you." However, if you're hoping for a reply to Killshot, get comfortable. The Bad Things rapper said he had "a clip ready," but decided not to fire, because Killshot isn't "good" enough. MGK's BINGE EP drops today.