Simren Shah

Staff Writer

On August 31, 28 year old rapper Machine Gun Kelly (MGK) was destroyed by artists Eminem and G-Eazy. RIP MGK…

Oh wait, Rap Devil is still with us.

Eminem, also known as Slim Shady, was the first to spit bars at MGK with his track titled “Not Alike,” where he compared himself and MGK with things that have nothing to do with each other (self-explanatory in terms of title).

“Not Alike” is a direct diss track where Eminem explains that he may be old, but MGK just outright sucks. Shady used some offensive references to get his point across, which is not unusual to his style.

During his second verse, he mentions Harvey Weinstein, a businessman accused of sexual assault, when he says, “I Harvey Weinstein a bathrobe hanging open/My code name is groper, I role play with lotion.” He proceeds to talk about f***ng the world. He also calls MGK “gay” during his diss, which reminds the viewer that diss tracks are elementary at their core. Eminem has had enough of Hollywood and of rappers who think they are his replacement. However, was the diss track necessary? What is the beef between Eminem and MGK, anyway?

Billboard magazine published a timeline of events that help uncover the motives of these artists. With everything going on in the world—the political climate for example— it shouldn’t come as a shock to find out that the feud between Eminem and MGK dates back to the year 2012.

Even less shocking is that this resurfaced hate originated from a tweet made by MGK about Eminem’s “hot” daughter, Hailie. Consequently, MGK was thereafter shunned by Eminem’s radio station, Shade 45 on Sirius XM.

Five years later, MGK publicly blamed Eminem for banning him from his radio station during a freestyle with Power 106’s L.A. Leakers when he said “I’m my favorite rapper alive/Since my favorite rapper banned me from Shade 45.” So, what correlation does G-Eazy have with any of this? He doesn’t.

The negative vibes between Eminem and MGK stem from Gerald’s girlfriend Halsey. In July of this year, the two broke up for reasons not officially announced, though fans have speculated. Shortly thereafter, old photos of MGK and Halsey resurfaced and the media claimed that the two were seeing each other. Halsey publicly denied the rumors, but now that she is back with Gerald, he is not a fan of MGK. The level of pettiness between the two extended to MGK tweeting about G-Eazy being a copycat for dying his hair blonde. The tweet reads, “Holy s**t just be yourself homie.”

Coincidentally, G-Eazy released “Bad Boy,” a diss track about MGK, on the same day that Eminem released his surprise album which included the track “Not Alike.” The diss could be called “Bad Boy” because MGK is signed under “Bad Boy Records” or because of his popular song “Wild Boy.”

G-Eazy’s track is different than the other disses because he sets up a more artistic introduction rather than just going in at MGK. During the track, he accuses MGK of being jealous of him and he ends by mentioning Eminem’s diss to add to the impact. On September 3, MGK publicly defended himself by embarrassing Eminem with a track titled “Rap Devil.”

“Rap God” is a popular track by Eminem and also one of his multiple titles. In “Rap Devil,” MGK also mentions Eminem’s film “Eight Mile,” his daughter Hailie and how he is named after a candy. There are multiple times within the track where MGK knocks Eminem for his age. These lines include, “Knees weak of old age, the real Slim Shady can’t stand up” and “I’m the ghost of the future and you’re just Ebenezer Scrooge (facts).” Essentially, MGK blames both Eminem and G-Eazy for his career struggles because the two stole the spotlight. The artists have successfully drawn attention to themselves.

Whether you’re a fan of Eminem’s lyrical genius, G-Eazy’s leather jacket swagger, or MGK’s flow, you will probably be hearing about them all over the next few weeks or more. Keep an eye out for a rebuttal track.