Two great arguments have shaken rap to its core this year: One took place in the spring: “Is J Cole dope or wack?” This great Cole debate seemingly split fans down the middle upon the release of his fifth album on April 20. The second jolted hip-hop on Friday after a legend stepped back in the booth and answered the call after his lyrical manhood was challenged:
“Who won? Eminem or Machine Gun Kelly?”
Following Eminem’s initial diss on his new album Kamikaze two weeks ago, Kells drew blood with “Rap Devil”, a direct hit against Slim Shady for intimating he and MGK are “not alike”, with the Cleveland native having praised Em effusively for being not only an influence, but the greatest rapper ever.
Em’s tolerance was being tested, for he knew he was walking into a trap, of sorts. “Rap Devil” is fire, and universally well-received. And though it warranted a response, doing so would only give MGK exactly what he wanted (if not needed). He acknowledged as much on his revealing interview with Sway.
Jay Z told us this tale years ago: “Look, if I shoot you, I’m brainless/But if you shoot me, then you famous/What’s a nigga to do?” The supernova that is Eminem’s popularity adds a layer of drama to the situation. A rebuttal of any kind is a victory for MGK; Eminem was in a no-win situation, and he knew it.
The “Rap God” rapper said he would exercise patience, but we all knew the emcee in him wouldn’t let this slide.
Comparing these rappers and their diss records fairly is much more difficult than it appears on the surface.
The overall popularity factor matters, as does Eminem’s tenuous grip on the respect of many Black hip-hop fans (a topic previously dissected on the HHSR Podcast). Though he has legions of fans overall, the drivers of the culture have become increasingly dissatisfied (somewhat unjustly) with the work from the Fire Marshall. Even many of those who enjoyed Kamikaze didn’t love it.
But one can’t deny the brilliance of Eminem calling out the hypocrisy of Kelly’s own diss record (MGK literally said “Yeah I’ll acknowledge you’re the GOAT”), comparing him to “Stan” and invoking the famous line “And here’s an autograph for your daughter (brother), I wrote it on a Starter cap.” Nor can we deny Eminem saying Kelly “Spent the whole day shooting a video just to fucking dig your own grave”, and arguably the diss record’s most potent bar: “In a state of bliss ’cause I said his goddamn name/Now I gotta cock back, aim/Yeah, bitch, pop Champagne to this! (pop)/It’s your moment/This is it, as big as you’re gonna get, so enjoy it/Had to give you a career to destroy it.”
This was more than just clever wordplay and a jab at his opponent’s career success…this shit really happened!
😈 pic.twitter.com/h6LcUZTAa1
— 😈 (@machinegunkelly) August 31, 2018
In spite of all that, those who walked in expecting Em to obliterate Kells were likely disappointed. “KILLSHOT” falls short of the “No Vaseline” and “Ether” class, which are reasonable, yet lofty expectations to have of Em. And “Rap Devil” still holds up even after the smoke cleared. MGK had better production, more intensity and a dope chorus, which actually makes it a song, unlike his idol’s diss.
Determining “who won” ultimately falls on the ear of the beholder. What do you look for in a diss record?
If you’re searching purely for bars, Eminem’s diction remains second to none. But if you find yourself coming back to less technical things like passion, cogency and that feeling that only comes from a supreme diss record, you probably rock with “Rap Devil” more.
It’s impossible to judge this beef without also coming back to expectations. We all expected Em to body MGK, but Kelly’s lyricism, though maligned in the past (Who could forget his encounter with Charlamagne?), was met positively by most. Even Em said it was “not bad, for him”. And considering Marshall doesn’t exactly have a longest track record of going at other legitimate emcees, fans were left wanting more.
Interestingly, the rap world stands in conflict today over “Rap Devil” vs. “KILLSHOT”, when in actuality, the best combination of beats, rhymes and potency was probably Em’s verse on “Not Alike”.
Remember “Not Alike”??
Shady gave Kells 2:15 seconds of fire, and nobody seems to remember it. Maybe Eminem should’ve never made “KILLSHOT” and we would’ve been left to compare “Not Alike” to “Rap Devil”. Imagine if he put out something of “KILLSHOT” quality first, then a song of “Not Alike” quality in response? What would people be saying today?
As it stands, “KILLSHOT” will be the one to go down in the history books as being measured against Machine Gun Kelly. The proficiency displayed by Eminem between his two songs is enough to remind everyone that he remains in the upper-upper echelon of emcees, well above MGK’s pay grade, and proved he’s still not afraid to step in the ring and throw hands. But Kells still had the better song, and more importantly, successfully gained whatever added notoriety he may have been in search of (Is it any coincidence MGK announced he’s dropping a new EP next week?).
MGK will certainty have a few extra bars for Em on his Binge project, but chances are while most rap fans will give his new tape a listen, they won’t count any new diss to the win/loss column. The truth is, rap beefs tend to only be remembered by two or three songs max—we’ve already heard the best from these two men. But the key is Kells will have gotten them to listen.
The winner of the battle will be disputed for years, as a legit case can be made on either side. But make no mistake: Machine Gun Kelly won the war.