Eminem surprised fans on Friday (Aug. 31) with the release of a new album, Kamikaze. The project—his second release within a year’s time—appears to have been recorded in response to countless rap fans and critics expressing that his 2017 project Revival missed the mark, noting his excess of pop features and lack of evolved sound as its downsides. Despite fans feeling as though the album fell short in displaying Slim Shady’s reputed lyrical prowess, the project still earned Eminem his eighth debut at number one on the Billboard 200, making him the first artist to deliver eight chart-topping albums consecutively.
Back like he has something to prove, Eminem’s unannounced ninth album is already making a larger ripple critically, with the 13-track release feeling closer to the high standards his reputation and talent holds him to, all while taking no prisoners.
Among the artists the Detroit rapper takes aim at is Machine Gun Kelly, sending him a warning on “Not Alike.” The track in question addresses a tweet from 2012 during which MGK expressed that Eminem’s then-16-year-old taught was “hot as f—k” and caused tension between the two. Naturally, their supposedly forgotten beef has now resurfaced as a result.
On Monday (Sept. 3), Machine Gun Kelly took things to a new level, releasing a scathing diss track “Rap Devil.” The song’s title plays on Eminem’s “Rap God,” with Kelly opting to wring out Eminem and hurl insults about everything from the veteran rapper’s appearance to his age to his alleged direct role in blackballing him from the music industry. MGK goes for it, and it’s hard not to commend him for taking it there, especially considering how Eminem is two decades his superior and built his foundation on the age-old art of battle rap specifically.
As fans sound off online, many feel as though the track is thorough and calculated, as Kelly tactfully navigates how he’s somehow arrived at being in a position where his “idol” turned into his “rival,” noting Eminem’s legacy while also airing out his grievances with fervor. Others, however, are questioning if the track is lethal enough to warrant a legitimate response from Em on wax.
“Mad about something I said in 2012,” Kelly spits in the first verse. “Took you six years and a surprise album just to come with a diss / homie we get it, we know you’re the greatest rapper alive / f—king dweeb, all you do is read the dictionary and stay inside.”
The song carries on in the same vein, coercing Eminem to “put down the pen” and telling him to either “salute me or shoot me.”
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Needless to say, while fans eagerly await Eminem to respond with what will hopefully be an impassioned rebuttal, Machine Gun Kelly has given us all a lot to talk about. Take a look at how fans of both artists are sounding off, below.