Meaning of “Rap Devil” by Machine Gun Kelly

“Rap Devil” is a hip hop diss song by American rapper Machine Gun Kelly (also known as MGK). The lyrics of this track find MGK viciously dissing fellow American rapper Eminem. MGK made this song as a response to the track “Not Alike” from Eminem’s surprise album Kamikaze. In that track (which features Royce da 5’9”), Eminem attacks MGK.

On the same day “Rap Devil” was released, MGK took to Twitter to comment on the track. In his Twitter post, he said he was using the song to not only stand up for himself but also for his generation. He stated he was doing the same thing Eminem (whom he once considered an idol) was doing many years ago. He therefore obviously doesn’t understand why Eminem would diss him for doing the same thing he (Eminem) once did.

Below is MGK’s full Twitter post on “Rap Devil”:

Things MGK says about Eminem in “Rap Devil”

Below are some of the interesting disses MGK rains on Eminem in this track:

• Mocks Eminem’s beard by calling it weird and saying it needs to be shaved off.
• Talks about finding it ironic how the tough talking Eminem pays millions of dollars every year for security.
• Says Eminem has lost his mind by making reference to Eminem’s 2002 song “My Dad’s Gone Crazy” (featuring. Hailie Jade). He goes on to not only name-drop Eminem’s daughter Hailey in the song but also tells her that she was right when she said she thought her was going crazy.
• Talks about how Em’s blackballed him despite the fact that he Kelly is about half Eminem’s age.
• Accuses Em of asking Paul Rosenberg to shelf him. MGK implies that Eminem saw him as a threat and therefore convinced Rosenberg to prevent him from coming out. Who is Paul Rosenberg? He is best known for being Eminem’s manager and the co-founder of Shady Records. Kelly is therefore indirectly saying he could have been signed to Shady Records but for Eminem.
• Condemns Eminem’s last four albums. According to MGK, the albums are as bad as Eminem’s selfie.
• Calls Eminem a b**ch and a bully who can’t take a joke.
• Makes fun of Eminem’s age, rapping about how Eminem isn’t getting better with age. According to him, the real Slim Shady is so old he can’t stand up.
• Raps about Eminem’s ego hurting because his fans ended up discovering him.
• Talks about Eminem acting tough when in actual fact is as “soft as a feather”. According to MGK, Em is so soft that he is even scared “to ask Rihanna for her number”. He is therefore implying that Eminem had a crush on the Barbadian singer but was so scared to ask her out.
• Mocks Eminem’s height by saying that Eminem is 5’8″ whereas he is 6’4″. Owing to this, he (Kelly) could never look up to Eminem.
• Talks about how he (MGK) was named after a gangster whereas Eminem was named after a candy. But is this true? It actually isn’t. Contrary to what many think, Eminem didn’t get his name from the famous chocolate candy M&Ms. He got it from his initials. “M” and “M”. The first “M” stand for “Marshall” whereas the second stands for “Mathers”. MGK, on the other hand, got his name from the iconic American gangster George Kelly Barnes (best known as Machine Gun Kelly). MGK apparently brings this up to let Em know that he (Kelly) is tougher and cooler than him.
• Boasts of how he (MGK) made it to the top without needing the help of noted music producer/executive Dr Dre. According to him, this isn’t the same for Eminem. So he is basically saying Em had it easy in getting to the top.

The song’s title was extracted from Eminem’s 2013 hit single “Rap God”. On 3rd September, 2018, MGK made the following tweet: “F**k RAP GOD I’M THE RAP DEVIL”. MGK is basically saying if Eminem is a rap God, he is the rap devil who is going to oppose him.

Facts about “Rap Devil”

• The song was written by Machine Gun Kelly.
• American record producer/rapper Ronny J. handled the song’s production.
• The song was released on September 3, 2018.
• “Rap Devil” interpolates Rihanna’s 2007 hit “Umbrella” (featuring Jay-Z).
• The song’s title “Rap Devil” is a deliberate play on Eminem’s 2013 song titled “Rap God“.

How did the Eminem and Machine Gun Kelly feud begin?

The feud started way back in 2012 when MGK commented on a picture of Eminem’s daughter Hailey on Twitter. In his comment, he said he thought Hailey was as “hot as f**k”. This of course didn’t go down well with Em.

Has Eminem responded to this track?

Yes! About a week after “Rap Devil” came out, Em retaliated with the diss track “Killshot“. The lyrics of “Killshot” saw Eminem attack MGK with so much fire and fury many were left shocked!