"Rap Devil"
Single by Machine Gun Kelly
from the EP Binge
ReleasedSeptember 3, 2018 (2018-09-03)
GenreHip hop[1]
Length4:46
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Machine Gun Kelly singles chronology
"Too Good to Be True"
(2018) 		"Rap Devil"
(2018) 		"Lately"
(2018)
Music video
"Rap Devil" on YouTube

"Rap Devil" is a diss track performed by American rapper Machine Gun Kelly. The song is aimed at American rapper Eminem. The song was produced by Ronny J and Nils.[2] It was released on September 3, 2018, by Bad Boy Records and Interscope Records, as a single from the rapper's second extended play Binge. The song's title is a play on Eminem's "Rap God", and is his response to Eminem's song "Not Alike". It peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the United States. It also peaked at number 1 on the US iTunes Chart.

Background and release

In 2012, Machine Gun Kelly tweeted about Eminem's daughter, Hailie Mathers: "Ok, so I just saw a picture of Eminem's daughter... and I have to say, she is hot as fuck, in the most respectful way possible cuz Em is king". At the time, Hailie was 16 years old and MGK was 22 years old. In an interview in 2015, MGK said about the tweet: "Pictures of [Hailie] had came out, and I'm like, what, 20 years old, 21 at the time? I said 'She's beautiful, but all respect due. Eminem is king. What's wrong with that? Is there a 15-year age gap where I'm a creep for that? I was 21, dawg. Certain people took it, and ran with it and hyped it up."[3] In a 2018 interview, Machine Gun Kelly said he did not know how old Hailie was and had reacted after seeing a headline about her saying she was all grown up. Machine Gun Kelly claims that years ago, while he did not speak to Eminem directly, he did speak with Eminem's manager and agreed to delete the tweet.[4]

Eminem then banned him from going to Shade 45, a radio station owned by Eminem. MGK also collaborated on a song with Tech N9ne and allegedly sent subliminal insults towards Eminem. On August 31, 2018, Eminem released a surprise album, Kamikaze, on which he insulted several artists in multiple diss tracks, including the song "Not Alike", where he insulted MGK specifically.[5]

Response

In an interview, when asked if he thought the song was a good diss track by Machine Gun Kelly, Eminem stated "it's not bad for him". Eminem then released a response diss track, "Killshot", on September 14, 2018. The official audio track on YouTube has over 450 million views as of March 2023. [6] On "Killshot", Eminem refers to Machine Gun Kelly as a "mumble rapper".

Music video

A music video for the song was released on WorldStarHipHop's YouTube channel and website on September 3, 2018. As of April 16th, 2022, the video stands at 347 million views. [7]

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.[2]

Charts

Chart (2018) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[8] 45
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[9] 9
Ireland (IRMA)[10] 11
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[11] 24
Scotland (OCC)[12] 21
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[13] 82
UK Singles (OCC)[14] 15
UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[15] 9
US Billboard Hot 100[16] 13
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[17] 10
US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)[18] 9

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[19] Silver 200,000‡
United States (RIAA)[20] Platinum 1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Country Date Format Label Ref.
Various September 3, 2018 Streaming (YouTube)
[21]
September 8, 2018 Digital download [22]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Machine Gun Kelly came up with Eminem diss track 'Rap Devil' while drunk in a locker room". Nme.com. July 31, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Try the TIDAL Web Player". listen.tidal.com.
  3. ^ Robertson, Iyana (October 19, 2015). "Machine Gun Kelly Says His 2012 Tweet About Eminem's Daughter Still Affects His Career". Vibe. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
  4. ^ Pasquini, Maria (September 20, 2018). "Machine Gun Kelly Says He Apologized to Eminem 'Six Years Ago' for Comment About Daughter Hailie". People. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
  5. ^ Lamarre, Carl (September 14, 2018). "Eminem Fires Back at Machine Gun Kelly With Blistering Diss Record 'Killshot'". Billboard. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  6. ^ EminemVEVO (September 14, 2018). "KILLSHOT [Official Audio]". Retrieved April 16, 2022 – via YouTube.
  7. ^ WorldStarHipHop (September 3, 2018). "Machine Gun Kelly "Rap Devil" (Eminem Diss) (WSHH Exclusive - Official Music Video)". Retrieved November 19, 2019 – via YouTube.
  8. ^ "Machine Gun Kelly – Rap Devil". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  9. ^ "Machine Gun Kelly Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  10. ^ "Kanye West edges in on Calvin Harris & Sam Smith for Irish Number 1". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
  11. ^ "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. September 24, 2018. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
  12. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
  13. ^ "Machine Gun Kelly – Rap Devil". Singles Top 100. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  14. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
  15. ^ "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
  16. ^ "Machine Gun Kelly Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  17. ^ "Machine Gun Kelly Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  18. ^ "Machine Gun Kelly Chart History (Hot Rap Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
  19. ^ "British single certifications – Machine Gun Kelly – Rap Devil". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  20. ^ "American single certifications – Machine Gun Kelly – Rap Devil". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  21. ^ "Machine Gun Kelly "Rap Devil" (Eminem Diss) (WSHH Exclusive - Official Music Video)st". September 3, 2018 – via YouTube.
  22. ^ "RAP DEVIL". Open.spotify.com.
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