Rapper turned rocker Machine Gun Kelly is starting conversation yet again. A track titled “Renegade Freestyle” has made its rounds on social media, and features the pop punk singer returning to his rap roots. The bars reference several pop culture favorites, from “Star Wars” to “The Shining.”
The lyrics were rapped over a sampled beat from Eminem and Jay-Z’s “Renegade.” Then came the controversial piece–Kelly threw digs at fellow rapper Jack Harlow, who recently dropped an album titled “Jackman.”
Kelly rapped, “See who I am? You’re stupid, it’s nice to meet you/I just put this hole in the ground for you like a soccer cleat shoe/I see why they /call you Jackman, you jacked man’s whole swag/Give Drake his flow back, man, I eat rappers like Pac-Man/Must I regurgitate and show you who’s in my stomach/From the Last Dance? I battle rapped, no Instagrams.”
Kelly is known for his outlandish style, tattoos, and pop punk music career. The diss track marks Kelly’s return to rap music after several years of producing pop-punk records, and just a week after Harlow likened his talent to that of Eminem’s.
Why MGK is dissing Jack Harlow
In Harlow’s recent track “They Don’t Love It” he refers to himself as “the hardest white boy since the one who rapped about vomit and sweaters.” The lyric references Eminem’s smash hit “Lose Yourself” from his autobiographical film “8 Mile.”
The comparison divided the internet, with some agreeing that the two rappers’ storytelling styles are similar while others assert that Harlow is not as talented as Eminem. The latter has won 15 Grammy awards and garnered 44 nominations.
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Many “Renegade Freestyle” listeners feel that the alleged musical feud between Kelly and Harlow is merely the pot calling the kettle black. While both musicians are successful in their own right, neither has reached the level of critical acclaim that Eminem has.
I don't like being negative on here anymore but Machine Gun Kelly is literally the worst artist of all time https://t.co/rkrFHKGAGz
— Dobson ???? (@ByDobson) May 7, 2023
Others argue that on a technical level, Kelly’s rap was not actually a freestyle. While the lyrics are getting mixed reviews, they appeared to be pre-written, which is not typically a facet of freestyle rapping.
That was not a freestyle.
— wbrian (@dubya_brian) May 8, 2023
MGK’s Previous Controversy
Some of the criticisms of Kelly’s track come from a prior controversy. Listeners joke that Eminem bullied him out of rap music after Kelly made inappropriate comments about Eminem’s then-underage daughter Hailie Jade. The rapper likened himself to several controversial rock singers who previously dated underage women, including Axl Rose of Guns n’ Roses and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin.
No wonder why Eminem didn’t want Machine Gun Kelly around his daughter.
This is some Paedophile shit. pic.twitter.com/fATmfGwKzg
— ????‼️Now HipHop News‼️???? (@NowHipHopNews_) February 19, 2022
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After making said comments, many felt that Kelly had no right to ever liken his talent to that of Eminem’s. In typical fashion, a diss track battle ensued. Eminem dropped “Killshot” in 2018 about the situation, and Kelly responded with “Rap Devil.” The rappers’ battle set the precedent for Kelly’s latest shot at Harlow due to his insertion in the Eminem conversation. Jack Harlow is yet to respond to the diss track, but fans are not loving what Kelly had to say about him.
