If you’ve thought to yourself, “Hmm, things have been kind of quiet lately,” it’s probably because we haven’t heard much from Machine Gun Kelly, who seems to be going by mgk these days. Back in 2022, he revealed that he was quitting pop-punk after two consecutive No. 1 albums, but had plans to return to his hip-hop roots.
While he still has yet to deliver a proper follow-up to 2022’s mainstream sellout, the artist born Colson Baker has delivered a steady stream of singles and certainly does seem to have tried hard to (re-)rebrand himself as a rapper again. For his latest trick, he’s appeared on a new episode of Logan Paul’s IMPAULSIVE podcast to boldly claim that there’s a “stigma” around being white in hip-hop, among other things.
Former YouTuber and current wrestler Paul brought up a recent freestyle performance of “El Pistolero” — a track from his newly expanded edition of the 2019 album Hotel Diablo — that mgk did in front of a eucalyptus tree in Paul’s former (and the musician’s current) backyard. The co-host heaped on praise after calling him a polarizing musician, prompting mgk — who had earlier said he had “been chosen to be on the cross” — to point out the hate comments he received for the performance.
“It was so good, the rap was so clean — the vibe was so clean — they went, ‘Ah, but the MPC isn’t plugged in,'” the artist said. “It’s an MPC Live II, my friends. There’s a portable speaker built in, and it’s called batteries.”
“They’re NPCs,” co-host Mike Maljak chimed in, going on to claim that white people in hip-hop are “automatically discredited” and “automatically a culture-stealer, appropriator — whatever the fuck it’s going to be.”
mgk agreed, “I won’t deny that there is a subconscious stigma around that; being white in hip-hop. To me, it’s so funny because the streets fuck with me so tough — it’s honestly from [sic] other white people that give me the most shit.”
“The crazy thing is, there’s only been one who’s done it,” he continued. “There’s only been one who’s done it and crossed that line.”
mgk added, “That’s the goal. And to me, I crossed that, but I’m always up for conversation. That’s a reality that gives me the hunger I need to continue.”
Speaking of crossing lines, it’s probably worth remembering that, a few years back, Alice Glass called out the musician for his commentary fetishizing underage girls and Black women in resurfaced interview footage. You can check out mgk’s IMPAULSIVE spot in full below.
