Love him or hate him, the ultimate Slipknot nemesis, Machine Gun Kelly, is no doubt successful. 2020’s pop-punk reinvention Tickets To My Downfall was a star-studded affair that still sells a ton of copies each week (relatively speaking, compared to the time before streaming). The Mainstream Sellout (his words, not ours, it’s literally the title of his upcoming album) is also one of the biggest names at Lollapalooza later this year.
As Machine Gun Kelly recently told Billboard in a cover story this week, he decided that it was the right time to throw shade at other pop-punk bands who might be envious of his success, saying:
“I know it kills certain bands in that community that I got the success that I got. But I earned that shit. I was fucking loading up the van with our drums and amps in 2010, driving to Indiana and Chicago, playing Warped Tour. I can tell you the fucking Wi-Fi codes to venues in Blackfoot, Idaho. Can you say that shit as a band?”
Of course, he didn’t stop there. When discussing videos that have popped up lately of himself “failing” on guitar while playing live, he also had this to say:
“Fuck that! At least mine sounds like how I was feeling that day, and maybe I was feeling angry, or I was drunk and I didn’t give a fuck. But if I have to be a scapegoat for people’s own insecurities, whatever. I’m more punk rock than you are because at least I’m willing to put my ass on the line — like, hear me as I am, today.”
Machine Gun Kelly managed to say all of these things despite his stints on Vans Warped Tour playing a large part in his current success, apparently believing that all publicity is good publicity. Sure, his upcoming album will probably move a lot of first-week copies, but considering that his inclusion on several of 2021’s rock and metal lineups wasn’t received well (especially by Slipknot fans, for obvious reasons), it sure seems like MGK is increasingly choosing to alienate himself from the scene that helped give him a platform.
