Machine Gun Kelly Shares The Stigma Of Being A 'White Rapper' And Concerns About Country Music Crossover
Machine Gun Kelly recently shared his thoughts on the stigma associated with being a "white rapper" during an appearance on Logan Paul's 'Impaulsive' podcast Tuesday.
The 34-year-old artist discussed how this stereotype impacts him personally.
"I won't deny that there is a subconscious stigma around that — being white in hip-hop," MGK remarked, noting that while he feels acceptance from the street community, he often faces the most criticism from other white individuals.
During the podcast, Paul's co-host Mike Majlak humorously mentioned Vanilla Ice as an example of a white rapper who achieved mainstream success.
"The crazy thing is there's only been one who's done it. There's only been one who's done it and crossed that line of acceptance," MGK said.
While MGK, real name Colson Baker, didn't explicitly name him, some viewers believe he was referencing Eminem, with whom he had a notable feud in the past. The conversation left open how MGK views other white rappers like Jack Harlow, Mac Miller, Macklemore, G-Eazy, and Paul Wall.
In addition to discussing his experiences in hip-hop, the Cleveland, Ohio, native recently ventured into country music with his track "Lonely Road," a collaboration with Jelly Roll. He expressed concerns about being perceived as copying Post Malone, who had previously crossed into country music.
"In the past two years while I was doing 'Lonely Road,' Post did this and so the whole time I'm thinking, like, '... people are going to think I'm just following this,' " the 34-year-old shared. He had been working on the song for years and was worried about potential comparisons.
In May, Post Malone, 29, had a significant country hit with "I Had Some Help" featuring Morgan Wallen, which topped the Hot 100 chart for six weeks. Malone's, born Austin Richard Post, greatest-hits set 'The Diamond Collection' leaped from No. 161 to No. 17, per 'NPR.'
