I think it’s a rule that every white rapper has to be stressed out. Or better yet, there can only be one happy white rapper at a time, this is why G-Eazy’s always smiling and Lil Ducky’s been MIA. Too many happy white rappers causes a glitch in the matrix, and we can’t afford that. Machine Gun Kelly wouldn’t know how to be happy if he tried.
MGK seems like the type of dude who got offended the first time he heard the term “white privilege” cuz his life was so difficult (he eventually understood but it took like 3 Shaun King tweets before he did). Every time I see him do an interview I wonder what his problem is but every time he drops an album I listen to it multiple times. So with that said, let’s talk “Hotel Diablo”.
Machine Gun Kelly has the distinction of being one of the only artists to beef with Eminem and come out alive on the other side. In my personal opinion he had a better diss record than Eminem but that’s an argument for another day. What matters now is that MGK is still here and rapping after taking on the greatest (white) rapper of all time. However, he’s clearly not doing too well. You ever watch a movie/anime/porno where the hero uses all his power to take on a villain? They always show the immediate exhaustion but they rarely show the ramifications of this action. “Hotel Diablo” is about the ramifications. MGK is tired, he’s miserable and he’s not sure who he can trust. Shit, he’s not even sure about himself.
This whole album is melodramatic and moody, if you close your eyes you can see him putting a gun to his head while he screams in a broken bathroom mirror. This album is for everyone who’s ever thought about punching their dad in the kidney. It’s not a unique sound. If you’ve ever heard one white rapper complain about how their parents didn’t support them or suicide, you’ve heard Hotel Diablo. This is music you hear in a Fast And Furious Movie when a character has a flashback. I’m pretty sure I’d enjoy this album more if I could grow bangs.
Honestly while it sounds hella cliche and generic, MGK is really good at making music The problem is that he’s not always making his own music. There’s moments during this album I thought I was listening to Linkin Park, like I had to look down and make sure I wasn’t wearing baggy cargo pants (I don’t know why but I just associate Linkin Park with Baggy Cargo Pants). I‘m also like 80 percent sure that MGK would be happier as a person if he could do Parkour.
While I spent a lot of time laughing at this album, I actually listened to it 3 times all the way through. MGK can be moody but I don’t think he’s genuinely a sad person, I just think he’s better at making angsty music. But as I’ve said earlier, it’s a slippery slope for happy white rappers. One too many will destroy the world as we know if. Hopefully G-Eazy goes through a depressive episode so MGK can finally express some joy on record. Til then “Hotel Diablo” is cool. I give “Hotel Diablo” 6 punched walls out of 9.