Primarily produced by Illa da Producer, "Killshot" is a grimy hip hop track composed of a minimalist beat with sharp piano keys and a deep bassline.[1] Its lyrics directly target Kelly, mocking his appearance, career, and lyrical abilities while addressing his critiques from "Rap Devil". Eminem also brings up his longevity in the music industry and his influence on younger artists. The track further criticizes Kelly for trying to use their feud to elevate his career.
"Killshot" was met with widespread acclaim from music critics, who praised Eminem's lyrical prowess and delivery. It broke the record for the biggest YouTube debut for a hip hop song, accumulating 38.1 million views within 24 hours. "Killshot" debuted at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking Eminem's highest-charting single of 2018. It also topped the charts in Ireland and peaked in the top 10 in several other countries, including Canada and New Zealand.
Background and release
In 2012, Machine Gun Kelly posted a tweet about Eminem's daughter, Hailie Mathers (who was then sixteen). The tweet read, "ok so I just saw a picture of Eminem's daughter...and I have to say, she is hot as fuck, in the most respectful way possible cuz Em is king". MGK claimed to apologize to Eminem behind the scenes. After this, in 2015, MGK claimed that Eminem banned him from going to Shade 45, a SiriusXM radio station owned by Eminem. In 2017, MGK was on Power 106 FM and did a freestyle with The LA Leakers. During this, he again claimed Eminem had banned him from Shade 45. MGK also collaborated on a song with Tech N9ne in March 2018, and sent disses towards Eminem. On August 31, 2018, Eminem released a surprise album Kamikaze in which he dissed several artists, including MGK.
On the song "Not Alike" from Kamikaze, Eminem made several disses aimed at MGK. Two days later, MGK responded to "Not Alike" with the song "Rap Devil", releasing a music video for the song as well on September 3, 2018. After MGK's response, Eminem released an interview with Sway Calloway, in which Eminem was asked about the feud. Eminem explained that he did not want to respond initially, because it would just benefit MGK's exposure. On September 14, 2018, Eminem released "Killshot".[2] On September 19, 2018, the song was officially released as a single.
Critical reception
Vulture said "Eminem's Machine Gun Kelly response is the best he's sounded in half a decade".[3]
Commercial performance
"Killshot" debuted at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 in its first week[4] after gaining over 38.1 million views within the first 24 hours of releasing on YouTube, making it the nineteenth most-viewed video in the first 24 hours, and the most for an audio only release on the YouTube platform.[5] It also held the biggest YouTube debut for a hip hop video ever, surpassing Kanye West's and Lil Pump's "I Love It", beating the record just the week before.[6] This was beaten by 6ix9ine's debut of "Gooba" in 2020.[7][8]
As of December 2024, "Killshot" has been viewed on YouTube over 489 million times, with over 6.7 million likes.[9]
Response
Machine Gun Kelly responded in a tweet, criticizing Eminem for what he perceived as a slow response.[10] Rapper Jay Electronica criticized Eminem for a line in the song where he jokingly accused Diddy of having Tupac killed.[11] After this, Electronica had then deactivated his social media profiles.[12] Rapper Iggy Azalea's name was dropped in the song and she let out a series of tweets reacting to and criticizing the lyrics, calling the bars "lazy".[13]Halsey also responded to her name being dropped in reference to her relationship with rapper G-Eazy in a tweet saying, "I'm jus saying my pops had to hear a grown man talk about his daughter getting fucked while that man simultaneously defended his own daughter." She later added, "I'm not proud. I just don't care. They can argue about record sales. My album sold more copies than each of theirs."[14]
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 39. týden 2018 in the date selector. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 39. týden 2018 in the date selector. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
