Machine Gun Kelly claps back at people who say he's not emo

18 March 2022, 12:12

By Jazmin Duribe

Machine Gun Kelly recently released 'Maybe' with Bring Me The Horizon.

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Machine Gun Kelly is sick of people questioning if he's emo or not.

ICYMI, '00s pop-punk is back and Machine Gun Kelly is neck deep in his emo era right now. Although the 'Emo Girl' singer kicked off his career as a rapper, he's now pivoted towards rock music, collaborating with artists like Travis Barker, Bring Me The Horizon and Willow Smith.

It's not just his music, though. Machine Gun Kelly has made sure to carefully curate his new-found rocker image by switching up his hair and clothing, and just generally making sure everything associated with him is more gothic.

Machine Gun Kelly claps back at people who say he's not emo. Picture: Alamy, @machinegunkelly via TikTok

But it seems people are questioning his authenticity and whether or not he is actually an emo. That has clearly annoyed Machine Gun Kelly, so much so that he decided to make a TikTok about it.

On Thursday (Mar 17), Machine Gun Kelly shared a video captioned: "I'm so sorry emo guardians!! i promise i’ll quit……..listening to ANYTHING you ever say." In the video, Machine Gun Kelly says to camera: "Oh my god, guys! Why didn't you tell me that there's a group of emo guardians on social media declaring what's emo or not and I didn't make the cut."

He then proceeds to smear black eyeliner under his eyes while chanting: "Emo, emo, emo!"

Right…

Machine Gun Kelly Comments. Picture: @machinegunkelly via TikTok

Fans in the comment section couldn't help but roast him over the clip. "Who hurt him lmao," someone said. Another user commented: "Colson, it's not that deep mate," and a third asked: "What is this?"

Whilst us mere mortals might not consider Machine Gun Kelly emo, his friends clearly buy it. In a 2021 interview with GQ, Travis defended his close pal and collaborator for being genre-bending and said it might actually be a factor in his success.

"It helps him a lot, coming from being a rapper and being more of a lyricist. Typically in rap music, they pay more attention to cadence and pay more attention to words and ways of saying things that rock musicians don't really think of," Travis explained.

"He was successful at a completely other genre of music. Not many people can do that."