A Look Back At Jelly Roll's Brutal Feud With Machine Gun Kelly (& How They Got Past It)

In recent times, Jelly Roll and MGK have shared a bromance that might shock those who knew of them in their early days as rappers. In the former's Spotify podcast "Jelly Roll: Countdown to Beautifully Broken," the two reminded listeners they once hated each other prior to striking up a friendship.

In the podcast, the "I Am Not Okay" and "Bloody Valentine" artists opened with a reflection on their initially resentful relationship which kicked off 12 years ago, as MGK shared on Instagram in August 2024. Being two out of only a handful of white rappers in the game when their careers began, Jelly Roll said, a natural rivalry emerged between them. From disses toward MGK's scrawny physique and mohawk to Jelly Roll's hateful demeanor, the two discussed how their animosity was a result of how they once viewed the other as competition. Jelly Roll reportedly took their gripe as far as targeting MGK with his 2012 song, "Malibu's Most Wanted."

Despite the jabs they once made at each other, Jelly Roll and MGK have since moved on from their quarrel. As Jelly Roll told Entertainment Tonight in September 2024, their reconciliation resulted from a mixture of owning up to their mistakes and growing as adults. "It's just all been a part of me evolving as a man and developing," he said.

With their early years behind them, Jelly Roll, now a country star, and Machine Gun Kelly, now known as MGK, have gone on to show a deep respect for each other as artists and friends, and have performed together in that capacity as a collective MGK humorously described on Instagram as "KellyRoll." Speaking with Fox News Digital in September 2024, MGK said they enjoy performing together, and they have a tendency not to take things too seriously when they do. "[We're] really just kind of two lost-and-found brothers who like to be idiots while the music is playing," he said.

In his acceptance speech after they won crossover song of 2024 at the People's Choice Country Awards (per NBC), MGK thanked Jelly Roll out of appreciation for their collaboration. "We went from, 10 years ago, hating each other, to elevating each other," Kelly said in his speech. "Comparison is a thief of joy. There is enough room on this couch for everybody." The duo won the award for their reinterpretation of John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads," titled "Lonely Road," which MGK revealed on Instagram in July 2024 took them two years to complete.