Credit: Frank Schwichtenberg

Many rappers have fallen victim to the wicked ways of the record label system over the years. It’s the age-old story of signing to a major label and creating a specific type of song to achieve a hit single, advised by those who claim to know best. While the formula often works, there isn’t a 100% success rate. And in many cases, the artist is completely against the idea. Case in point: Machine Gun Kelly.

MGK was in the early days of his career at the time he released ‘Invincible’. He was looking to make his stamp in hip-hop, but the song was everything he stood for as an artist. His record label was taking him down a path that was all too familiar, but the fact it didn’t take off might have gone in his favour in the long term.

“First off, I hated the song when I first did it because it was brought to me by corporate America,” MGK admitted to WiLD 94.1. “So basically, Jimmy Iovine was like, ‘Hey.’ First off, they didn’t even come to me with the song; it was like a contest between the Interscope rappers like Yelawolf, Kendrick Lamar and myself, which I found out. It sucked and I hated it.”

‘Invincible’ didn’t end up making much of a splash on the charts. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America and only reached number 60 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. MGK puts the song in the same category as B.o.B’s ‘Airplanes’ alongside Paramore’s Hayley Williams and Eminem’s ‘Love the Way You Lie’ with Rihanna.

All three records, released around the same time, have a pop-rap sound and were produced by Alex Da Kid, notably featuring a female singer on each of the hooks. “I don’t operate like that – I hate cookie-cutter songs,” MGK said. “You know, like B.o.B with ‘Airplanes’ and the ‘Love the Way You Lie’ thing. You weren’t there making the song with each other in the studio. It was presented to you. I write all my hooks.”

Before collaborating with the producer and featured artist, Ester Dean, they had never even met. “So when I got this hook, I was offended,” he explained. “You guys think I’m a cookie-cutter artist – I don’t work like that. And I’ve never talked to Ester Dean in my life. I’ve never talked to the producer, who’s Alex Da Kid, who makes those cookie-cutter records.”

The song served as the second single from his debut album, Lace Up, which was released between Diddy’s Bad Boy Records and Interscope. The project debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 with 57,000 copies, featuring guest spots from DMX, Bun B, Waka Flocka Flame, and Lil Jon.

Despite the album’s success, ‘Invincible’ was a simple case of MGK receiving the beat and being told he had to record it. No if or buts. “We’re in Detroit, they call, they booked a studio,” he recalled. “‘You have to do this. You have, have to, have to, have to.’ Like, ‘People are getting fired.’ And people really were getting fired over it. ‘Cause they’re like, ‘You can’t make this petty new artist on our label go do a song? And this is the boss asking for it?’”