Kid Ink

A Los Angeles–born rapper and songwriter, Kid Ink crafts a melodic brand of hip-hop shaped by pop-rap and R&B influences, rooted in the contemporary West Coast aesthetic. Born Brian Todd Collins in 1986, he first drew attention in the early 2010s with a series of online mixtapes that steadily established the Kid Ink name on the U.S. independent scene. The 2012 album “Up & Away” kicked off his initial studio run, followed by a deal with RCA and the 2014 project “My Own Lane,” which leaned further into sung hooks and collaborations with artists from both rap and R&B. In 2015, “Full Speed” cemented this direction toward highly melodic, club- and radio-minded productions, while EPs like “7 Series” (2017) and “Missed Calls” (2018) carried that approach forward in a more concise format. Kid Ink continued with “Alive” in 2021, maintaining a steady pace of singles and features and building an international live presence that regularly takes him on tour across North America and Europe.