Kid Ink

Through persistent mixtape output, an attuned ear for both street-level and commercial sounds, and tight ties to his expanding audience, Kid Ink reached number 20 on the Billboard 200 with his first independent studio album, Up & Away, released in 2012. Building on that foundation, he aligned with RCA Records for the higher-charting My Own Lane in 2014 and Full Speed in 2015, projects that spotlighted his emotive pop-rap style through the Top 20 pop single "Show Me" and three additional platinum singles across the pair.

Born Brian Todd Collins in L.A., the rapper and producer advanced steadily by dropping four mixtapes during 2010 and 2011, the earliest of which, World Tour, carried his prior stage name Rockstar. XXL magazine placed him in its 2012 Freshman Class feature next to artists such as Danny Brown and Macklemore. That June, Tha Alumni issued Up & Away, his debut proper studio album; although producers including Ned Cameron, Jahlil Beats, and Cardiak contributed, the project contained no guest verses, preserving Kid Ink's unbroken nonchalant flow, and it climbed to number 20 on the Billboard 200 while hitting number three on the R&B/hip-hop chart.

Following one more mixtape, he signed with RCA, debuted on a major label with the Almost Home EP—which entered the Billboard 200 at number 27—and delivered his number three-charting second album, My Own Lane, in January 2014. The set included two Chris Brown collaborations: "Show Me," Kid Ink's biggest single, which peaked at number 13 on the pop chart and was certified triple platinum, and "Main Chick," which attained platinum status without entering the Top 40. Released just months later, the platinum-certified "Body Language" featuring Usher and Tinashe served as the first single from his next album and generated anticipation for Full Speed, which arrived in February 2015, landed at number 14, and spawned the platinum hit "Be Real" with DeJ Loaf. The DJ Mustard-produced commercial mixtape Summer in the Winter surfaced before the year closed, a period that also saw Kid Ink earn multi-platinum status as a featured artist on Fifth Harmony's "Worth It."

Kid Ink remained with RCA through 2019, releasing the 2016 mixtape RSS2, two further EPs, and numerous non-album singles before reverting to independent status. He maintained a steady stream of singles until Alive, his fourth studio album, arrived in April 2021. Throughout this time he appeared as a featured artist on tracks by Dizzy Wright, Philthy Rich, and EDM producer Tungevaag. In early 2022 he issued the Wiz Khalifa-assisted single "Big Burna."