Kid Ink - Biography
Kid Ink, born Brian Collins, is a rapper and producer from Los Angeles, California. Between 2010-2011, he released a series of mixtapes, the first of which, World Tour, was released under the moniker Rockstar and attracted the attention of DJ Ill Will of the website HotNewHipHop. Soon after, DJ Ill Will signed Collins to his independent label, Tha Alumni Group, and he changed his stage name from Rockstar to Kid Ink. With three mixtapes under his belt, which featured artists including 2 Chainz, Ty Dolla $ign, Meek Mill, Ray J, Sean Kingston, Bow Wow and others, Kid Ink was listed in XXL Magazine's 2012 Freshman Class feature.
Kid Ink released his first proper studio album, Up & Away, via Tha Alumni in June 2012. It peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Top 200 chart and reached number 3 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. After another mixtape, he signed to RCA Records and released his second full-length album, My Own Lane, in January 2014, featuring Tyga, Chris Brown, and Pusha T. My Own Lane entered the Billboard Top 200 at number 3. His song, "Show Me" with Chris Brown, has since hit number one on the Billboard Rhythmic chart. Kid Ink is touring North American during April and May 2014.