By this point in time, Rap Music was killing off some of the older Classic Rock and Country Music popularity as audiences shifted their attention from traditional musical guitar-oriented sounds to some of the more urban and electronic-based sounds as the 21st century rolled on. Gone were the days of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones battling it out for attention in the global music scene as it was back in the 1960s. Instead, newer musicians in the Rap world such as Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar and Drake made the headlines of the day instead for male-based music fans. Often overlooked in this regard, however, is Rapper Kid Ink. This is his second studio album release and this sold/streamed very well and received generally positive reviews upon release as 2014 dawned. Notably, it contained two hits featuring Chris Brown and a huge array of guests throughout the album itself. Let’s explore the album here and hopefully, the music will live up to its promise that it did at the time and has aged well enough to this day.

Hello World begins with some piano and decent singing from Kid Ink, followed by strings and organ throughout. This eventually launches into a decent Rap piece celebrating life and hedonistic pursuits. Very good, but different. There is a Disco feel to this music that sounds tremendously good. This is a good introductory tune that showcases a reasonable rapping talent by Kid Ink. The vocal melody is simple and memorable throughout, and this powerful piece of music continues on very nicely. A good and interesting piece of symphonic sounding Rap Music that sounds extremely sweet. Towards the end are looped vocals, beats and symphonic instrumentation, just before Kid Ink finishes this tune nicely after just over three minutes in length suddenly. A good listen.

The Movement sounds like a Disco tune from the start, with some string arrangements and Fender Stratocaster-styled guitar throughout. Trap beats enter, and this piece gets going along very nicely. This is a somewhat repetitive, but decent tune that sounds really quite cool. A very nice and pretty tune, although the instrumentation is unorthodox for such a tune. Some interesting sounds exist throughout which are well made. There is a stylish Rap breakdown around the middle of this song which sounds really super cool. This isn’t overly innovative as music, but it still sounds fresh and decent for this genre and style, at least at this point. Kid Ink exudes confidence and sounds really excellent throughout. A great listening experience for what this is nonetheless. Typical Rap lyrics about gang life and stardom are here, but that is understandably fine. Good tune.

Show Me (feat. Chris Brown) is a hit from the start of the song. It remixes Robin S’s Show Me Love‘s main melody and launches into a Rap anthem designed for the clubs. There are some magical sounds and deep bass and Trap beats to match. The lyrics are very raunchy and male-oriented, but the whole tune is amazing and was very popular at the time. A cool and sweet listening experience and Chris Brown’s appearance is very welcome on this tune. This tune exudes classic Rap-based confidence and sounds really cool throughout. The accompanying video looks really amazing as well, which is worth observing on YouTube if this music is your sort of thing. Nonetheless, a very awesome and powerful listening experience that sounds very representative of the sounds of 2014. A cool and interesting listening experience that sounds super dope, this music is very impressive. If you need to hear a single song from this album, this is it. A great digital Rap piece.

Iz U Down (feat. Tyga) begins with processed vocals and launches into an okay tune that is honestly lacking to begin with until the chorus hits. This is typical 21st century music but given the context and genre musically, this works very well. A tremendously energetic and different tune that is probably sexist and misogynistic, but given the audience for this music, this is understandable. A good Rap Music anthem but not the greatest music ever. Still, this is a good listen and Tyga’s appearance is more than welcome on this tune. Both Kid Ink and Tyga are great rappers, and this tune is a mind-blowing combination of talent out there. A good song but certainly better has been done in the past. Entertaining, at least. A very cool and enjoyably listenable tune, but nothing that is honestly perfect here. Nonetheless, this is a decent listen for all its flaws. Good but not great.

We Just Came To Party (feat. August Alsina) has a weird intro with some digital electronic sounds that are cut up. Soon enough, the guest gets singing away and the mixture of Kid Ink and August Alsina’s vocals is very fresh and different. A cool and interesting tune about being in love with a lady that means something, this is a heavily good but not perfect Rap Music experience. In any case, it is listenable but by no means the greatest Rap tune or album ever. Still, for a 2014 release, this sounds really excellent and celebrates life as a party. A cool tune with Theremin throughout and cut-up Trap Music beats, the vibe on this album is really smooth and sweet. This has a feeling of Soul Music throughout, and it sounds energetic and electric tune. The music isn’t perfect but for this kind of music. A repetitive tune but fun to hear.

Main Chick (feat. Chris Brown) is the second main hit from this release. It begins with some profane lyrics and launches into another good tune that, although lacking in originality, sounds really pretty and fine. This is about monogamous love with a lady who one picks up from the club. A very pretty and unique listening experience from a Rap tune, although this is very much like a Tyga piece. A grand, beautiful and different listening experience, this is very good listening to. This certainly exudes a party-hard and club-based musical experience that sounds extraordinarily good, given the context. This no doubt received a lot of attention from the radio and streaming services at the time, and rightfully so. Nonetheless, a cool piece of music that sounds different and interesting throughout. An inspired listen for 2014 and showcases the talents of both Kid Ink and Chris Brown. Quite good.

No Option (feat. King Los) is a Reggae-influenced tune from the start. It launches into a rapid-fire Rap piece that sounds cool and varied. This is a good example of a Rap collaboration that sounds extremely cool. A good Rap tune about enjoying the fruits of life and not giving much of a damn, this is super awesome and cool to listen to in its own way. King Los is a decent rapper who deserves his place on this tune and exudes skill, confidence and ability on his part throughout. A really top-notch and fresh tune for this album, even though the album by this point is fairly ordinary and to be honest, average at best. This is one of the better pieces from this album, and it sure sounds interesting, especially lyrically. A very magical and impressive listening experience, this sounds cool for what it is.

Murda (feat. Pusha T) begins with some very weird distorted vocals and enters into an atrocious tune, to be frank. This is not a good listen, period and should be avoided like the plague. The sounds, vibe and production are off-key and Rap Music has done better, both before and since. The lyrics aren’t specifically about murder but are about a party-hard lifestyle that is present. This is a terrible-sounding piece of music that you should definitely skip, there is zero inspiration and musicality throughout this track. It is frankly headshakingly bad, and even Pusha T’s appearance does not do any justice. The lyrics are about murder, guns and a pretentious Rap lifestyle. It has a lengthy outro but by this point, this piece of rubbish is worth skipping, if you haven’t done so already. A disaster.

Rollin’ begins with some rather awful sounds and repeats the Tyga vibe on some of this album. Fortunately, this is better than the track before it. A very different and better tune, although this music is nothing special. This is designed for Rap Music fans but has very little crossover appeal otherwise, and this is where this album falls flat. Regardless, this is okay but nothing incredibly good to hear. The music and melodies sound a bit off, with a bad vibe and discordant feel throughout to it. In any case, a musical mess that could have been done better. In any case, this probably could be skipped. Nothing great here, sadly. It fades out after three minutes, it’s barely okay.

Tattoo Of My Name begins with some looped and odd keyboard sounds that are a bit better than the previous two tunes. This sounds pretty and tranquil and is a romantic Kid Ink tune that is about tattooing a partner’s name on one’s body that one is deeply in love with. A definite improvement on the previous songs, this is really deep and magically beautiful throughout. More tunes like this one should be done in postmodern music, and this tune has a definite Kid Cudi vibe (seems that the word Kid is very popular in music terms in artists’ names). Regardless, this song about monogamous love and drug use is kind of different. Very pretty, regardless. A highly listenable and enjoyable piece of music, this makes a lot of sense if you have been so deeply in love with a partner. Great music to hear. Definitely an improvement.

No Miracles (feat. Elle Varner & MGK) is a very ordinary-sounding piece of music with an awkward fusion of guest stars and quickly launches into another fairly ordinary song. This has some unusual instrumentation throughout, and it sounds pretty for a Rap tune. Unfortunately, the mixture of piano sounds and the chorus are both genuinely awful throughout. This is a bad example of style over substance musically, and the verses sound a bit better than the chorus with cut-up beats and retro-sounding instrumentation. A rather off-sounding piece of music. This album sounds like it has burned out its promise by this point, and it certainly is a rushed and poor mix-up sounding tune that sounds really in need of editing. The music throughout is worth skipping. This is not anywhere near as good as the glory days of Eminem, Dr. Dre or Ice Cube and points out the fact that Kid Ink was a bit of a one-off listen, especially in relation to his singles. It’s barely okay, and by this point, this rather awful album isn’t worth your time. Hit stop here if you can. The outro is annoyingly long.

I Don’t Care (feat. Maejor) begins with some more decent harmonies but is matched with some terrible sounds throughout that sound very lacking. There is depressing sounding piano, basic Rap beats and a vibe that honestly stinks. Unimpressive and again, this album should really be stopped by this point. In any case, the music here is not the best and this album lacks quality control about it. The mixture of pretentious lyrics, unoriginality and off-sounding tunes is certainly not something worth your listening time for. Kid Ink’s failure on this album is a lack of consistency, innovation and originality as a musician. Very sadly disappointing, although this song does emphasise a feeling that one needs to ignore the BS of life and do their own thing. Still, this is not very good music. The overly long-outro is also not necessary. Half the songs on this album could have been ditched, and the autotuned vocals towards the end of this track are very bad. Terrible.

More Than A King begins with some sampled commentary from a documentary, and sounds really interesting from the start, although not consistently good throughout. This quickly launches into a fairly substandard piece of music and rapping that sounds lacking and needs some fresh and renewed approach musically which means the album needs a rethink. Most Rap Music made today also lacks a consistent approach, and this is merely an example of it. The second half launches into a frenzy of better beats, but still, this is not overly impressive. Another disappointing tune that sounds very lacking and has nothing special throughout. Definitely not a superb album, it is safe to say that one can stop this rubbish and find a better album to listen to. Towards the end of this song is a good outro that is quite Psychedelic with whispered lyrics. It’s barely okay overall, however.

Star Player begins with some organ-like melodies, and naff beats and sounds fairly average, once again. This is not a wonderful album by this point, and the music is treated through the territory of mediocrity. A really lacking and poor-sounding piece of junk, this is not really recommended for most fans of music, unless you are really Rap obsessive. The lyrics and Trap beats haven’t aged all that well, and there have been better moments in the world of Music, before and since. Enough to send one to sleep if you are listening at home, this is simply difficult to recommend. The music sounds generic, uninspired, repetitive and lazy. A rather boring piece of junk, surely 2Pac must be rolling in his grave at this sort of music? In any case, an unimpressive tune. Very poor, simple and boring. Avoid.

My System sounds weird, odd and awful from the beginning. This quickly launches into a very weird, unusual and awful-sounding piece of music that has Kid Ink demanding drugs, stat. This is not the best drug song ever, and many other artists have done better than this in the past before it. Understandably, drugs are everywhere in the music industry, and this is evident in most of the music throughout history. This, however, is not the greatest listen ever. An emotionally draining and unimpressive listening experience, this sounds more like drug-induced psychosis than anything else, with Kid Ink demanding more substances to get by. This has references to being clinically insane as well, locked up in a psychiatric ward because of the lack of drugs that Kid Ink needs. Seriously. The guy probably needs a bit of a reality check here, and it makes The Next Episode sound perfect compared to this trash. Do not listen to this.

Money and the Power begins with some drum rolls, has some freestyle rapping and is an improvement on what has come before. Still, this mixture of stereotypical Rap Music sounds does not demand one’s attention throughout. A very definitive Kid Ink statement, but something very generic. This proves that, at best, Kid Ink is not particularly matched with decent sounds. Which is a shame, he really needs to observe quality control within his own music. The second half has some better sounds and musicality to it. Still, this is again unimpressive and points out that this album is very much a sell-out. This is contrary to the ideals of Rap Music, at least historically. This is a three-and-a-half-minute listen that one can avoid. Even so, this is better than what came before, which is ironic.

Bad Ass (feat. Meek Mill & Wale) begins with some autotuned and weird vocals and launches into a wannabe digital ballad that sounds like a mixture of Atari 2600 sounds and poor mixing and production. Notably, the music industry was somewhat in decline at this point in time, and there is nothing particularly special about this tune. In fact, again, this is really awful. A piece of discardable trash, this is not impressive nor able to be taken at all seriously. A piece of drivel music. The guests are more impressive than Kid Ink here on this tune, which is fairly sad as well. Still, saying that is good is like polishing a turd. This is genuinely forgettably awful, and no doubt many musicians that have passed on such as Jimi Hendrix would not like nor appreciate this music. Continuous references to Instagram do not help this track one bit, and if you take this music seriously beyond 2014, then you need to explore some better music, Rap or not. Fortunately, we are approaching the end of this very poor album. Anyway, you can easily avoid this song, nothing great or inviting about it. It ends with some good beats and bass, however.

Bossin’ Up (feat. A$AP Ferg & French Montana) is the last tune and a very lengthy listen at nearly seven minutes long. This begins with some spacey and poor-sounding electronic sounds and has lyrics enter it gradually. Again, there is zero speciality here and this is barely passable in terms of musical quality. A draining listening experience, this reeks of pretentious Rap attitude and it sounds very unoriginal and once again, repetitive. This music makes some of the 1990s Rock Music such as Oasis’s Be Here Now and The Verve’s Urban Hymns albums (both released in 1997) look like absolutely enjoyable treasures compared to this awful piece of music, especially in regards to song length. Towards the middle, A$AP Ferg guests with an almost non-existent track to back him. Nothing great here, just walk away from this album and never hear it ever again. Lyrics about ladies, gambling and other typical Rap exploits, there is nothing amazing nor innovative here. French Montana is not a great guest either. This track is a really great example of what can be disappointing in the 21st-century music scene. In the second half, the track becomes ever more minimal and this could have easily been rethought. Neither fresh nor exciting, you have been warned. Kid Ink clearly was a here today, gone tomorrow act. The outro eventually rolls around with more lyrics about being rich and famous. A very poor finish to an album that, on paper, should have been better than this. A disappointment musically, which most of this album is. This track ends with the chorus repeated, and some sweep delayed vocals. Very ordinary.

As you may have guessed, this album is not what the postmodern music world or Rap Music fans need. Aside from the hits featuring Chris Brown, this is not an excellent or rewarding listen. It sounds so poor and lethargic that it is not a good selling point for Kid Ink. Like most rappers who never really made it, he certainly has potential but the lack of audio quality control drags this album down. Should you listen to this album? Nope, definitely not.

How much did Kid Ink pay the mainstream music reviewers to talk this up?

3/10