Kicking off the year with the release of his first major label album ‘My Own Lane,’ Kid Ink has been riding in the fast track and soaring to the top of the charts with his Chris Brown-assisted single “Show Me.” Now the Los Angeles rapper is on the road and made a quick stop in San Francisco to perform at the historic venue, The Fillmore. Before the show, Kid Ink stopped by the 106KMEL VIP Lounge for a fan-exclusive meet-and-greet and to sit down with our own Shay Diddy to talk about his music, Chris Brown, and his love for animals, especially his pet snake.[more…]

Kid Ink, formerly known as Rockstar, has found success since signing with RCA Records much thanks to his hustle mentality that he adopted early on. Initially starting off as a producer, Kid Ink tells Shay that he still thinks he is slept on lyrically at times due to the commercial-sound of his songs. However, he’s hoping his chart-topping fame will help him link up with the likes of Timbaland and Swizz Beatz to create more #1 hits, and not to miss out on anymore chances like he did with “Mercy” by Kanye West, Big Sean, Pusha T and 2 Chainz.
 

“I think the biggest beat I ever slept on was the Kanye ‘Mercy’ beat,” he reveals to Shay. When asked why he passed on it, he chuckles and explains, “Cause I didn’t have a Murcielago, so it didn’t really make sense. I didn’t have a Lambo, so I can’t really rap about this cause the hook was on there. I could’ve probably forced some ideas if I thought about it a little harder. I didn’t have any Lambos, so I just felt like I was faking it, rapping about being in a Lambo.”
 
With a platinum-single already under his belt, Kid Ink is looking to dominate the charts once again with the follow-up single “Main Chick.” He touches on how the collaboration with Chris Brown initially came about, as well as the remix with LL Cool J and Tyga. Given Brown’s current situation, Kid Ink mentions the video will only feature Tyga and himself, though he’s been in talks with Brown about the video treatment.