Following up from his last album My Own Lane, comes Kid Ink’s 3rd studio album, Full Speed. Last year My Own Lane showed another side to the west-coast native that enabled him to reach the mainstream masses as well as receiving support from the fans on the street as he balanced his sound between catchy DJ Mustard beats and trap influence. It’s safe to say that Full Speed doesn’t target one audience, but instead feeds every fans hunger, be that a club hit or something with a heavier bass-line.
Kid Ink again finds the right balance of sound with the producers and features on this album. DJ Mustard produces two tracks, ‘About Mine‘ featuring Trey Songz and ‘Be Real‘ featuring Dej Loaf, where the trademark sound of Mustard ripples the bassline with both tracks following the theme of bottles and girls in the club.
There’s also plenty on this album for his female fans with R Kelly’s feature ‘Dolo‘ and Chris Brown’s feature ‘Hotel‘ offering a more sunshine feel with the message of attraction and lust.
A few of the more trap influenced tracks come with a heavy theme of smoking weed, partying and hustling, but it’s not the cliché message that carries these songs it’s the feature he’s chosen to work with. Popular trap artists, Young Thug on ‘Like A Hott Boy‘ and Migos on ‘Every City We Go‘, bring their reputation and Atlanta style to compliment the tracks.
Some of Kid Ink’s best moments on this album are when he performs solo with tracks such as ‘Round Here‘ and ‘Blunted‘ showcasing a style that Ink seems more confident producing. It’s no secret that Kid Ink’s lyrical ability isn’t the best, but that’s not what drives his appeal. When listening to Ink you want to enjoy yourself and think about the good-life, but at the same time be rooted down with reminders of the genres aggression.
In terms of the project as a whole, it doesn’t seem Kid Ink has digressed, but there’s not much evidence of progression either. Full Speed doesn’t push boundaries, but it does refresh a style and sound that people enjoy and in terms of his career, the album seems to be a safe move with party tracks instead of revolutionary pieces of art that break the cliche’s of rap.
