Diverse Hip Hop

Kid Ink finally releases his debut album “Up & Away” after a bunch of mixtapes. The hype around him has been good and this album delivers 13 tracks with an iTunes Bonus Track. Some are saying that it isn’t enough for a debut album, but we will see what the album has to offer. Check out what I have to say about the album after the jump.

1. “No One Left” – From the futuristic beat to the amazing flow and hook this track is a perfect way to introduce Ink’s debut album. I love the style of the record and the beat definitely bangs no doubt about that. The subject matter is very nice too, from addressing his haters to proving that he’s the sh*t.

2. “Is It You” – This track is more of single material. The subject matter is about him finding that girl that can make him feel good, from the good beat to the nice verses this track is definitely single material. The hook could have been better but that’s a small complaint.

3. “Time Of Your Life” – This track didn’t really stand out to me, I felt like he could have decided on a better single than this track. The hook is definitely better than the track “Is It You” but the verses and beat aren’t that good. The subject matter is about the same thing, about that one girl and giving her everything. Overall a decent track.

4. “Act Like That (3-Some)” – This track is pretty good, the hook is nice and catchy and goes well with the beat. Verses are pretty decent, could have been better. Subject matter is almost the same as the last 2 tracks, women and what they should be doing to Mr. Ink. Nothing that really makes me want to listen to the track again.

5. “Walk In The Club” – This track is more about fun and forgetting about the bullshit in your life when you’re having fun. I love the track, hook is very good and the verses are decent. Production is on point too.

6. “Drippin’” – The production on this track is crazy, but the subject matter, hook and verses are just boring.

7. “Lost In The Sauce” – Now this track I instantly liked from the amazing production to the catchy hook to the very crazy verses. Everything about this track is on point and definitely a stand out track from the album. Oh yeah it also bumps in the whip very well.

8. “Roll Out” – The subject matter is the same as the beginning tracks which really disappoints me, but the hook is very nice and verses are good. Production is okay sounds the same as other tracks on the album. Overall a decent track.

9. “Rumpshaker” – This track is definitely different as well, production is something different, subject matter seems to be about the same stuff, women and more women. Overall a dope track.

10. “Carry On” – This track reminds me of “Is It You”, same repetitive hook and nearly the same subject matter once again. The production is good but Ink needs something new for these beats not the same stuff.

11. “Neva Gave A F**k” – You know how you sometimes just don’t have enough f**ks to give? Well this is the track for you not having enough f**ks to give. Play this for a hater and guaranteed they will shut up. Overall a dope track, Production on point, hook is dope, not feeling like one girl that says “bumping” towards the end but small complaint.

12. “Hell & Back” – This track is very nice, I love the flow on the hook, it works well with the production and the subject matter is actually different. It’s sort of motivational and I like when Kid Ink makes tracks like these, overall an on point track.

13. “Crazy (Loco)” [iTunes Bonus Track] – I can see why this track ended up being a bonus, it’s a good track but it could have been better, the hook was repetitive and the verses were kind of boring. The production isn’t that good either, but hey a bonus track is always nice on an only 12 track album.

- First bad thing I noticed about this album is clearly the same subject matter, most of the tracks are about women and the clubs, of course that sells but having it in every track on your album is annoying.

- Some of the hooks and production sound exactly the same, this is also a problem because a lot of tracks get annoying then and you will end up trashing more than half of the album.

+ I know I contradict myself when saying this but the production is really good even though a lot of the beats sort of sound the same, if he managed to choose a little different variety of beats then this album would have had an amazing production to it. But still the album doesn’t disappoint with production that much.

+ A lot of the tracks are catchy and Kid Ink proves on this album that he isn’t just a mixtape artist. I’m also very surprised and glad that he didn’t have anyone of this album, it proves that he doesn’t need other rappers to sell records or gain buzz and in the end this will be better for him, you don’t really see a no featured album in 2012.

OVERALL SCORE:

8 OUT OF 10