2005–2012: Career beginnings, Tha Alumni Music Group, and Up & Away During his teenage years, Collins attended after-school music programs, where he produced hip-hop beats and tracks. He cites
Pharrell Williams and
Swizz Beatz as part of his inspiration for its work ethic with the production and songwriting, when he said: "These were artists and producers who were writing for other people in all types of genres. It just gave me an open ear for all different types of music and that's how I approached it". He landed his first genuine production credit for a
Nipsey Hussle single in 2008. At 22, Collins began
rapping full-time, soon after adopting the temporary
stage name Rockstar. On February 1, 2010, Collins released his first official mixtape, titled
World Tour. The mixtape gained popularity that grabbed some of the attention towards a radio
disc jockey, DJ Ill Will, the founder of
HotNewHipHop. He later signed to his record label, Tha Alumni Group, and its joint label, 88 Classic. Collins also changed his stage name to Kid Ink, in respect for a label-mate, DJ Rockstar. In 2011, Collins released his second mixtape, called
Crash Landing. The mixtape features
guest appearances from
Roscoe Dash,
Ty Dolla Sign, and
Meek Mill, among others. During the summer of 2011, Collins released his third mixtape, called
Daydreamer that made available for digital download. The mixtape features guest appearances from
Cory Gunz,
Maejor Ali,
Ray J,
Sean Kingston, and
Bow Wow, among others. In September 2011, Collins released his fourth mixtape, called
Wheels Up. The mixtape features guest appearances from
2 Chainz,
Nipsey Hussle, and
Tyga, among others. In February 2012, Collins was revealed to be a part of the
XXL's yearly Freshman class alongside fellow emerging artists at the time, such as
Future,
Iggy Azalea, and
French Montana, among others. On June 12, 2012, Collins released his debut
studio album, called
Up & Away; including the
production that was provided from
Ned Cameron, Capsvl, and
Jahlil Beats, among others. The album debuted at number 20 on the US
Billboard 200. Supporting this album was the release of his single, called "Time of Your Life", followed by a release of his second single, called "Lost in the Sauce". In November of that year, Collins released his fifth mixtape,
Rocketshipshawty.
2013–2014: Signing with RCA, Almost Home, and My Own Lane On January 4, 2013, he announced that he had signed a deal with
RCA Records and premiered his first major label single, titled "
Bad Ass" (featuring
Meek Mill and
Wale), produced by Devin Cruise. The song would be released for digital download on January 22, 2013. The song was released to Rhythm Crossover radio in the United States on February 26, 2013. It has since peaked at number 90 on the
Billboard Hot 100 and number 27 on the
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. He released an
EP titled
Almost Home on May 28, 2013. It featured other artists including French Montana, Wale, Meek Mill,
ASAP Ferg, and
Rico Love. Upon its release, the EP debuted at number 27 on the
Billboard 200. It also produced the single "
Money and the Power" which was featured in
HBO's
Hard Knocks and in the sports video game
NBA Live 14 as well as being one of the official theme songs of
WrestleMania 31. On September 17, 2013, he released the first single from his second studio album
My Own Lane, entitled "
Show Me" (featuring
Chris Brown), produced by
DJ Mustard. He released
My Own Lane on January 7, 2014.
2015–2016: Full Speed and Summer in the Winter On September 9, 2014, "
Body Language", which features
Usher and
Tinashe, was released as the first single from his third studio album,
Full Speed. The album was released on February 3, 2015, and has since peaked at number 14 on the US
Billboard 200 album chart. On December 25, 2015, Collins released a commercial mixtape,
Summer in the Winter, with songs featuring
Fetty Wap,
Akon,
Omarion,
Starrah, and
Bïa Krieger.
2016–present: RSS2 and 7 Series On September 19, 2016, Collins released the mixtape
RSS2 on
SoundCloud. Collins wanted to get back into his old mixtape sound.
RSS2 features underground artists including his younger brother, Juliann Alexander.
RSS2 spawned the "One Day" single from the project, with a music video.
RSS2 was released on Spotify and every other streaming service on March 30, 2017. On April 7, Collins released the single "
F with U" (featuring
Ty Dolla Sign), with DJ Mustard producing. His second EP
7 Series was released May 5, 2017. == Personal life ==