Kid Ink - Up & Away: 10th Anniversary Edition Vinyl LP

Originally released on June 12th 2012, "Up & Away" was a pivotal bridge in Los Angeles Rapper/Producer Kid Ink's career that took him from a successful underground/Indie "blog rapper" and set the table for him to crossover into Rap superstardom. This album included Ink's first real radio hit "Time Of Your Life" in addition to the cult classic "Hell & Back" - the first song Ink received an RIAA Certified plaque for. At the time in 2012, Ink was unproven in his ability to sell records to the masses, mainly surviving off free internet downloads to spread his music around the world. This led to the shaky/unsure record deals on the table, and at that point left Ink and his manager/partner DJ ill Will at a major crossroads. Either self finance, and prove yourself and go back to the table for a deal they believed they deserved... or sign a record deal for peanuts. They decided to put their own money up and the dice landed for them selling 20k albums first week Independently, reaching #2 on the Billboard Rap charts, and also, leading to a major label bidding war. Eventually they went on to sign a record deal with RCA that spawned 3 commercial albums ("My Own Lane", "Full Speed", "Summer in The Winter" and over 20 Million singles sold (Show Me, Main Chick, Body Language, Be Real, Promise etc).

Up & Away, his official debut, suggested the talented Kid Ink wasn’t such a calculated hit maker but a huge fan of what’s poppin’ in the moment, and that meant a bit of emo, a lot of ambition and productions that hypnotized and swirled, even when they came with G-Unit styled names like “Walk In The Club.” On this, Ink connected to the fan base more than the game, plus he had a rare humbleness between all his boasting and swagger.

But the reason people signed on with this exciting debut was a toss up between “Time Of Your Life “ (a prime pre-club track for ladies) and “Lost In The Sauce” (with silly, fun lyrics and a bleepy, booming production, like new wave heroes Devo meet Deebo from the Friday movie). This is what “the kids” wanted those days - good times and a fun album.