Kid Ink is one of those rappers that you always hear the name of, but you never really hear the music. He released his own album independently, and he was on 2012’s XXL Freshmen list. That year, he was the rapper who we all say “Who the hell is that?” about every year. Well, this year he got a major label (RCA) to release his latest mixtape. Since he has received quite a bit of hype, I figured I’d try his music out. I immediately regret this decision.

Unlike some XXL Freshmen, Kid Ink really feels like symbol for the regression of Hip-Hop. Lame lyrics, generic trap beats, and good ol’ American ignorance are sprinkled on every track. Take the overwhelmingly long Bossin’ Up. The beat is soulless and genetically engineered for a similarly soulless club where Ciroq is served and the lights are all a dim dark blue. There are guest verses from French Montana and A$AP Ferg, but only Ferg brings anything remotely interesting to the track. And then there’s Kid Ink himself, who I can honestly say is the most boring, uninteresting rapper I’ve ever heard. Nothing he says carries and weight or sense of creativity. The closest thing that neared “interesting” was the line “It’s Clear who been getting to the bread like Panera”, and that’s only interesting because it’s laughably awful.

Kid Ink lacks any real sense of charisma, both in lyrical delivery and lyrics themselves. The lyrics follow the typical “Getting Money, Having Sex With Women” formula that Hip-Hop tends to follow. But there’s no twist or interesting angle on it. The only times his classical ignorance veers into interesting territory is the line “Martin had a dream, I’ve been dreamin’ bout gold” on the awful Money and Power, and that’s only because it’s borderline offensive. Plus, his dopey and plain flow makes his lyrical incompetence even more apparent. This sounds about as skillful as any mediocre mixtape you can pull up on Datpiff for free.

The production ranges from “Painfully generic” to “Almost inspired?”, with Was it Worth It being the only track that brought something to the table that wasn’t sleep inducing. Most of the production is the uninspired club/trap stuff that’s dominated more inspired tracks by Drake. Plus, Ink tends to tack on lame and grimace inducing choruses throughout the EP. None of them are remotely catchy or fun. They all just seem to say “Oh hey, we needed to put a chorus here”. Plus, Kid Ink is an even worse hook singer than he is a rapper.

I’d go into specifics of songs, but they all sound the same. Ignorant Hip-Hop lyricism and production is fine when the music is interesting or the song is fun. Sadly, Kid Ink brings neither to the table. He simply brings awful lyrics, bad production, and pathetic excuse for a project.

Summary: Almost Home is a terrible EP. It’s generic, blandly produced, and only shows off all the problems with Kid Ink as both a lyricist and MC.

Choice Cuts: Was It Worth It (If I had to pick)

Leftovers: Every other track.

.5/5

Almost Home is out now on RCA.