Having spent the majority of the early part of his career behind the control board and not the mic, Kid Ink crafting his production skills working with multi-platinum artists like Sean βDiddyβ Combs and Sean Kingston as well Yung Berg and Nipsey Hussle. Production came natural for Kid Ink, "I started making the beats because I already had several artists trying the rap thing out, so I thought I would be more useful supplying the production." But sitting behind the board was not enough for Kid Ink. Just a few short years ago, Kid Ink picked up the mic and a new contender in the Hip-Hop game was born.
Honing his skills as a songwriter creating hooks for his beats, Kid Ink stepped up his lyrical repertoire with full length and completed songs.
2010 was a breakout year in the young rapperβs career. Teaming up with world-renowned DJ ill Will and DJ Rockstarβs newly formed Tha Alumni Music Group; Kid Ink became more focused in his grind and began working on the underground hit, Crash Landing Mixtape. His hard work paid off and the music industry began to take notice. Within 10 days of its release, Crash Landing garnered critical acclaim, a position at the top of Datpiff.comβs βTop Mixtapes of the Weekβ section and amassed an astonishing 50 thousand downloads.
After Crash Landingsβ debut, national and international request to perform rolled in. Kid Ink has toured the states with stops in Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Denver, Kansas City and Buffalo; and internationally in Toronto, Canada, Zurich, Switzerland, Melbourne, Australia and Krasnador, Russia.
Solidifying himself as a real MC, Kid Ink garnered career-defining features from Hip-Hop and R&B stars including Young Money's Gudda Gudda, Roscoe Dash, Sterling Simms, Bei Maejor, Meek Mill and many more. Kid Inkβs uncompromising work ethic would not allow him to rest on his more than impressive laurels; there needed to be a βvisualβ movement to showcase his innovative style and unique persona.
Lensed by Director Alex Nazari, Kid Ink released an astounding 8 cutting-edge music videos in 2010 alone. Tearing the Net to shreds, to date his now 26 released videos have garnered a very impressive 50 plus million views.
2011 continued to be phenomenal for the young MC. Having released his (free to the public) sophomore album Daydreamer on June 21st via the internet, the lyrical juggernaut accumulated over 150 thousand downloads in its first week. Fans went ballistic over the album that featured all original production from the likes of The Runners, Lex Luger, Jahlil Beats, Cardiak & Tha Bizness as well as major features from the Cory Gunz, Meek Mill, Ray J, Sean Kingston, Dorrough, Bei Maejor and more.
Bucking the norm of waiting for a major label deal to kick off his career, the rapper has taken his fate in to his own hands and crafted an internet campaign that rivals many of the acts resting high on the Billboard charts. With videos under his belt including Internet sensations βLowkey Poppin,β βPleaseβ and βCali Dreamin,ββ Kid Ink is definitely rockinβ to his own beat.
Kid Ink continued his 2011 tear by releasing βWheels Up,β yet another all original Mixtape on October 10th to an overwhelming response. Once again outdoing the numbers his previous project accumulated. Following the release of βWheels Up,β Ink has been on a mini βWheels Upβ tour including stops in the Bay Area, Denmark, New York, Boston, Toronto, Denver & Chicago to name a few, performing to packed crowds of 600-2,000.
Ink started 2012 red hot as the first single βTime Of Your Lifeβ off his debut album βUp & Awayβ was picked up in early January by radio & the first week this song was released on iTunes it sold a staggering 20k copies. βTime Of Your Lifeβ peaked at #32 on the Rythmic Radio Charts with 750+ spins a week and has reached an audience of over 100 million selling 160k + singles Independently. In addition, the official video for βTime Of Your Lifeβ has reached over 12 million views on Youtube and was added to regular rotation on MTV Jams and MTV2. Following the success of βTime Of Your Lifeβ and the follow up single βDrippin,β Ink launched his Indie album βUp & Awayβ in June to commercial success with 20k albums sold the 1st week in the US reaching top 20 on Billboard charts (All Albums) and #2 that week in Hip-Hop/Rap. Immediately following the success of βUp & Awayβ Ink toured the US, selling out shows throughout the Country including 6 Summer Jam concerts, followed by a headlining βUp & Awayβ UK Tour that included 25 shows in 35 days β selling out 18 of the shows. βUp & Awayβ has sold well over 50k albums to date (US) & over 70k worldwide.
After the immediate sales success of βUp & Away,β Ink found himself in a bidding war with all the major labels. Ink decided to cap off his career defining 2012 with another Mixtape in November of 2012 titled βRocketshipshawtyβ which has done well over 600k downloads online, followed by 6 videos off the project. Starting off the New Year in 2012 Ink decided to sign a major label deal with RCA Records. On January 3rd, 2013 Ink announced his signing and launched his debut Major Label single βBad Assβ feat MMG heavyweights Wale & Meek Mill.
His Internet game is just as tight as his rap game. His website, www.kidinkmusic.com gets between 90,000 and 150,000 hits a month, his Facebook page has over a 500,000 Likes, his Twitter game is continually growing with 300k plus Followers, Instagram over 260k follows and via HotNewHipHop.com Kid Ink has a staggering 13 million + digital downloads.
Tat It Up
Kid Ink Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And you ain't ever seen nobody sittin thru this
You got space, tat it up, tat it up, tat it up, tat it up
First off yea I'm tatted up and my bitch too
You just got a bunch of different names like a bitch do
You the type of nigga in the book tryna pick thru
I be gettin blasted mothafuckin click, boom
Showin skin you ain't goin ham like an Islam
Light to a dark skinned nigga with no tan
No shirt in this bitch, Hollywood Hogan
Frankenstein tatted on me cause I am a monster
See I love the pain you can meet me at the hostel
Face like a aztec, hand bones fossil
All that I did yea my mothafuckin lights on
See it from the front or the back like an iPhone
Walk inside a room n I'm the one they got they eyes on
Me say, you ain't even fuckin with my DJ
Catch up, you ain't even started on your sleeves yet
Need to book a couple more sessions tryna reach this
Ink gun stuck into my flesh it's like leeches
All that shadin shows that you just soft
And if you gotta problem middle finger read fuck off
I'm on some new shit, how my face look
I know you wish you thought of this like facebook
And I don't talk give a fuck how the case look
Cause niggas tryna steal my shit, Bill Gates crooks
And I could pass for a vato
If you tatted, nigga I'm Picaso
I'm the shit you can get it on your nostrils
You can take a picture or get it on your iPod
I'm goin hard body til there's no more room left
And you ain't ever seen nobody sittin thru this
You got space, tat it up, tat it up, tat it up, tat it up
I'm goin hard body til there's no more room left
And you ain't ever seen nobody sittin thru this
You got space, tat it up, tat it up, tat it up, tat it up
In Kid Ink's "Tat It Up," the lyrics depict a celebration of tattoos and the art of inking one's body. The song is primarily about the rapper's own collection of tattoos and his encouragement for others to get inked up too, as he raps, "You got space, tat it up, tat it up, tat it up, tat it up." In addition to his pride in his own tattoos, Kid Ink also takes a jab at those who don't understand or appreciate tattoo culture, referring to them as "soft" and "trying to steal his shit."
The verse also includes references to specific tattoos that Kid Ink has, like the Frankenstein tattoo on his body, as well as the pain he experiences while getting inked up, which he compares to leeches latching onto his flesh. Throughout the entire song, Kid Ink paints a picture of himself as a tattooed monster, proud of his collection of art and wanting others to join in on the experience.
Overall, "Tat It Up" is a song about identity and expressing oneself through tattoos. Kid Ink uses his own tattoos as a way to define himself and wants others to do the same. He sees the art of tattooing as a way to become a part of a community and show off unique designs that can make a person stand out.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm goin hard body til there's no more room left
I am getting as many tattoos as possible until there is literally no more room on my body
And you ain't ever seen nobody sittin thru this
No one has ever seen anyone endure the level of pain that I have while getting tattooed
You got space, tat it up, tat it up, tat it up, tat it up
If you have any bare skin, you should get more tattoos on it
First off yea I'm tatted up and my bitch too
I have a lot of tattoos and so does my partner
You just got a bunch of different names like a bitch do
Your tattoos are insignificant and unimpressive compared to mine
You the type of nigga in the book tryna pick thru
You are the kind of person who spends too much time choosing tattoos from a book instead of getting something unique
I be gettin blasted mothafuckin click, boom
I get tattooed often and quickly
Duck, move, no pen but you can call me Bic man
I move quickly during the tattooing process and am as precise as a pen
Showin skin you ain't goin ham like an Islam
You are not as dedicated as I am to getting tattoos
Light to a dark skinned nigga with no tan
My tattoos are very noticeable and eye-catching
No shirt in this bitch, Hollywood Hogan
I am shirtless, showing off my tattoos, like the wrestler Hollywood Hogan
Frankenstein tatted on me cause I am a monster
I have a tattoo of Frankenstein because I consider myself a monster
See I love the pain you can meet me at the hostel
I enjoy the pain of getting tattoos and am willing to go to any tattoo shop to get them
Face like a aztec, hand bones fossil
My tattooed face resembles that of an Aztec warrior and my hand tattoos look like fossils
All that I did yea my mothafuckin lights on
I am proud of all the tattoos I have and want to show them off
See it from the front or the back like an iPhone
My tattoos are so noticeable that you can see them from any angle, like an iPhone screen
Walk inside a room n I'm the one they got they eyes on
When I enter a room, people are drawn to my heavily tattooed appearance
Me say, you ain't even fuckin with my DJ
You are not as cool or talented as my DJ
Catch up, you ain't even started on your sleeves yet
You have not even begun to get the amount of tattoos that I have on my sleeves yet
Need to book a couple more sessions tryna reach this
You would have to schedule multiple tattoo sessions to get as many tattoos as I have
Ink gun stuck into my flesh it's like leeches
The tattooing process is like leeches sticking onto my skin with the tattoo gun
All that shadin shows that you just soft
If your tattoos have a lot of shading, it means you are not as tough and committed as I am
And if you gotta problem middle finger read fuck off
If you have issue with my tattoos, I will simply give you the middle finger and tell you to leave me alone
I'm on some new shit, how my face look
I have a unique style, and my heavily tattooed face reflects that
I know you wish you thought of this like facebook
You are envious of my tattoos and wish you had come up with the idea yourself
And I don't talk give a fuck how the case look
I don't care about appearances and will still get tattoos even if they are not socially acceptable
Cause niggas tryna steal my shit, Bill Gates crooks
People are always trying to replicate my heavily tattooed look, similar to how Bill Gates' intellectual property is often stolen
And I could pass for a vato
My heavily tattooed appearance could make me pass as a Latino gangster
If you tatted, nigga I'm Picaso
If you have tattoos, I am the equivalent of Picasso in the art of tattooing
I'm the shit you can get it on your nostrils
I am incredibly talented at tattooing and can create art even on small areas like nostrils
You can take a picture or get it on your iPod
You can take a photo of my heavily tattooed appearance or even put it on your iPod
Lyrics Β© Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Brian Collins
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jrovo10
Every time Iβm on my way to get a new tattoo I gotta bump this! π¦
Sensei6lack
Nah dead ass
Jrovo10
@Gymfitz haha I just got a couple new tats a couple weeks ago going to get some new work done on the 18th
Gymfitz
π doing this right now
Dogol-Cha
@Jrovo10 iβm getting tatted!
Jrovo10
@Dogol-Cha yesirr got to! π₯
WarDNA Music
2021 and this song still going hard body, hahaπ₯π₯π₯
Damon Taylor
2020 still going strong
Ashley yg
@Shawty 2022
Shawty
2021