LA-based party rapper Kid Ink had a relatively quiet 2018 after storming onto the airplay charts with a vengeance with hits like “Main Chick” and “Show Me” in 2015. He seems to have laid low to spend some time sharpening his hit-making pen and getting his next act together, culminating in a December EP, Missed Calls. He’s since begun promoting the project in earnest, beginning with its lead single “Do Me Wrong” and following up with his latest potential radio hit, “YUSO.” To ensure maximum exposure he’s recruited a pair of collaborators that just might help it become a multigenerational banger in veteran Lil Wayne and newcomer Saweetie.
Saweetie’s presence especially serves to balance the raunchy talk, which finds each of the rapper’s laying verses full of sexed-up boasts about their prowess and body counts, but keeps from getting too misogynistic by inviting the Bay Area upstart to weave her own tales of conquest. Her boasts give a counterpoint to the boys’ club that upends the sexy, twerk-filled vibe of the video from male gaze to female to empowerment. Lil Wayne comes in second place with his usual array of witty punchlines, while Kid Ink plays his preferred role, setting up his co-stars to shine.
Missed Calls is out now via RCA Records and Kid Ink’s own Tha Alumni Music Group and 88 Classic labels.
