Kid Ink Speaks On His Personal Style and His Wardrobe For Shows

Footaction linked up with L.A. rapper Kid Ink for the fourth installment of its "Style Means" series. Taking a closer look at how style plays a key role in hip-hop lifestyle, Kid Ink shares how his fascination with comic books affected his style and music.

In the past, the series chronicled the lives of rapper YG, producer and label owner Hit-Boy and Bay Area rapper G-Eazy on and off stage, and with Kid Ink joining the Footaction family for their #OwnIt campaign, the "Be Real" artist is the latest MC to show how style and fashion trends affect his everyday lifestyle. Gearing up for his One Hell of a Nite tour with Chris Brown, Fetty Wap and more, Ink looks to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to fashion with his Footaction deal.

XXL chopped it up with Kid Ink about his partnership with Footaction and their #OwnIt campaign as well as Kid's personal style. —Roger Krastz

XXL: How did the partnership between you and Footaction come about? 
Kid Ink: They reached out and said that I can help represent certain themes with my own story on how just style affects my day-to-day, my life, because you know I'm somebody into style, into fashion and them recognizing that I think they reached out to see if I can help them get across this message about just having different styles in yourself. And also for me, just being from the streets and understanding.

How would you describe your personal style?
You know, [what] I did with the campaign was really just explaining how style, I think, changes throughout the day, depending on what you doing and what you going through. Like, I change probably three times out the day, just on different pieces, because I don't want to go somewhere sometime overly stylish, you know what I'm saying? If I'm doing some easy stuff then it's more of a sporty look during the day. It's still a clean look, but when I'm on stage or it's time to go out at night, I'm a little bit more flashy. During the day it's more a cool, laid back swag.

Who were some of the rappers you looked up to when it came to fashion?
I think growing up, definitely when it came to just being flashy, when I was younger and I first got into hip-hop between everybody at Bad Boym like Diddy and Ma$e and those guys from the East Coast, they were a little bit more flashy and stylish compared to [what was] coming from the West Coast, where we have a street look. So the style was a little bit more thuggish than flashy Versace, Gucci and Louie. It wasn't too many people in the hood wearing that stuff, it was more basic white tees, blue jeans.

What company would you like to collaborate with for an apparel or footwear collection? 
If I was recreating a shoe with somebody else's collection, I think I would remake a Jordan sneaker. I think I would do the 11, which is one of my favorite sneakers, or even the 6's.

What are the elements needed for a good collaboration between an artist and a clothing or footwear brand?
Both people really coming together on the idea and staying on common ground about the project. I think that's very important.

How do you go about picking out your wardrobe for your shows? 
It's really about standing out and trying to come up with outfits that you don't think another person on tour is going to wear, or somebody in the audience. Sometimes it's harder to do that when you're doing bigger tours with other artists because you know everyone is always going to have the same pair of shoe every once in a while. But I think it's about really switching it up and really finding that style that you can repeat like a theme.

What's a trend in hip-hop that you hope doesn't make a comeback?
Overalls. I don't think a grown man should wear overalls. But you know, that's just my personal opinion.