LA's Kid Ink puts own mark on rap

He proved that last month when he sold 20,000 copies of his debut full-length album "Up & Away" within days of releasing it.

And he proves it whenever he hits the stage, playing full houses from coast to coast, introducing rap fans to the ever-expanding and evolving West Coast scene.

But that doesn't mean the indie rapper from Los Angeles - aka Brian Collins - isn't courting the dream.

"One of the biggest next steps is the major label deal because they just have the steroids and the extra power to push what we're already doing," Kid Ink explained during a phone call last week to chat about his Rialto show on Friday.

But Kid Ink, who broke into the music business on the production side and only stepped behind the mic two years ago, wants the deal on his creative terms.

"I know sometimes when you do the label deal thing, people get scared of shelving and not coming out. That's just something I don't ever want to have a problem with," said the 26-year-old who is a member of the Alumni Music group that includes DJ ill Will, Young Jerz and Sean Brown.

Are you close to a deal?

"The major labels have been reaching out before and after the album dropped. Of course since the album dropped and the numbers are there, it's even more. I've just been letting everything soak in. There's a couple of places that I can see as home, but I don't want to make anything for sure right now. .... It really just has to be the right deal at the end of the day."

Why did you go the indie route?

"I could have settled with a major label deal probably that wouldn't be as good as the one I could have gotten now. After ... releasing the independent album, I felt like it's just showed a bit more worth and showed the fan base and the grassroots of everything that the labels might not have noticed before. I felt releasing the album and having 20,000 sales in a week just independently with not a major label push or anything extra than core fans, I felt like it made this a bigger statement."

You are an anomaly in hip-hop: You rap and you sing.

"I've grown up in music, and it's something I love. It was never about being a rapper or an artist or just a producer. I always had a passionate love for every (step)."

What sets you apart from every other young, tatted, dope rapper?

"I come from a production background. I'm more versatile than some other artists. I can write hooks, sing, carry a tune. The music, I just love it as a passion. The tattoos I was getting before I was an artist while I was a producer. I didn't think anybody was going to see me."

What was your first tattoo and how old were you?

"It was a design I drew up in class one day. I was 16 years old, and I begged my mom to get a tattoo."

How much begging did it take?

"Not too much for the first tattoo, more for the other hundreds of tattoos."

Was there a point where mom said that's enough?

"Yeah. Definitely was a point and there was some limitations. 'If you get any tattoos above your neck and on your face, then you have to move out.' I moved out first, then made the decision."

What are your live shows like?

"I laugh because a lot of people meet me in person, and they say you're so cool and humble and just chill. But as soon as I hit the stage, it's an instant turn-up. I turn into a whole other person and this energy comes up and I'm jumping around and jumping off things. ... I haven't actually jumped into the crowd yet because I don't trust that they'll bring me back to the stage because my fans are just crazy and wild. I think they will catch me, but then they will take me home. My fans, they'll just take all my clothes and shirts and hats."

They roll you like a bum?

"They take it home and tweet about it: 'I got Kid Ink's shirt!'"

You're lumped into the dope rapper genre, but you seem to skip in and out of that fray.

"I don't want to limit myself. I've never been that way. I always want to take it to the next level and work with all kinds of artists and do all kinds of music."

You've been compared to Tyga. Does that bother you?

"I don't think it bothers me at all. He's definitely a peer, friend and dope artist. I think it's good for the West Coast and LA to have so many people competing and doing such big things. LA artists are making good music, and having a sound from the West Coast is what's really important for me."

If you go

• What: Kid Ink in concert.

• When: 8 p.m. Friday.

• Where: Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St.

• Tickets: $20 in advance, $25 day of show through the Rialto, www.rialtotheatre.com or 740-1000