Light of Mine

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Light of Mine
Studio album by
Kyle
ReleasedMay 18, 2018 (2018-05-18)
GenrePop-rap[1]
Length50:58
Label
Producer
  • Austin Sexton
  • AxlFolie
  • Beni Haze
  • Billboard
  • BOSSMAN
  • Charlie Handsome
  • Deffie
  • Jake Troth
  • Jordan Reyes
  • Lege Kale
  • M-Phazes
  • Monte Booker
  • naz.
  • Ricci Riera
  • Sunny Norway
  • superduperbrick
  • 10A
Kyle chronology
Smyle
(2015)		 Light of Mine
(2018)		 See You When I Am Famous
(2020)
Singles from Light of Mine
  1. "iSpy"
    Released: December 2, 2016
  2. "To the Moon"
    Released: March 9, 2018
  3. "Playinwitme"
    Released: March 20, 2018
  4. "Ikuyo"
    Released: May 10, 2018
  5. "Moment"
    Released: August 24, 2018
  6. "SuperDuperKyle"
    Released: September 21, 2018
  7. "Hey Julie!"
    Released: November 29, 2018
  8. "F You I Love You"
    Released: August 23, 2019

Light of Mine is the debut studio album by American rapper and singer Kyle. It was released on May 18, 2018, by Independently Popular and Atlantic Records.[2][3][4] The album features guest appearances from Kehlani, 2 Chainz, Sophia Black, Khalid, Take 6, Avery Wilson, Lil Yachty and Alessia Cara. The album was supported by four singles; "iSpy", "To the Moon", "Playinwitme" and “Ikuyo". A deluxe version of the album was released on August 23, 2019. It features three previously released singles: "Moment" featuring Wiz Khalifa, "SuperDuperKyle" featuring MadeinTYO, "Hey Julie!" featuring Lil Yachty, and most recently released single "F You I Love You" featuring Teyana Taylor, along with two new songs.

Artwork

The cover art was designed by SuperDuperBrick and James McCloud, who previously collaborated on the art for Kehlani’s debut album SweetSexySavage.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Highsnobiety3.5/5[5]
HipHopDX3.8/5[6]
NMEStarStarStarStar[7]
Pitchfork6.9/10[1]
Vice (Expert Witness)(3-star Honorable Mention)(3-star Honorable Mention)(3-star Honorable Mention)[8]

Light of Mine received favorable positive reviews from music critics. At Album of the Year, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 75 based on five reviews.[9]

In his review for Highsnobiety, Russell Dean Stone wrote that "At best, you could say that Light of Mine is optimism as cultural rebellion – at worst, it plays things too safe in an attempt to be liked by everyone (in Kyle’s defense, at least it doesn’t feel he’s ever trying to be anything he’s not)".[5] In Vice, Robert Christgau summed it up as the "best innocent act in r&b, with girlish female cameos nailing two fetching numbers", naming "Ikuyo" and "Games" as highlights.[8]

Commercial performance

Light of Mine debuted at number 29 on the Billboard 200, selling 17,000 album-equivalent units and 2,000 pure album sales in its first week. The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and album-equivalent units of over 500,000 copies in the United States. It was also certified gold in Canada.

Track listing

Standard edition[10]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Ups & Downs"
M-Phazes4:44
2."Coming, Going?" (featuring Take 6)
  • Harvey
  • Ricci Riera
  • Matthew Alexander
  • Joshua Portillo
  • Aaron Michael Vigil
  • Lawrence Ross
Ricci Riera1:57
3."Zoom"
  • Harvey
  • Benjamin Perkins Hazlegrove
  • Dana Lorenzo Everett II
  • Michael Mario Perry
  • Beni Haze
  • Deffie
2:46
4."Ikuyo" (featuring 2 Chainz and Sophia Black)
  • BOSSMAN
  • naz.
3:41
5."Games"
  • Harvey
  • Black
  • Alexander
  • Portillo
  • BOSSMAN
  • naz.
2:19
6."Babies" (featuring Alessia Cara)
  • M-Phazes
  • AxlFolie
  • naz.
4:00
7."OpenDoors" (featuring Avery Wilson)
  • Harvey
  • Jordan Reyes
Jordan Reyes5:03
8."To the Moon"
  • Harvey
  • Austin Sexton
  • Jamahal Osley
  • Justin Howze
  • Sunny Norway
  • Austin Sexton
2:51
9."Playinwitme" (featuring Kehlani)
  • Jake Troth
  • naz.
  • superduperbrick
3:11
10."iMissMe" (featuring Khalid)
  • M-Phazes
  • naz.
  • Billboard
3:09
11."ShipTrip"
  • Harvey
  • Ahmanti Clifton Booker
  • Landon
  • M-Phazes
  • Monte Booker
2:55
12."Rodeo"
  • Harvey
  • Landon
  • Tenei Hapurona
  • Howze
  • 10A
  • M-Phazes
3:54
13."It's Yours"
  • Harvey
  • Landon
M-Phazes4:11
14."Clouds"
  • Harvey
  • Landon
  • Ryan Vojtesak
  • Keenan Davis
  • Charlie Handsome
  • M-Phazes
2:05
15."iSpy" (featuring Lil Yachty)
  • naz.
  • Lege Kale
4:12
Total length:50:58
Deluxe edition bonus tracks[11]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
16."F You I Love You" (featuring Teyana Taylor) M-Phazes3:56
17."Hey Julie!" (featuring Lil Yachty)
  • Harvey
  • McCollum
  • Maurice Powell
  • Howze
  • Ray Jacobs
  • Portillo
  • naz.
  • superduperbrick
2:36
18."Mmmm"  2:48
19."SuperDuperKyle" (featuring MadeinTYO)
Ronny J2:49
20."Moment" (featuring Wiz Khalifa)
3:08
21."Kyoto"  3:06
Sample credits

Charts

Chart (2018) Peak
position
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[12]33
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[13]144
US Billboard 200[14]29
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[15]16

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[16] Gold 40,000‡
United States (RIAA)[17] Platinum 1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Format Label Ref.
Various May 18, 2018 Atlantic [10]
July 20, 2018 CD [18]
October 19, 2018 Vinyl [19]

References

  1. "KYLE: Light of Mine". Pitchfork.
  2. Johnson, Cherise (April 19, 2018). "KYLE's "Light Of Mine" Debut Album Gets Release Date". HipHopDX. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  3. Enos, Morgan (April 19, 2018). "KYLE Announces Debut Album 'Light of Mine' & North American Tour With Logic". Billboard. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  4. P., Milca (May 11, 2018). "Kyle To Feature Kehlani, Khalid, 2 Chainz & More On Debut Album "Light Of Mine"". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  5. "KYLE - 'Light of Mine' Review: Positivity Personified". May 22, 2018.
  6. "Review: KYLE's "Light of Mine" Shines Optimism into Dark Times". May 27, 2018.
  7. "KYLE – 'Light of Mine' Review". NME. May 22, 2018.
  8. Christgau, Robert (April 19, 2019). "Robert Christgau on Khalid's Textured Anxiety". Vice. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
  9. "Kyle - Light of Mine - Reviews - Album of the Year". Album of the Year. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  10. "Light of Mine by KYLE". iTunes. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  11. "Light of Mine (Deluxe) by KYLE". August 23, 2019.
  12. "Kyle Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  13. "Dutchcharts.nl – Kyle – Light Of Mine" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
  14. "Kyle Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  15. "Kyle Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  16. "Canadian album certifications – Kyle – Light of Mine". Music Canada.
  17. "American album certifications – Kyle – Light of Mine". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  18. "KYLE – Light of Mine – Amazon.com Music". Amazon. ASIN B07CXYMXVZ. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  19. "Kyle – Light of Mine (2018, Clear, Vinyl)". Discogs. October 19, 2018.