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.

Light of Mine
Studio album by
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

Artwork

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

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Highsnobiety3.5/5[5]
HipHopDX3.8/5[6]
NME     [7]
Pitchfork6.9/10[8]
Vice (Expert Witness)   [9]

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.[10]

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.[9]

Commercial performance

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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

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Standard edition[11]
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)
4:12
Total length:50:58
Deluxe edition bonus tracks[12]
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

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

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[17] Gold 40,000
United States (RIAA)[18] Platinum 1,000,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

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Region Date Format Label Ref.
Various May 18, 2018 Atlantic [11]
July 20, 2018 CD [19]
October 19, 2018 Vinyl [20]

References

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  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. ^ a b "KYLE - 'Light of Mine' Review: Positivity Personified". 22 May 2018.
  6. ^ "Review: KYLE's "Light of Mine" Shines Optimism into Dark Times". 27 May 2018.
  7. ^ "KYLE – 'Light of Mine' Review". NME. 22 May 2018.
  8. ^ "KYLE: Light of Mine". Pitchfork.
  9. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (April 19, 2019). "Robert Christgau on Khalid's Textured Anxiety". Vice. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
  10. ^ "Kyle - Light of Mine - Reviews - Album of the Year". Album of the Year. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  11. ^ a b "Light of Mine by KYLE". itunes.apple.com. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  12. ^ "Light of Mine (Deluxe) by KYLE". 23 August 2019.
  13. ^ "Kyle Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  14. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Kyle – Light Of Mine" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
  15. ^ "Kyle Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  16. ^ "Kyle Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  17. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Kyle – Light of Mine". Music Canada.
  18. ^ "American album certifications – Kyle – Light of Mine". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  19. ^ "KYLE – Light of Mine – Amazon.com Music". Amazon. ASIN B07CXYMXVZ. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  20. ^ "Kyle – Light of Mine (2018, Clear, Vinyl)". Discogs. 19 October 2018.