Am I the only one who thinks it’s kind of fly when Kodak tries to sing?

Kodak Black quietly dropped one of his more overlooked projects earlier this year with Just Getting Started. While there were moments where he didn’t take things too seriously, a solid portion of the album showed him actually locking in and delivering meaningful verses. Now, right before the end of the year, Kodak returns with a Christmas-time release called “Telephone Line.”

The track features production built around gentle piano notes, simple trap elements, and a few unexpected country-rock touches. Vocally, Kodak isn’t at his strongest here (respectfully, he sounds terrible), but Austin Mahone absolutely carries his part with a polished and impressive performance. Lyrically, the song centers on wanting to be more than just a late-night option, leaning into the idea of wanting to be someone’s real go-to instead of just a number they call.

Overall, “Telephone Line” isn’t a bad song by any means, but it does feel a bit awkward in execution. The ideas are there, the intentions are solid, and the collaboration itself is interesting—it just doesn’t fully click the way it was probably intended to.

Quincy

Quincy is the creator of Ratings Game Music. He loves writing about music, taking long walks on beaches, and spaghetti that fights him back.