Man On The Moon-Kid Cudi Album Review.
Alright, let’s sit down and figure this out.
He’s been everywhere…from questionable BET 106 & Park freestyles to Jay-Z’s latest album to the VMA’s and back again. I’m going to go out on a limb and just say it, Kid Cudi has “made it.” Day N’ Night’s undeniably catchy sing song flow and a few well placed follow up tracks took the Cleveland nobody from a 9-5 jobs at Abercrombie to a certified celebrity in a matter of months. Couple that with a massive Kanye West co-sign and Cudi is well on his way. Quite frankly the only thing left to be figured out at this point is whether or not the man can craft a classic album. We’ve seen everything else, it’s time to actually listen.
ALBUM REVIEW:KID CUDI-Man On The Moon: The End of Day.
Epic photography courtesy of the good brother TONE.
First off let me just come right out and say that I am neither an unabashed Kid Cudi fan or hater. He has some tracks that I really enjoy and some stuff that I can only really shake my head at. On the same token I have friends who absolutely love everything he does, and friends who would rather listen to Bill O’Rielly recite a Tupac album on repeat for an entire day. So biased I am not.
Let me start off with saying why I like the strange young man named Scott from Cleveland. He puts some thought into this whole music thing. Even if I don’t agree or even fully comprehend 80% of what he is talking about, you can tell he sat there for a good amount of time and put some thought into the entire concept of his album. Now granted he was probably heavily under the influence of a certain magical leaf but thought was utilized none the less.
Cudi actually formulating a deeper meaning for these tracks counts for something in a game where artists throw out track after track that is absolute mindless garbage. Maybe it’s just me but I don’t think it could possibly take more than 3 min. to come up with the concept for “Throw It In The Bag.”
*Fabalous* “Yo Dream, songs about girls, shopping, and money seem to do pretty well on the radio wouldn’t you concur?”
*The Dream* Oh yeah surely good brother, I haven’t heard a song that touched on any of that diverse subject matter in years.
So on that note, I appreciate Mescudi’s devotion to crafting a well thought out product. I’ll admit that I laughed when I heard Common on the album as a narrator but on many levels it works. I didn’t follow the whole movie concept as far as the tracks go but the thought and idea is a dope one so I give points where they are due.
You also have to give to to the man. He’s not leaving anything behind in the studio. There is some pure emotion being poured into a good amount of these tracks and that is something that can never be overlooked. Props to Cudi for being man enough to step into the booth and speak on his own personal reality with no embellishments. I can respect that. Sadly though, the review doesn’t end there. You have to tolerate a few more short paragraphs of my long winded writing concerning why exactly I’m not an enormous fan of this Man on the Moon.
OK, so this is why I can’t completely hop on here and declare this album as 12-ply rust proof platinum musical wonderment.
When Cudi is good, he’s really good. Sky Might Fall, Alive, Cudi Zone, even Solo Dolo are all really solid tracks that I don’t feel like you can discount for anything. But when Cudi is bad? Well it’s…it’s just something else.
Let me put it this way, there was always that weird kid in class who was odd but really cool at the same time right? Like he had some off the wall clothing, didn’t speak to other people and always drank the disgusting mixture of liquids and foods during lunch period but he was still cool in a completely odd way. Than…there was that other kid. The kid who was just strange. Strange in all the wrong ways. Strange like not changing his drawers for weeks and eating gum off of the bottom of the lunch table.
That strange kid-the one who was strange in a not so grand fashion is the only way I can think to classify some of these tracks. The album is good, it’s perhaps maybe even really good. But there are some tracks on here that I just can’t give a pass too. I’m not going to give titles because I don’t want to influence your thinking about the music before you hear it but there is some stuff on here that just a little too much. Too much of a reach. I feel like it’s asking too much of me to take a few of these tracks seriously and for that reason alone I withhold an absolutely perfect review.
There is no doubt that Cudi has something. Something special? Maybe. Something different? For sure. He can surely write a catchy track. I’ve been bumping the album for the better part of the day and I’m sure I can probably sing the hook off of just about every track and a good deal of a couple of songs. Throw on some moon boots and give this album a run, it’s entertaining at the very least to hear Common’s inhumanly deep voice appear out of no where and start rattling off a novel about Kid Cudi if nothing else. In all seriousness there are some tracks worth listening to on here, enjoy the music.
I give the album a three and a half self-orbiting Zordon’s out of five.Respect.
What’s your take?
Stay Safe-Phil.
I listened to the album, its pretty legit. Its not really my place to judge music. But truly i’ve heard better. But i love tht its a new sound and flow. cough *drake*
(He does a good job with merging dif cultures)
and i can really feel his lyrics and flow thrugh my veins.
Cudi has developed a sound that I love. He’s a rapper who has a nag for melodies. In my opinion he is more than a rapper rather than a full musician. He speaks from the heart and sometimes that is bad with the whole marijuana thing. It gets old. One thing is for sure, he is different. He’s a good different. I think he’s so much better than all the new rappers because he does MORE than just rap. All the songs sound so different and there’s more than just a steady beat going on but rather different musical arrangements. It’s electro, rap and rock fused together. Fused together beautifully.
Yo, phil I found your review to be truthful. He can write a catchy trac that’s all i’d give him. In the music biz as you know you’re guilty by association. He’s associated with a few so called heavy hitsters…so to those in the don’t know THINK CuDI is cool…but he’s below average…Musical entrepreneurs like KANYE only need to recognize whether or not something can SELL or if someone is marketable…there is nothing new here, KANYE knows it, there’s nothing remarkable here, the world knows it…like the white men before Yeezy, those who have exploited hip hop and turned it into a meaningless genre of music, he’s now here to do the same but his stamp of approval will line his and his ‘Family’ pockets… so what!…I listened to the album several times and I really wanted to like it you kow? I wanted to like every trac! BUT i felt no intimacy, no connection to it…and well, as time goes by…the food gets less healthy, the air less breatheable, the oceans more pollutted and the music will have no meaning Cudi is the future, welcome to it.
3.5/5, my exact rating. coming from a so-so fan of cudi. soundtrack 2 my life and cudi zone stood out for me.
he had more concept and front to back ness in a sense than blueprint 3 i felt. not bad for a freshmen album, and a different lift to hip-hop. only bad side i felt, cudi is too emotional sometimes for me
~Lefty
Is he wearin Abercrombie and fitch in that photo? wtf….
I really think he should of left Make Her Say out of the album.. it doesn’t fit in at all. This is really good for a first album, which makes me wonder how much better his future albums may be.
great review. i love the guy so i’m gonna thoroughly enjoy the album when i grab it.
That A&F shirt is from a photoshoot Cudi did where he visited all of the past places he had worked and repped their stuff in the pics (AF, American Apparell, BAPE, etc)
doooope album!!!!!
def gonna buy it!!!
this album is great like he said “one day ill give you a cd with my emotions and somce credits” CUDI KILLED this review not not hate DOSE not justify the album in no way shape or form
This album is something else. There are only 2 things about it that I can quantify
1. Soundtrack 2 My Life is a Top 5 song this year.
2. If this sells, the game may change forever.
I’d like to preface this comment by saying, I’m not hating. I haven’t heard the album because the 4 or 5 tracks I have heard don’t entice me to do so. To be honest I don’t like most music that is being made as of recent. In my opinion over the past decade especially music has become more and more anemic. Even hip-hop artist that used to be the standard (Nas, Jay-Z, Eminem, ect.) are slipping into mediocrity. People in our generation have been raised with a false sense of entitlement and it is evident in every aspect of our society, music as well. I hate to say it but we’re a generation of pussies and I don’t mean it in the context of showing emotion and being sensitive, but in the sense of not willing to put it all on the line, not willing to sacrifice, not willing to go the extra mile. We’d rather accept mediocrity than demand greatness and it sucks, like most of the music we hear today. I know it sound like I’m hating, but let’s put it in perspective if the music is reflective of the culture & people why is it that music 10 years ago sounds so much better than music today? Supply and demand folks. If people don’t demand it, why should they supply it? But back to the boy Cudi, I’m sure his album is good, but I’m looking for great.
I totally disagree with the idea that our generation is a generation of mediocrity. 10-20 years ago hip-hop was hip-hop and just that but now people like Cudi are stretching the genre and making it more interesting. But even as far as raw hip hop we’ve got some greats i mean look at Diz Gibran and J. Cole. Two great examples of raw hip-hop thats just as promising as the greats were last generation. Kid Cudi’s album will take a while to grow on me and as of right now hasn’t hit as hard as his mixtape did, but with time im sure it’ll get better.
Yo Phil, You hit the nail on the head in this Cudi Review. I’ve been looking for a realistic review of this album. The main stream media is hyping this joint up to be “greatest album of the year.” This album is grade of B. Which would be good for most people, but I know that Cudi could have done better.
I feel that his mixtapes are better than this album. Actually, he should have just released a best of mixtape album.
If Cudi asked me (which he probably should have) I would have told him to his face. Some of these track are just lame. “Super duper lame-0″
He’s already got me looking forward to his next album. But only because I expect much more from him.
Good Luck Kiddo
- J
id say it depends what you actually like…this reminds me of when people loved the love below and some hated it…this album is very different…i like more tracks then dislike but i also loved the love below…im sure the people that hated that will hate this
id say a solid 4/5 imo not perfect but above average so a B-
Nice review, although I like the album a little more than you (4.5/5). I’m curious to hear which tracks you can’t give a pass to, as Hyyerr is the only song on here I’m not really feeling, and I don’t think it’s terrible by any means.
Hey man I’m listening to the album right now. And I want to give the perspective of an emcee. First off, I’d like to say that I cosign what CBK #1 said. I am 23, 2 years younger than Kid Cudi, but this transition we are in, not just in hip hop, but artistry in music at large, it’s like a big cauldron, and a lot of the wrong people are given the spoon to stir. What happened to hip hop culture, eletronic music culture, punk culture, rock n roll culture? It seems that everything has become a great big clusterfuck. Music used to exist as a galaxies respecting eachothers space, and now it’s like galaxies are swallowing eachother up. The “false sense of entitlement” ideal is something that rings true, It seems that hipster culture has made it’s meteoric mark on society and has forever changed the way we think and process culture. So this generation indeed does have a false sense of entitlement. I read a kid cudi inteerview where he was pretty much disregarding any “haters” who say “this and that”, which is fine you have to be self-confident, but at the same time, there is no strive for perfection or bettering yourself, or feeling that you don’t have to prove yourself. As a rapper myself, I’m unsigned and I have been very disappointed by what is being marketing as the best new thing for hip hop/rap. To me, it’s like you’re okay as a musician, but there are some REAL musicians out there in this world and I’m not saying I deserve to be in Cudi’s position, I don’t even think he deserves it, but I’ve come to an age as a fan where these rappers coming out, are my age, so I see them as my peers now, and I know people who are much better than the crap that we are not only being fed, but are eager to eat b/c it seems knew and refreshing. I give the album 3 out of 5 b/c I will merit the music landscape and his singing abilities, I do not think Kid Cudi himself should be praised for the instrumentals, or for rapping.
same views as myself. great read.
i love ‘alive’ with ratatat
faimkills, while your perspective on the current music scene may be yours and inclusively yours, it doesn’t quite add up. You see, nowadays we are influenced by more than what our parents played on the stereo. So, for you to ask for separate galaxies of “musical genres” you’re only limiting the reaches of the music itself. Creatively, an artist has the right to create their own music while taking inspiration from whatever they observe or are affected by, and this may come from the many “galaxies” of genres. While Kudi’s album is odd, he certainly puts his own funk on the whole album and you can’t take that from him. Labels only limit an artist, they don’t add to their valor or credibility. So while you may criticize Kudi for his spin on “hip-hop”, you yourself are being criticized for placing him in that category.
Yo Phil, have you checked out anything by Passion Pit? I just got the “Manners” album and thought you might take a liking to it.
Passion Pit has some amazing tracks Lanman. Looking forward to new music from them for sure I really want to see how they grow as a group.
Appreciate all the comments folks.
Sorry guys I just have to reply to lanman’s post. im quite sure my “perspective” on our current music scene is not inclusively mine and it actually does add up, some people just don’t see it that way, it doesn’t mean it’s wrong. The reason I choose to proceed with this discussion is that Lanman , your approach and word usage leads me to believe you are attempting to talk to me in a dominate position, as if you are enlightening me with something I have never thought of. Notice I say “believe”, I don’t want to assume but the way you come off suggests you believe you have a better sense of musical landscape than I. For you to suggest I am asking for limitations is a little forward, I believe in a certain amount of conservation is all. I am not trying to take away from Cudi, and your idea about labels limiting artists and not adding to valor or credibility just amazes me, to me that doesn’t add up, to me that defeats the whole purpose and ability of us being able to discuss good “rap” albums and good “rock” albums, etc. I never said Cudi was not hip hop, what is hip hop mean these days anyway? that term has been stripped of its origins a while ago, I just don’t believe the kid can rap. We can further this discussion if you want, no hard feelings, but I felt this needed to be said. I have heard passion pit, they’re ep prior to manners was on point in my opinion, I hope I am not criticized for that.
Haha, faim, although you might look into my wordplay as a way of dominance, that’s just the way I speak fam. I apologize for the misunderstanding though. And your response to my label comment didn’t make sense to me, please rephrase? Also, everyone I talk to that has been into Passion Pit says that they liked Chunk of Change far better than Manners, however I’m the exact opposite. I think Manners has a much more epic feel to it, while Chunk of Change seems to be experimental and not fully there.
Alright one more reply, sorry phillip for using this as a place to discuss tangents, I enjoyed your review on the cudi album btw.
Lanman:”Labels only limit an artist, they don’t add to their valor or credibility”
Me: The reason I don’t agree with this is like i said before, w/o labels and genres, we would not be having this conversation b/c we wouldn’t have any structure (whether it’s super conventional/conservative or whether it’s those niche that have flipped the rules a bit) to base these reviews on. Also, without these labels and genres, I don’t feel kid cudi, and 1,000,000,000s of artists that dont fit the stereotypical standards of overarching genres such as RAP ROCK RNB etc, would exist and have as much success because there would not be niches out there for them. It is a love/hate relationship between criticism and artistry, b/c the critics/fans create the space for new music to exist and be heard via tastemakers and word of mouth, it’s just to me, there really is a mediocre standard of music making at the moment and it has to do w. hipsterism in my opinion. I’m not saying Kid Cudi isn’t good at doing what he does, I’m just saying it’s really nothing new or very innovative, it’s a detached attempt he cant commit to rapping or electronic music and he isn’t the only artist like that there are countless artists that exist in this realm. And i’m just saying we should be praising those who can commit to something and do it VERY well, rather than hail these newcomers who feel they have achieved a milestone in musicmaking history. I’m sure it’s nothing new to you as well and to people who really really care about music and study it as more than just a pass-time. I don’t know if that clarified anything for you. But for passion pit, maybe ill give manners another listen and see if i can pick up on what you are hearing.
Soundtrack 2 My Life & Mr. Solo Dolo where my favourite tracks. I agree with the review as far as I do fit in somewhere between the hardcore fan, and the ill pass type.
There arent tracks besides what If mentioned and Day ‘n Night which Ill just play for the sake of playing on their own, unlike say: Drake’s So Far Gone in which almost every strack illicits a “oh yes” response for me and BP3 which has tracks like “Venus VS Mars”, “Empire State Of Mind” “A Star Is Born” etc. etc.
For me CuDi’s strong points are:
1. His hooks are bonkers.
2. His conceptual thinking and emotive tracks.
3. Its true, he is talking about issues and connecting with people (like me), who feel or has felt like what he is talking about and apreciate the way he presents these ideas.
4. Major influence on fashion/culture.
In my opinion the album was only able to be fully digested if you have been in the mindstates Scotty describes. The album gives an aura of agony, despair & the long journey to escape the depths of emotional torture. The weed is a constant theme because it is a way to cope with being “different”. Cudi depicts the self-esteem issues of his adolescence , and how heartbreak affected him throughout many of his songs outside of the album which led up to feeling the full impact of his album. Being the strange kid or even the cool weird kid can have an enormous psychological effects on many levels. Kid Cudi has made it past his afflictions to a lifestyle of glamor which leads me to believe his next album will describe the facade of luxury lifestyle; in his own perception. The album lyrically I felt was more than adequate; even the catchy tune “Day N Nite” is about his lonely lifestyle using weed to cope. The only track I felt didn’t fit was “Make Her Say”, and “ABC” is just annoying. Cudi is different because he honestly is different, it’s not a gimmick. I don’t understand the need for people to compare his music and speak of the music industry because of the authenticity that is completely clear by listening to the majority of his other music and definitely this album. Cudi is Cudi, nothing more, nothing less, a great original artist. Album hit home for me, 5/5.