Five Things You Need to Know About Kid Cudi's New Album, 'Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin'

Kid Cudi is set to follow up last year’s grunge rock-inspired album Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven with the upcoming release of Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin’. Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven was deemed a flop by most critics and fans, so it should be no surprise that Mr. Solo Dolo himself is looking for a bit of redemption with this new album. The release also comes just in time after Cudi himself took shots at longtime friend and collaborator Kanye West on Twitter. After an initial retaliative rant at a tour performance, West had a change of heart about the situation and called Kid Cudi his “brother” and “the most influential artist of the past 10 years.”

It will be exciting to find out what Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin’ can deliver in terms of sound and critical reaction. For those eagerly awaiting the release, we’ve rounded up some things you need to know about the album in preparation for your initial purchase, stream and listen.

The album will drop Friday, September 30, 2016.

Featured Artists

Those confirmed to appear on Kid Cudi’s new project include Travis Scott, Pharrell Williams, Willow Smith and none other than Andre 3000. The latter is perhaps the most exciting news surrounding the release as Mr. André Benjamin will specifically appear on the number two track, “By Design” and the 17th song on the album, “The Guide.”

18 Tracks in Four Acts

You can expect an hour-plus-long running time for Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin’, and just like Man on the Moon, it will have four acts — they are titled Tuned, Prophecy, Niveaux de l’Amour and It’s Bright and Heaven is Warm (the latter is a play on DMX’s debut album title It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot). The acts will break up the 18 songs for a more dramatic vibe.

pic.twitter.com/RWb81VPyd8

— The Chosen One (@KidCudi) September 26, 2016

Available in All Digital Platforms and Physical Forms

No need to fret if you’re worried about missing out because you don’t subscribe to a specific service that an album is exclusive to. Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin’ will be available on all platforms including streaming and download. This is great news if you’ve been one of the many music fans frustrated at the trend of exclusive releases. Also, for those who still love buying CDs, you will be able to buy the two-disc format at participating music retailers.

Hey! So im workin on a date for a release this month. Available on ALL PLATFORMS for streaming and download, physicals shortly after

— The Chosen One (@KidCudi) September 5, 2016

At 18 tracks deep, the album is well over an 1hr 30mins long, so the physical will be a double disc set.

— The Chosen One (@KidCudi) September 5, 2016

Production Credits

In terms of production, those involved include names such as Dot da Genius, Mike Dean, Mike WiLL Made-It and Plain Pat. Dot da Genius returns after being absent for Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven so it will be interesting to hear what Dot has cooked up for Cudi. As for Mike Dean and Plain Pat, we got a taste of what they’re serving with the album track “The Frequency,” which brings Cudi back to the realm of rapping. The sombre and melodic sound is very vintage Mescudi.

A Followup Album

Looking ahead, it was revealed by Kid Cudi that he will indeed release two albums this year. Cudi even confirmed that the “albums” are already finished. As soon as Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin’ drops, we’ll all surely have enough time to digest it in preparation for Mr. Rager’s second opus of 2016.

So my plan is to release 2 albums this year. One for the summer and another for the fall. I finished this new one already. Fine tuning now — The Chosen One (@KidCudi) June 1, 2016

Albums finished ???????? pic.twitter.com/yiAC5XYTCm

— The Chosen One (@KidCudi) August 15, 2016