Kid Cudi Man On The Moon: The End Of Day
Review of CD from Kanye West Protégé with Day ' Nite & Make Her Say
Oct 4, 2009
When Cleveland, Ohio rapper Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi, better known as Kid Cudi, exploded on the scene with first single “Day ‘n’ Nite”, he brought freshness to the stale world of modern day Hip Hop.
Not only did a Crookers remix of the single surpass the original on the charts on both sides of the Atlantic, but proved Hip Hop/ dance fusions had crossover appeal.
Unfortunately for Kid Cudi, on his first full length release, the elements that made “Day ‘n’ Nite” such a refreshing single went up in smoke - literally.
Man on the Moon takes a few listens, (and a splif) to grasp the concept, but casual listeners may burn out well before the album’s second act.
Soundtrack 2 My Life
Kid Cudi sporadically hints at perfection but as a whole this is an album made by a man struggling with unnamed demons, content with lazy rhyming.
Songs like “Soundtrack 2 My Life” divulge a tormented childhood, and while many artists use their music to exorcise the shadows, the kid seems content to brood and pine without revealing what makes his life so miserable.
Offering no possible solutions makes the rhyming on Man on the Moon somewhat of a downer, especially after the brilliance of his nightmare-set-to-disco first track. Luckily, for most of the album, the backing tracks make up for what the lyrics lack.
The End Of Day, Make Her Say
After gaining acclaim with his first single following the success of his mix tape, Kid Cudi worked with Kanye West on his 2008 album, 808s & Heartbreak.
West returns the favor on follow up single “Make Her Say”, originally titled “I Poke Her Face”. Fusing samples from Lady Gaga's “Poker Face” and featuring performances by Common and West, it may be the equivalent of locker room banter poured on vinyl, but shows creativity and a spark (however dim) of brightness on an overall dark record.
Ratatat-produced third single "Pursuit Of Happiness", featuring vocals by MGMT and, though not the first two collaborators one would think of to work with an emerging rap artist, together they provide a solid performance and another album savior.
Stepping out of his comfort zone on this track, Cudi faces his unnamed demons and asks profound questions while a space-age soundscape swallows the track before MGMT burst in on the chorus. Pure genius.
Pursuit Of Happiness
Kid Cudi may have been on a pursuit of happiness while recording this album, but besides three exciting singles, Man on the Moon’s a total drag. Cudi proved he could have fun on his debut singles and mix tape, it’s a shame he turned around and delivered this hour long snooze-fest.
Even Common holds back the yawns during his narrative, which comes across as contrived, gimmicky and completely useless. “This is the story of a man who not only believed in himself but in his dreams too,” Common tells listeners in the beginning, “This is the story of the man on the moon” – yeah, OK.
Note to musicians – let narrative go the way of cassettes and 8-tracks – it has no place on a music album. Not only does narrative break up the disc unnecessarily, when only one track is downloaded, no one wants to listen to a story taken out of context.
Download the singles “Day ‘n’ Nite”, “Make Her Say” and “Pursuit Of Happiness” and hope that Kid Cudi gets therapy or at least some better weed before he sets out to make another full length album.
Kid Cudi’s Man On The Moon: The End Of Day is available on CD and at all digital outlets.
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