Bonus Post #7

Ugh. Fine.

My Gut Reaction: KiD CuDi - Man On The Moon II: The Legend Of Mr. Rager (November 9, 2010)

My exercise in self-hatred continues today with my review for the second and most recent album in Scott Mescudi's catalog, the awkwardly titled Man On The Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager.  It was released a year after his debut, and it found our host in a much more successful position, thanks to the massive sales of Man On The Moon: The End of Day, his endorsement deals, and his acting gig on HBO.

KiD CuDi will always be a divisive figure in our chosen genre, I've decided, and that will remain true as long as he chooses to remain in our genre, which probably won't be for much longer: shortly after completing this project, he formed a rock band, 2 Be Continuum (formerly Wizard), and announced plans to essentially stop rapping without ever really saying that he would stop rapping (indeed, Man On The Moon III is apparently still in the works.  Yippee!).

This is an awful lot of work from a guy who declared that he was ready to retire right before his debut ever hit store shelves.  Then again, that could have easily been a publicity stunt intended for his audience to snatch up every copy of Man On The Moon: The End of Day as soon as possible, so as to help convince today's host to not give up so easily.  That's how I choose to see KiD CuDi: as a cold, calculating dick who would probably be a nice guy in real life (in the way that a lot of stoners are decent-enough guys) but an asshole to actually work with.  

Maybe that's just me.

Speaking of cold and calculating, Man On The Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager, Mescudi's sophomore album, follows a similar five-act structure as his debut, as the audience is supposed to pretend that this project is a loosely-formed concept album that has no linear storyline but wants you to think it does, lest you believe it to be yet another random collection of songs that every other artist unleashes annually.  While it hasn't sold as well as its predecessor, it has still managed to move more than four hundred thousand units, which in 2011 measurements means that Scott Mescudi has sold eighty-seven million copies.

ACT I: THE WORLD I AM RULING

1. SCOTT MESCUDI VS. THE WORLD (FEAT. CEE-LO GREEN)

I wasn't a fan of the movie Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World. I usually love anything director Edgar Wright does, and he took Bryan Lee O'Malley's original graphic novel to many glorious visual heights, but my issue was with the main character: Scott Pilgrim simply came off as a homicidal dick who abused his girlfriend and mistreated everyone in his band, all in the quest for an allegedly greener pussy pasture. I found it extremely hard to root for him when he acted like such a singularly-minded douchebag. So of course CuDi chose that story to identify with, as he oftentimes comes across as a dick who is extraordinarily difficult to root for. Even with The Voice's Cee-Lo Green in tow on hook duty, Scott fails to so anything on this opening track that makes me give even one iota of a fuck. (Side note: my dislike of the film has nothing to do with the actors involved, although, completely unrelated, I've always thought that Jason Schwartzman was the type of guy who would be an asshole in real life. Prove me wrong, Max Fischer. Still love Rushmore, though.)

2. REVOFEV

I enjoyed Plain Pat and Mike Dean's funky, dusty beat at first, before I realized that it never deviates from its original four measures for the entire duration of the track, so now I'm just frustrated. CuDi delivers the same four bars over and over again, no like bearing any relation to the last, calling for a revolution that isn't ever explained. (“REVOFEV” stands for “Revolution of Evolution”, which was the original name for this sophomore project.) Maybe CuDi actually has a point, I don't know, but when listening to a song, it's impossible to hear what the artist is fucking thinking in their mind. You know, 'Ye is even more pretentious than KiD CuDi, but at least he makes interesting music most of the time. Do not pass “Go”, do not collect $200.

ACT II: A STRONGER TRIP

3. DON'T PLAY THIS SONG (FEAT. MARY J. BLIGE)

Having failed to ignite a revolution on the last track, CuDi angrily lashes out at the listener, demanding that they not listen to this song. Okay, I'm just kidding: this song is full of much more bullshit than just that. Scott attempts to justify his depression (which he still suffers from even with his endorsement money and HBO paychecks) and tells people that their advice isn't helpful in the least bit. Somehow he even roped Mary J. Blige into this bizarre opposite world, one where people who care about their loved ones stand idly by while they destroy themselves from the inside out. Actually, that last sentence is deeper than this song fucking deserves. If this is how CuDi allegedly sounds when he's not on drugs, then I would advise him to get back in touch with his dealer immediately.

4. WE AITE (WAKE YOUR MIND UP)

This isn't really a song, and it's too long to be an interlude. Just what the fuck was this supposed to be? Aside from a bathroom break, obviously.

5. MARIJUANA

Judging from the song titles on Man On The Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager, “Marijuana” is the first of two separate odes to the sticky icky, and although it isn't all that great, this is the first song on the project where CuDi hasn't entirely annoyed me. Most of the credit for the “success” of this song goes to the beat (co-produced by CuDi), which supplies our host with a fairly interesting musical backdrop that you don't have to be high to enjoy. It still sounds as subdued and muted as all of the other beats on here thus far, but there seems to be more heart on here. CuDi's singing voice is what it is, but considering he was probably baked when he recorded this shit, I'll let the fact that he's singing to his bag of weed as though it were his lover slide.

6. MOJO SO DOPE

This is your average “we live this shit”-type rap song, the kind where the artist tries to prove to the audience that the lifestyle they represent on wax mirrors what they actually do on a day-to-day basis. (I'm not sure what CuDi is trying to prove, exactly: other than being mildly famous and having a show on HBO, his day-to-day probably lines up with what most of you two do all the time, in that he likes to smoke, drink, and fuck.) The hook on here is pretty fucking stupid, too. But here's the conflicting part of my review: I actually liked this song. Emile's instrumental sounded dark and melodic, CuDi's verses were decent enough, and that fucking stupid hook I mentioned earlier? Extremely fun to repeat out loud. Sue me.

ACT III: PARTY ON

7. ASHIN' KUSHER

This would be the other ode to Mary Jane, and not a song clearly dedicated to the new star of Two and a Half Men. This track was actually released to a single to radio: I'm not sure why, as it isn't very good. Chuck Inglish (see, I told you The Cool Kids keep popping up on the site) lends an instrumental which is a repetitive bore, and CuDi never seems to know exactly what to do with it. He resorts to typical rapper braggadocio, which isn't a crime, but there wasn't anything about this beat that would naturally lend itself to such bombast. Maybe while he's walking around zonin', CuDi should try to write a better goddamn song.

8. ERASE ME (FEAT. KANYE WEST)

After listening to “Erase Me”, CuDi's impersonation of a Weezer song from the era of The Blue Album, I'm not surprised that he's more interested in rock music than he is hip hop at the moment. Is it possible for a song to sound both technically proficient and lazy as fuck? Because that's what Scott manages to pull off on here: his flat singing voice isn't awful, but there is no actual emotion to be found in his voice, and sounding apathetic doesn't work if you're longing for a lost love. Rivers Cuomo this dude is not. Then again, Rivers Cuomo probably couldn't score a random cameo from CuDi's boss Kanye West, but given 'Ye's terrible contribution (which ends on a joke about shit), why would he even want that? Meh.

9. WILD'N CUZ I'M YOUNG

I think this might have been a single, too, which makes sense, since the ridiculous hook shares similarities to, oddly, Cali Swag District's “Teach me How To Dougie”. Beat-wise, Plain Pat and Emile's work is simple enough to sound pleasant, but you wouldn't want to play it on an endless loop or anything. Lyrically, CuDi won't ever be a beast behind the mic: the fact that he's apparently sic of hip hop and has formed a rock group instead pretty much confirms that he won't be practicing his bars anytime soon. But he doesn't sound bad on here, just disaffected. A word to the wise: there is a difference between actually expressing the pain you're in and just saying variations on the phrase, “you don't know my pain”, over and over again. True fact.

10. THE MOOD

This isn't much of a rap song, but our host does rap on it, so there's that. The beat, from Emile and No I.D., worked well for me, thanks to its claustrophobic melody and the creepy-as-fuck sampled laughter. “The Mood” is the very first time I've heard something from KiD CuDi that could potentially justify why Kanye West has so much goddamn faith in him: this track is interesting in a way that the rest of his catalog could never be. I don't want to hear an album full of “The Mood” clones, but this darker excursion into his state of mind clicks, and that's all that should matter.

ACT IV: THE TRANSFORMATION

11. MANIAC (FEAT. CAGE & ST. VINCENT)

Singer-songwriter St. Vincent earns the prize for most unexpected guest star on what is still ostensibly a hip hop album, although, for all the praise this collaboration received, she barely registers: her contribution amounts to little more than a vocal sample taken from her “The Strangers”. I was initially intrigued by underground stalwart Cage's guest appearance when I first read about this track, because the only mainstream artist (although not so much so at the time, granted) to have ever acknowledged his existence was fellow white rapper Eminem, and they fucking hated each other (back in the day, they were two white boys in a predominantly African-American culture, and there could be only one), but all of that curiosity subsided when I actually listened to the song, which isn't nearly as dark and psychopathic as either CuDi or Cage had hoped. The beat was unorthodox, yes, but that doesn't mean that it was any good. I may still watch the Shia LeBeouf-directed video whenever it actually drops, though. At least the once, anyway: they're promising a horror movie, and I like horror movies, so we'll see.

12. MR. RAGER

Oh God, this album is still on? Shit. CuDI devotes yet another track to one of his aliases (see: Man On The Moon: The End of Day's “Mr. Solo Dolo”), choosing to sing the shit out of his words over this beat, which actually sounds pretty good. Our host's vocals pair up with the instrumental pretty well, so even though the man is talking about less than nothing on here (CuDi hasn't yet mastered the concept of sounding “deep”), the song is at least entertaining enough to not immediately skip.

13. THESE WORRIES (FEAT. MARY J. BLIGE)

CuDi drags Mary J. Blige out of the box he's keeping her in to embarrass her for a second time on Man On The Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager, although at least this time she seems to channel actual emotion, as opposed to telling people to not play the fucking song. It's become increasingly harder for me to listen to Scott's whining about his “worries” and proclamations of being “deep” without donning a blank sarcastic stare. Am I alone in this? Am I the only guy who sees no difference between KiD CuDi's “artistry” and his overall pretentious attitude? Anyone? Bueller?

14. THE END (FEAT. GLC, CHIP THA RIPPER, & NIKKI WRAY)

Because this song contains some actual rapping over a dope Blended Babies (gotta love that name) instrumental, I was convinced that my iPod had suddenly switched to an entirely different playlist. But no, this is actually CuDi's song, a posse cut featuring his boy Chip Tha Ripper and one of Kanye West's oldest protégées GLC, who really deserves to get more work, since he sounds phenomenal on here. Chip even sounds really good. “The End” takes its inevitable dive when Scott decides to contribute a wack-as-fuck verse, which simply proves that his rock star leanings may be a good idea if it promises to keep him the hell away from other rappers. Also, bizarro guest star Nicole Nikki Wray (bizarro because of her connection to Ski Beatz's camp) lends a hook that sounds just fucking obnoxious. But at least the beat and the other guest stars aced this exam.

ACT V: YOU LIVE & YOU LEARN

15. ALL ALONG

I was kind of hoping that this entire experience had been a dream all along, and that I'm just somehow writing in my sleep, but no, KiD CuDi's emo horseshit on here is all to real. Seriously, motherfucker, you've lucked out: you get to write and record music for a living. You don't need to have a real job. You should fucking appreciate that shit, because all it's going to take is everyone losing interest in you, and then this will all end. You can at least sound like you're enjoying yourself a little bit.

16. GHOST!

Scott gets his Andre 3000 on over a Emile / Ken Lewis / No I.D. instrumental that I'm fairly certain would have accommodated a guest appearance from Ice Cold himself had he not flatly denied CuDi's request to work together. (That move actually makes me like Andre Benjamin even more.) The Freak Scene sample that plays throughout sounds alright at first, but it grates on your subconscious after a while, and our host's singing doesn't help matters any. Everyone wanders through life feeling invisible at some point, Cudi: most of us just don't write bullshit songs about it.

17. TRAPPED IN MY MIND

(In the singing voice of Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons): “I am deep / Much deeper than you / Hibbert!”

THE LAST WORD: I've never wanted to shoot myself in the face after listening to an album before. And I still don't: not only would that be an indicator that I was taking music far too seriously (it's intended for entertainment purposes only, people! Entertainment!), it would also give KiD CuDi far too much credit for producing what he believes to be “art”. Man On The Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager is a joyless creation that only seems to exist because Scott Mescudi hates you and everything you stand for. Yeah, you, with the douchey hair and the smile on your face as though you're happy to be alive and shit. There is even less to like on Man On The Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager than there was on his debut, and that's saying a lot. CuDi seems to think that the hip hop audience gives a fuck about his pain, but the problem is that he's so enigmatic and myopic that he never manages to ever tell the audience exactly what it is that bothers him: this makes it extraordinarily challenging for any listener to relate. It's not the depression that bothers me: I listen to sad bastard music all the goddamn time. (Have you ever really listened to the lyrics on most New Wave songs?) But Scott's assholic tendencies detract from the overall effect presented on Man On The Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager, which is otherwise a slickly-produced pop album that will never actually become popular, with a couple of tracks that sound decent enough to warrant paying closer attention. Just to the songs, though: unless KiD CuDi really wows me with his rock band, it's virtually impossible for me to picture myself still giving half a shit.

-Max

RELATED POSTS:

Catch up with KiD CuDi by clicking here.

My Gut Reaction: KiD CuDi - Man On The Moon: The End of Day (September 15, 2009)

In a Reader Review from over a year ago, I expressed my indifference toward Scott Mescudi, a musician and actor who goes by the stage name KiD CuDi.  In a very short period of time, this Cleveland, Ohio-born artist has gained a lot of critical respect in our chosen genre: his mixtape, A Kid Named Cudi, even earned him a place in Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music collective, a group of artists with varying degrees of skill who all benefit from their position under the wing of one of the hottest producer-slash-rappers in the industry.

The reason I could give a fuck about CuDi's success lied in his musical output, which for some reason I believed to consist solely of songs on which he whined about how his good fortune is holding him back and how he wishes his life was the way it was before, back when he was poor and getting fired from all of his day jobs thanks to his need to write rhymes and the marijuana habit that plays an important role in his life.  The title of his debut on Universal Motown, Man On The Moon: The End of Day, didn't help me think otherwise, and the fact that he broke his tracklisting up into five separate parts only proved that the man might have been taking this much more seriously than he should.

So I avoided the project like the virus I believed it to be back in 2009, lest I end up like Gwyneth Paltrow in Contagion.   But a funny think happened since Man On The Moon: The End of Day dropped: CuDi's life just kept getting better.  Scott ended up selling over five hundred thousand units of his debut, and it earned multiple Grammy nominations, which proves that someone in the industry was either paying attention or that they looked at hos KiD CuDi formatted his stage name and thought he was "cool", "edgy", and "hip".  Mescudi also scored a plum role in the HBO series How To Make It In America.  Finally, as his career was jump-started by his work behind the scenes on Kanye's 808's & Heartbreak, it makes sense that he also played a huge role in the creation of Yeezy's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.  

That last sentence is the reason why I decided that now would be a good time to look up CuDi's discography.  (Well, not entirely: one of the tracks on the actual album is what really convinced me.  I'll let you know which one it was when we get to it.)  So I'm warning you too right now: today's post will be for Man On The Moon: The End of Day, and in two days, I'm running a write-up for the sequel, so if you're still on the fence about Scott Mescudi, hopefully my writings will help you decide whether he's worth the effort.  And if you flat-out hate the guy, maybe the comments section will at least be kind of funny.

Either way...

ACT I: THE END OF DAY

1. IN MY DREAMS (CUDDER ANTHEM)

The first track on any album is supposed to give the listener an idea of what they're about to subject themselves to. CuDi uses this idea as an excuse to warble some shit about how his dreams are awesome and how the verse he sings on here is “perfect” (it isn't). The final minute is taken up by Common, who narrates the project, turning Man on the Moon: The End of Day into one of those dreaded hip hop concept albums. Emile's music actually sounded alright, as introductory songs go, but Scott is already taking this project far more seriously than something entitled Man on the Moon: The End of Day should be. This doesn't bode well for me.

2. SOUNDTRACK 2 MY LIFE

Two tracks in, you realize that Scott isn't very interested in how hip hop songs sound today: he's too busy trying to craft his own hybrid to pay attention to anybody else. With the help of producers Emile and No I.D., he laces this beat with the first actual rhymes of Man on the Moon: The End of Day, but they ring hollow, as he is asking the audience for some understanding, telling us that he has “issues that nobody can see” and then only really listing one likely cause (the passing of his father) before quickly turning to his never-ending supply of “pussy and Cali weed”. The problem is that, at this point, CuDi hasn't yet earned the trust of the listener: I certainly didn't give a fuck that he has “issues”, nor will most of you two. It doesn't help that KiD CuDi has somehow earned a fair amount of success in his short career, selling tons of records, earning critical acclaim, and landing a starring role on an HBO show. Still feeling sorry for him, folks? Maybe if he stops sounding like a guy who is doing his best impersonation of Drake as a stoner, we'll talk.

3. SIMPLE AS...

Mescudi switches gears and delivers a track that is actually pretty fucking good. The Plain Pat-slash-No I.D. instrumental is as simple as the title helpfully indicates, but it helps alleviate the pain that occurs when the vocal samples (taken from OMD's “ABC (Auto-Industry)”) that repeat the phrases “A,B,C” and “1,2,3” start to annoy the shit out of you. CuDi delivers two quick verses that show the same level of promise that 'Ye must have heard when he signed the motherfucker: electing not to gaze into his navel for once, Scott sticks with his stoner braggadocio act, and it works. Having Common come in at the end to help further the story of Man on the Moon: The End of Day along kind of fucks everything up, but you can always skip to the next track when you get to the final twenty seconds.

ACT II: RISE OF THE NIGHT TERRORS

4. SOLO DOLO (NIGHTMARE)

Act II kicks off with a creepy Emile composition, with Scott providing vocals that fail to sound nightmarish (during the chorus, he actually sounds to me like Puff Daddy whenever he tries to sing, so that adds to the unintentional hilarity therein). This isn't a rap song, so it can't be rated as one, nor is it a straight R&B track. Mescudi seems to be more focused on creating entirely new genres of music than he is filling said new genres with representative tracks that can hold up to the test of time. Emile's beat is unnerving, and I mean that as a compliment, but Mr. Solo Dolo does it no favors. Moving on...

5. HEART OF A LION (KID CUDI THEME MUSIC)

Somehow Scott Mescudi is a big enough artist to warrant both an “anthem” (the first song on the album) and his own “theme music” (this track). I'm hoping he has the balls to include a “reprise” on here, too. This song was merely alright, nothing to write home about (nor was there much to write about on a blog such as this one, hence all of this filler), but I found the way the hook, after getting all of that “heart of a lion” crap out of the way, devolved into a high school debate, with the left and right speakers shouting their “No!”s and “Yeah!”s back and forth, kind of amusing, in a “this is getting in the way of my musical enjoyment”-kind of way.

6. MY WORLD (FEAT. BILLY CRAVENS)

CuDi lays out his plans for world domination on a song that was actually pretty good, although guest star Billy Cravens isn't given much to do except for sing the same hook over and over again with no deviation to speak of. Although he has come up pretty quickly in the rap game, Scott did actually have to work hard early on, recording at night while getting fired from his multiple day jobs. (He says that he “damn near hated all of” his bosses, a sentiment that may help him find his fanbase, much like Kanye's stories of stealing money from the cash register at The Gap on his “Spaceship” did.) The topic has been done to death before, but it is nice to see that Mescudi has an endgame in mind.

ACT III: TAKING A TRIP

7. DAY N NITE (NIGHTMARE)

CuDi's breakthrough single kicks off Act III, and it sounds just as slight as I remember: Mescudi rhymes (in the third person, for that added sprinkle of pretension) as a “lonely stoner” who is searching for his salvation. Or something. This song became a hit not because of its minimalist brilliance (The Dot da Genius beat is alright, but CuDi's performance is meh at best) and not because it had been in circulation for seemingly years before the hip hop audience finally found it (as it was also featured on the A Kid Named Cudi mixtape). No, “Day N Nite” became a sizable hit because the Crookers remix of the song took over the clubs. It turns out that CuDi's barely-there rhymes are a perfect fit for the dance club environment, where all of the drinking and drug use causes your ability to recall most lyrics to malfunction, but you can shout along to what are essentially chants dressed up as bars. My local Top 40 radio station even added the Crookers remix (which has a much bigger sound than the album version) into its regular rotation, referring to it simply as “Day N Nite” and not as a remix off any sort. That's all anybody needs to know about this track's popularity: even radio deejays thought the remix was the real product.

8. SKY MIGHT FALL

Working on a KiD CuDi album must be a cathartic release for most producers, as they are able to get lost within their creative whims, secure in the knowledge that CuDi might just follow them every step of the way. At least, I'm fairly sure that's how Kanye West (credited as co-producer on here, alongside Jeff Bhasker and CuDi himself) feels: I highly doubt Consequence was as open to this type of musical meandering before he loudly defected. Anyway, those tendencies don't work in CuDi's favor on “Sky Might Fall”: the lo-fi beat sounds excellent, but he loses the plot, brushing off any potential catastrophe with a dismissive “but I'm not worried”, which stays in line with his “lonely stoner” persona, but what the audience wants to hear is an artist who gives at least a little bit of a fuck, and reacts accordingly. Sigh.

9. ENTER GALACTIC (LOVE CONNECTION PART I)

Probably one of the worst love raps I've had the displeasure of coming across during my tenure on the blog. Matt Firedman (of ILLFONICS) provides a instrumental that aims squarely for the clubs, but CuDi's lines are so ridiculously insincere that he sounds like he's secretly plotting to murder you, just so he can collect the life insurance money and run away with his mistress. From a story perspective, it's good to see that Scott isn't unhappy one hundred percent of the time and that he's still willing to put himself out there and risk getting hurt in the hope that he finds his true love. (Common basically says as much during his narration at the end.) But from a musical standpoint, this shit sucks.

ACT IV: STUCK

10. ALIVE (NIGHTMARE) (FEAT. RATATAT)

As if we needed any more hints, CuDi pairs up with electronic duo Ratatat in an attempt to prove that Man on the Moon: The End of Day isn't your typical rap album: instead, it's an album that happens to feature some rapping. The music (provided by the guests) is repetitive, but it fits into the project's sound rather nicely, so the reason “Alive” is D.O.A. is due solely to Mescudi, whose selection of style over substance turns this into what he thinks a song should sound like instead of actually expressing a single unfiltered emotion. There's nothing genuine about “Alive”, and now that I think about it, that same criticism could be lobbed at most of the songs on Man on the Moon: The End of Day. Which is just sad.

11. CUDI ZONE

I couldn't get into this track, either. CuDi sticks with straight spitting, which suits the Emile beat just fine, but his chorus is so fucking cheesy that it's nearly impossible to ever like this song. One wishes that Mescudi would stop taking things so goddamn seriously and embrace the fact that he gets to do something as inherently ridiculous as recording music (and acting) for a living, and adjust his worldview accordingly: had he had a bit more fun with this shit, it might have actually been enjoyable.

12. MAKE HER SAY (FEAT. KANYE WEST & COMMON)

The now-infamous track that repurposes a sample from a piano-heavy mix of Lady Gaga's “Pokerface”, turning it into an ode to getting your dick sucked. I once commented on my Twitter that KiD CuDi doesn't come across as an especially gifted performer: he sounds like every other fucking rapper ever, with lines such as “Fuck them other n----s 'cuz you down for her bitches / And fuck them other bitches 'cuz you down for some stickin'”, and my critique seems even more spot-on today. Kanye sounds as repulsive as ever while he talks about getting laid, but at least he's trying to be funny, and Common's appearance (with an actual verse) is so out of place that the listener can't help but smirk audibly. I realize that the original “Pokerface” is, by Gaga's own admission, all about sex, but “Make Her Say” somehow makes the exact same subject matter sound clinical and joyless. Thanks for that, Scott.

13. PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS (NIGHTMARE) (FEAT. MGMT & RATATAT)

“Pursuit of Happiness” is what ultimately convinced me to give Man on the Moon: The End of Day an actual chance (a decision I'm currently regretting, but that's neither here nor there): I caught the video on MTV (of all places) and thought, “Oh yeah, MGMT was supposed to be on that album, right?” (I was also curious as to why Drake was prominently featured in the clip when he has nothing to do with the song itself, it turns out.) This song, which is about as depressing as I imagine an actual scheduled pursuit of “happiness” would be, slows the momentum of the project down quite a bit, but the contrast works, as you feel for the “lonely stoner” and his issue with night terrors, rooting for him all the way. Thankfully, this song still worked for me within the context of Man on the Moon: The End of Day.

ACT V: A NEW BEGINNING

14. HYYERR (FEAT. CHIP THA RIPPER)

Man on the Moon: The End of Day appears to end its program with two separate odes to the stickiest of the icky. First up is the spellchecker's nightmare “Hyyerr”, a collaboration with his friend Chip Tha Ripper that manages to make both men sound generic as fuck over a poppy Crada soundscape that wouldn't sound out of place on radio playlists today. Have you ever heard rappers brag about smoking weed and had it annoy you so much that you shout at your speakers or your iPod, “Get a fucking job!"? You will after you listen to “Hyerr”, and I guarantee you that neither one of these motherfuckers will heed your well-intentioned advice.

15. UP, UP, AND AWAY (THE WAKE AND BAKE SONG)

The other weed song, also the final track of the evening, doesn't even pretend to be a rap song: CuDi finally gives in to his emo tendencies and writes yet another stoner anthem, albeit one with a much better shot at being played on college radio. I appreciate the fact that the man obviously has no interest in the cookie-cutter model of today's hip hop, but it would be nice if his shit stood out for something other than sounding fucking mediocre. This album hasn't impressed me in the least bit: all it has accomplished is making me once again question 'Ye's taste in music.

There is a deluxe version of Man on the Moon: The End of Day that includes three additional tracks, all of which were lifted directly from the A Kid Named Cudi mixtape. As I don't have that particular version, my write-up ends here.

THE LAST WORD: O-kay. Man on the Moon: The End of Day sounds just as I expected. Scott Mescudi certainly isn't much of a rapper: his skills are amateur hour at best, with his few clever bars and unique metaphors overshadowed by a delivery that betrays the absolute boredom he is feeling while presenting them. This would be just fine, mind you, if he hadn't originally classified himself as a rapper (his metamorphosis into an emo hipster douchebag came later on, mind you). So what listeners are forced to hear (well, maybe forced is the wrong word, as you could just as easily choose to ignore this shit) are some pretty decent instrumentals served with a side of pretension, an attitude which KiD CuDi has not yet earned the right to display. Man on the Moon: The End of Day has at least two bangers, which aren't essentially listening but are enjoyable nonetheless, but in order to get to them, you have to wade through some utter bullshit (narrated by Common, for fuck's sake). It's safe to say that I wasn't a fan of Man on the Moon: The End of Day. Comparisons to Kanye West's 808's & Heartbreak are inaccurate and haphazard at best: the Auto-Tune somehow allowed 'Ye to emote, while CuDi is trapped within his own depression limitations regardless of what kind of musical accompaniment he has. Pass.

SOMETHING ELSE TO TRY INSTEAD: “Memories” (David Guetta featuring KiD CuDi)

Back when Guetta's One Love was released in 2009, I dismissed this tune, but circumstance has caused me to revisit it (okay, that sounds too dramatic: it simply popped up one day when I was listening to Sirius XM), and I now love the shit out of it. Scott's minimalist approach to songwriting actually works beautifully on here, as this near-perfect marriage of performer and electronic dance beats has proven. I wholeheartedly support the idea that KiD CuDi abandon this rap shit in favor of recording club hits exclusively: as the “Day N Nite” Crookers remix has proven, he'll have no problem captivating an audience that is already intoxicated and high out of their fucking minds. And that is meant to be a compliment.

-Max

Reader Review: KiD CuDi - Man On The Moon: The End Of Day (September 15, 2009)

(Since D. Silbs mentions it in the very first sentence of his Reader Review for KiD CuDi's Man On The Moon: The End Of Day (yeah, great title, Scott), let me address it right now: I have been perfectly content to ignore the man, thanks. I just haven't been impressed enough by the man to run out and buy his album, although after reading through this, I believe a trip to the library is in order, at the very least. Anyway, I know a lot of you two have been waiting for this, so be sure you leave some comments for D. Silbs once you're finished reading.)


Since Max seems perfectly content to ignore one of the biggest names in hip hop currently (I still have no regrets), I have to come in to save the day. I'm speaking, of course, about KiD CuDi. He released some bullshit mixtape that people speak of as legendary (he's referring to A Kid Named Cudi), but frankly, it sucks. However, when I heard a few of the singles from his debut album, Man On The Moon: The End Of Day, I was intrigued, if not a bit impressed. So, I decided to pick up a copy for myself with a twenty dollar bill I found lying on the ground. I listened to it that first day three of four times straight through, and I haven't listened to it since, because I wanted to sit back and listen to it again with fresh ears so that I don't sound biased. Anyway, enough about me, let me get to the man of the hour, KiD CuDi.

Scott Mescudi was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, and everybody knows that Cleveland sucks (unless you're a member of Bone Thugs 'N Harmony and/or Drew Carey), which is probably why he doesn't feel the need to mention his hometown repeatedly like every other rapper on the fucking planet. Near the end of high school, he began rapping acapella in front of his mirror, and during his college years he hooked up with a producer by the name of Dot Da Genius, who supplied CuDi with beats to rhyme over, one of which eventually turned into the hit single "Day 'n' Night."

Anyway, remember that bullshit mixtape I mentioned earlier? It ended up in the hands of none other than Kanye West, who has some pretty shitty taste in music. (He once included Paul Wall on one of his albums. Paul motherfucking Wall.) Regardless, 'Ye felt it was legit, so he signed the KiD to his label, G.O.O.D. Music. Soon after, CuDi was featured on the all-Auto-Tune 808's & Heartbreak, introducing himself to the masses on the title track. Afterward, CuDi released his own hit single, which I already mentioned above but will discuss in more detail in a bit, and now we have the album, Man On The Moon: The End Of Day.


Let's do this.


1. IN MY DREAMS (CUDDER ANTHEM)
I guess you can call this a rap album intro, but it doesn't completely suck. I'm pretty sure CuDi is singing on here, for the duration of the entire track, which sort of pisses me off, but whatever. The beat is somewhat majestic and yet, a little sleepy, but it sets the tone for the album fairly well. That's all well and good, but then Common pops in and speaks for absolutely no reason whatsoever.


2. SOUNDTRACK 2 MY LIFE
Wow. Even though the beat is extremely simplistic, it still rocks, and CuDi rips it apart accordingly. The first few lines are some of the best you will ever hear the man spit: "I got 99 problems, and they all bitches / Wish I was Jiggaman, care free livin' / But I'm not Shawn, or that Martin Louis / I'm just that Cleveland n---a rollin' with them Brooklyn boys". You will not be disappointed with this joint.


3. SIMPLE AS...
It starts out with some freaky sample of a some voices repeating "A,B,C” and “1,2,3". Get it? As simple as A,B,C! Yeah, I didn't think it was funny or clever either. This beat is just too boring, as it consists only of drums and that annoying-ass sample (taken from, of all of the musical acts in the world, fucking Orchestral Manoeuvers In The Dark). Sure, KiD CuDi spits alright, I suppose, but I fell asleep after listening to about 30 seconds of this shit. When I woke up, Common reappeared, still failing to do anything of any substance. Pass.


4. SOLO DOLO (NIGHTMARE)
The music sounds like it was made up of some strange Asian harp, and sadly this becomes a recurring theme on the album: boring beats. The vocals on this track aren't too bad, but I don't even know what a "Solo Dolo" is supposed to be. Even if CuDi is providing some fairly introspective lyrics, that doesn't automatically make the song any good. I'll skip this one, too.


5. HEART OF A LION (KID CUDI THEME MUSIC)
This track picks up right where "Soundtrack 2 My Life" left off. CuDi still got a no-name producer for this song, but for his part, Free School provides a beat that completely pumps me up: when the instrumental goes for a bit of a walk during the chorus, I lose all control, because of how awesome this shit sounds. CuDi also raps on here rather than using that half-singing, half-rap shit he's been trying to pass off as music for the last three tracks. So, this song is definitely a winner in my book.


6. MY WORLD (FEAT BILLY CRAVEN)
This song has some of those annoying background quacks that Hova's "Run This Town" contained, so I naturally assumed this was also produced by Kanye, but the Internet repeatedly tells me otherwise (this was actually handled by Kanye's right hand man Plain Pat), so I guess I'll go with the majority. As for the song? I know its going to really surprise you all, but it's boring.


7. DAY 'N' NIGHT (NIGHTMARE)
Okay, if you haven't heard this song, you need to get out more. This song got an assload of radio airplay, but it actually deserved all of the attention it received. The Dot Da Genius beat is deep and mellow, and even though it is a bit repetitive, it still rocks. CuDi grabs the beat and fucks it hard, spitting some actual deep lines for a radio-friendly song, even though I bet he was completely baked when he recorded this. Still a dope song anyway. (Ha!) (This also got a shitload of club play, as well, thanks to the popular Crookers remix that some of you two may be more familiar with.)


8. SKY MIGHT FALL
Now this song was actually produced by Kanye West, but to be honest, you wouldn't be able to tell without checking the liner notes. There are no sped-up chipmunk soul samples or anything! The bass on this beat is pretty crazy though, and it bumps hard in your car. The chorus is pretty freaking awesome, which is another recurring trend of this album, but one that I hope continues. This was definitely a high-quality track.


9. ENTER GALACTIC (LOVE CONNECTION PART 1)
I can't tell if he's saying "intergalactic" or "enter galactic" but I will assume the latter, considering the title of the song. The beat kind of sounds like something you would hear at a coffee house with a hint of techno influence. The music sounds as if it would be a better fit for Common's talents, but hey, its a passable track.


10. ALIVE (NIGHTMARE) (FEAT RATATAT)
This was produced by Ratatat, who also help contribute some of the lyrics on this gem of a track, Ratatat. The chorus, once again, kicks serious ass, and the two emcees that appear are beasts on here. The beat is, once again, simplistic, except this time, like on "Soundtrack 2 My Life", the simplicity actually works, creating one of the better tracks on the album.


11. CUDI ZONE
The beat goes all techno in the beginning, but then it comes back down to earth and we start to hear CuDi spit some solid rhymes. The beat also wanders a little bit during the chorus, a trait I really enjoy. This song is the first one on Man On The Moon: The End Of Day with a lame ass chorus, from a lyrical standpoint anyway: "My mind sounds like wooo-oooo". Yeah, it sounds just as bad as it reads.


12. MAKE HER SAY (FEAT KANYE WEST & COMMON)
This is the song that samples Lady Gaga's “Pokerface”. KiD CuDi and Common sound very good over this ode to the ladies, but Kanye West steals the show by rhyming in such disgusting detail that I couldn't help but laugh. The only person who can out-rhyme Kanye on the topic of sex is Ghostface Killah, but Def Jam has seemed to have forgotten about that amazing man. That's an argument for another time, I guess.


13. PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS (NIGHTMARE) (FEAT MGMT & RATATAT)
Another production credit for Ratatat and another fantastic beat. The beat is extremely simple again, but in a fantastic way, which paves the way for CuDi to rhyme endlessly about drugs. In the end, he seems to overdose on weed. I'm nearly one hundred percent sure you can't really do that, no matter how hard you try and how much you smoke, but this was a fantastic song anyway.


14. HYYERR (FEAT CHIP THA RIPPER)
This is the kind of beat I was waiting the entire album to hear: heavy on the soul sample with some delicious music playing in the background. Chip tha Ripper adds a quality verse, but CuDi definitely outshines his guest. Let me say this one more time: this beat is awesome.


15. UP UP & AWAY
This beat seems a bit too celebratory. After writing an entire album about depression, drugs, women and lonely childhoods, CuDi emerges seemingly unscathed. How do you go from a shitty perspective to such a great one so quickly? Let's assume drugs until proven otherwise. As for the actual song? It isn't too bad, despite that one complaint. Oh, hello again, Common. Didn't see you there.


FINAL THOUGHTS: Well, Man On The Moon: The End Of Day is definitely better than I remembered it being, even though the first half of the disc contains some of the most boring instrumentals I have ever heard. The choruses on almost all of the songs kick ass, which is rare, and even the one song that has a shitty hook sounds awesome regardless. Even though all KiD CuDi rhymes about is how sad he is and how much weed he smokes, you have to respect the man for not just taking the easy way out and rhyming about tits.


BUY OR BURN? I had to think long and hard about this one, but at the end of the day, I think this one is worth your money. The shitty tracks on here are absolutely awful, but the great songs kick the memory of the crappy songs right out of your head. Maybe you just shouldn't upload the three really crappy songs to your computer.


BEST TRACKS : "Soundtrack 2 My Life”; "Heart Of a Lion (KiD CuDi Theme Music)"; "Day 'n' Night (Nightmare)"; "Alive"; "Make Her Say"; "Hyyer"


-D. Silbs

(Agree? Disagree? Do you love this album, or do you hate the fuck out of it? Either way, make your opinion known by commenting below.)