Album Review: Kid Cudi's Man on the Moon

Generally speaking, I think it is annoying when rappers pride themselves on how unique they are. Even in today's rapidly mutating rap game, most emcees fit into one of several prototypes. But after listening to the debut studio album of Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi, bka Kid Cudi, I think it is fair to say that he really is quite different. On Man on the Moon: The End of Day, the Cleveland native seldom resorts to what we have come to expect from emcees- rapper braggadocio, references to the spoils of fame (scores of women, material possessions, bottles of expensive liquor, etc), how rap music and rappers aren't as good as they used to be, and so on and so forth. Usually when hip hop isn't about the previously listed subjects, it deals with politics or love. But Cudi doesn't touch much on those topics either. No. Mostly he deals with depression and nightmares. If most rappers made albums based around such dark material, they would find themselves catering to a small niche in the underground, cornered by the likes of Definitive Jux artists. But what makes Cudi such a refreshing artist is the juxtaposition between his odd, introverted, and often melancholy content, and his pleasant tonality, sing-song flow, and overabundance of swagger. There are only a handful of hip hop artists that have the star quality to blatantly defy the norms of the mainstream and still exist within it. Kid Cudi is one of those artists.

Further solidifying his peculiarity, the album has a few interesting macro-concepts. It is divided into five parts; The End of Day, The Rise of the Night Terrors, Taking A Trip, Stuck, and A New Beginning. While MOTM has an undeniable natural flow to it, the sections aren't incredibly different from each other. So despite an A for ingenuity, the chaptering may seem a bit contrived. The album also has a narrator, Common, which I think is awesome (although in actuality it doesn't add much).
Sidenote: For some reason, Cudi is a huge Transformers fan, and wanted to get Shia Laboeuf to be the narrator. I'm glad he didn't.

In terms of the production, Man on the Moon is pretty easy on the ears. Produced in large by Emile (In My Dreams, Soundtrack 2 My Life, Solo Dolo, Cudi Zone), the album also has two tracks by Kanye (The Sky Might Fall, Poke Her Face) Free School (Heart of a Lion, Up, Up and Away), Plain Pat (Simple As, My World), and Ratatat (Alive, Pursuit of Happiness), with Dot da Genius, The Illfonics, and Crada each pitching in a beat (Day 'N' Nite, Enter Gallactic, Hyyerr, respectively). The production is strong throughout, driven mostly by re-verb-heavy kick drums, soaring synths and chopped vocal loops. None of it is particularly overwhelming, allowing Cudi the sonic spotlight.

The end product is a nearly-flawless album. I don't mean it's a bonafied classic- far from it- rather it is consistently solid, with a handful of very good songs, and a couple of gems. Cudi is honest and interesting. He has a one-of-a-kind flow that sounds a bit like Nelly's, a bit like Travis' (Gym Class Heroes) and a bit like Q-Tip's, but mostly just like his own. His song writing is good, and his singing voice is on par with Andre 3000's or Mos Def's. But he is not incredible. There are no wowing verses. His singing won't give you goosebumps. And with the restrained and mostly down-tempo production, Kid Cudi can't depend on the beats to carry him.

Here is a quick track-by-track:

Act I: The End of Day
1. In My Dreams (Cudder Anthem)- A decent, mood setting intro. Definitely gets skipped on the re-listens though.
2. Soundtrack 2 My Life- This is run-of-the-mill Cudi. A sentimental chorus, a good, spacey, Emile beat, and no-frills but confessional and approachable verses.
3. Simple As- Really cool Plain Pat beat. One of the more upbeat songs on the album, Cudi plays around well with the 'Simple As' concept and phrase.

Act II: The Rise of the Night Terrors
4. Solo Dolo- I record at Wonderful Studios, which is on the same floor of the same building as Emile's studio. One time last winter, on my way to a session, I heard this blaring in the hallway. I stood and listened for a few minutes, and imagined that this song would be a slightly above-average album track (by album track, I mean not suitable for release as a single, but good enough to enhance an album). I was right. Here, the listener starts to get a taste of how self-realizeed and proclaimed Cudi is (he certainly says his name and nicknames a lot)
5. Heart of a Lion (Kid Cudi Theme Music)- Despite a relatively unimpressive beat, I like this song a lot. Very good chorus and catch phrase. Besides, fast tempos like that on Heart of a Lion, really allow Cudi to showcase his flow and melodic delivery.
6. My World featuring Billy Cravens- Although in sync with the mood on the first two acts, this song is boring. It isn't particularly bad, but the whole depressed, self-involved, ambient feel begins to get a bit monotonous.

Act III: Taking a Trip
7. Day 'N' Nite- What is left to say about this song? It's a classic single, even generation defining. Obviously pretty sick of it by now, but s'all good, he had to put Day 'N' Nite on here.
8. The Sky Might Fall- I didn't like the mixtape version of this song, but it is steadily growing on me. With The Sky Might Fall, Kanye delivers the most sophisticated beat on MOTM. I don't love Cudi's versus, but the chorus is great and catchy, in a sort of Elvis Costello way.
9. Enter Galactic (Love Connection Part 1)- The sole love song on this fifteen track collection, Enter Galactic is very Neptunes-ish. I like the spoken-word bridge. If this album gets radio play, look for said song to be a fourth single.

Act IV: Stuck
10. Alive- Alive commences the best Act on MOTM. It is the first and lower-profile of Cudi's two collaborations with Ratatat. The verses and chorus are solid, the post-chorus (an arrangement tool Cudi consistently uses) is catchy, and the beat is vintage Ratatat; distorted guitars, soaring synths, and traditional hip hop drums.
11. Cudi Zone- I think this is my favourite song on the album. An epic amalgamation of arpeggios, orchestral arrangement, and synths, this is Emile's best beat to date. The chorus has been stuck in my head for days. And the uptempo drums provide the optimal stage for Cudi as a rapper.
12. Poke Her Face featuring Kanye West and Common- Poke Her Face doesn't really fit on this album. Whatever. Dope beat, great verses. Although Common makes me kind of uncomfortable rapping about getting head, like my dad does when he tells a dirty joke.
13. Pursuit of Happiness featuring MGMT- The first time Cudi, MGMT and Ratatat were together on one song was in 2006, in a wet-dream on Meserole St. (That's a hipster joke.) Silly shit aside, the combination of three of the "coolest" artists around does not disappoint. Ratatat laces it, Cudi sounds great, and MGMT contributes to one of the best choruses on the album.
Pursuit of Happiness featuring MGMT


Act V: A New Beginning
Hyyerr featuring Chip tha Ripper- Gosh, Cudi's spelling is abhorrent. I don't know why everything written by the Kid Cudi camp looks like its from the AIM conversation of a seventh grade girl with a C average and tons of lip gloss, but that shit bothers me. Anyway, featuring Cudi's longtime compadre and fellow Clevlander Chip tha Ripper, Hyyerr is a weeded-out homage to marijuana that reeks as much of the Cuyahoga as it does of the purps.
Up, Up, and Away- An enjoyable albeit hyper-poppy finale. The most impressive thing about this song is the prominent yet surprisingly appropriate use of the word 'whatever'.