Kid Cudi’s “Moon” Mixes Fear with Zeal
Posted: October 3rd, 2009 | Author: Brady | Filed under: Album Reviews, Articles About Music | Tags: kanye west, kid cudi | Comments Off
Cleveland’s Kid Cudi scored a massive crossover hit with “Day ‘N’ Nite,” a song that had every club-hopper and hipster singing about being stoned and lonely. It’s a song that personifies everything about the rapper, most importantly the fear and isolation brought about by his creativity.
Man on the Moon: The End of Day is a concept album, first and foremost. This is Cudi’s quest to shape his slippery, subjective thought life into a singular piece of art and his self-conscious bid for a unique hip-hop masterpiece.
On one hand, Cudi’s sincerity is refreshing. He is Kanye West’s protégé, and the emotional tactics are similar: front a big game, but constantly admit insecurities. Conversely, Cudi’s humility sometimes rings false. On “My World,” he details his former fear of women before sneering to them, “this will be my world. I told you so.”
Melodrama abounds. On “Heart of a Lion (Kid Cudi Theme Music),” he croons, “Hide and seek within a dream I seem to glide above my horror, though I feel I’ll never be complete inside the dark I borrow.” Someone’s been listening to 808s & Heartbreak.
Actually, Cudi helped write some of that album’s better songs, including “Heartless” and “RoboCop.” The production of 808s left critics and fans cold but in hindsight, the album transformed Auto-Tune from gimmicky tool to artistic statement. West reassured rappers they could sing.
Cudi obviously took the sentiment to heart, as he demonstrates repeatedly on Moon. His voice is a crude instrument; it sounds like Q-Tip’s nasal delivery shifted down a few octaves and zapped of its giddy.
His songs are better when kept light and airy, as with “Simple As…” and the hit, “Make Her Say.” In fact, much like Kanye West, Cudi’s best work blurs the line between pop and hip-hop, and “Day ‘N’ Nite” is proof.
Moon does not live up to Cudi’s grand vision, but in reality, how could it? It does reward the listener willing to follow more than a few rabbit trails, though. It’s a strange, charming and divisive record, making it the hip-hop Sgt. Pepper’s of 2009.
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