Look who’s bringing artsy-fartsy to the streets!
Cleveland-born, Universal Motown Recording artist Scott Ramon Segring Mescudi, a.k.a. Kid Cudi, released Man on the Moon: The End of Day, great news for other upcoming free-spirit rappers looking to lay their claim to the musical universe. Kid Cudi, known for his infectious single “”Day ‘N’ Nite,”” not only executive-produced his album with Kanye West but also contributed to the art direction and its motion-picture style organization.
Moon chronicles Kid Cudi’s life as he deals with issues guys his age may experience: loneliness, girls, achieving dreams, sex, smoking (“”Hyyerr”” featuring Chip Tha Ripper is a slow jam validating getting high), identity, etc. After a slow start, Moon finally gets poppin’ near the end of Act II with the head-nod inducing “”My World”” featuring Billy Cravens.
Kid Cudi’s off-key (and off-kilter) singing style is not aggravating, and matches the psychedelic throes of the album; yet his uniquely hyper-rhythmical rap flow reminds us of his connection to hip-hop. There’s evidence of this on “”Sky Might Fall,”” “”Alive”” featuring Ratatat, “”Cudi Zone”” and “”Make Her Say”” featuring Kanye West and Common.
When he flows, he “”hop-scotches”” all over that joint with timing that’s on point. Specifically, on “”Alive”” the production is as bizarre as it is excellent, as Ratatat helps Kid Cudi concoct a galactically-jamming beat that makes you feel like freestyling about random stuff like tomatoes or something.
Kid Cudi may want to be incomparable, but if you need to box him, put him between Kanye and Andre 3000 of Outkast and sprinkle with a little Pharrell of The Neptunes. While the album incorporates usage of crazy and electronica-tinged sounds, it’s not completely groundbreaking.
However, it’s headed in a good direction that encourages hip-hop to explore varying song structure and instrumentation. Kid Cudi may believe he’s a “”man on the moon”” but with this CD, he’s helping hip-hop prepare for takeoff, trek off the beaten path and blast out of this world.
Kid Cudi
Man on the Moon
G.O.O.D./Dream On/Universal Records
