ALBUM REVIEW
Kid Cudi-Man On The Moon:The End Of Day
I've had this album for a while, and it's one that I wanted to review for some time now. This was actually the first Hip Hop album that I went out and bought and I'm glad that i did.
I feel like the best way that I can describe this album perfectly is Stoner Hip-Hop. I don't say this because Kid Cudi is a well reported marijuana user, or or the references to substances in his songs. I say “stoner” for the fact that this album feels like you're taking a drug fueled trip. Throughout the cd, you're carried by Cudi's trance-like rapping/singing style, while much of the beats are layered to be trippy yet peaceful, even during some of the more turbulent parts. This is produced in part by both Common and Kanye West, and contrary to what some may say I don't feel that much of an overbearing presence from them, and this is coming from someone who owns multiple albums by both artists. This feels totally like Cudi's own thing, and in my opinion this is something that sets itself apart from a lot of current mainstream music, even though it uses similar techniques and sounds as his contemporaries.
This album is split up into different “acts”, so I'm going to review it that way.
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ACT I: THE END OF DAY
The first act and the album starts interestingly enough with
In My Dreams, providing a fitting intro to what you're gonna be in for. The echoing singular beat and the swelling violins in the background gives way to a narration by Common that sets up the theme and concept of the CD. Next up comes
Soundtrack 2 My Life and
Simple As..., which both are good songs in their own right and can be seen as potential singles while still being essential songs for the flow and story on the CD. The latter song ends with another narration that leads the main character of the story into the Rise of the Night Terrors.
ACT II: RISE OF THE NIGHT TERRORS
Things start getting interesting here. the first track,
Solo Dolo, reaches into the deepest depths and comes out with a desperate and pleading cry for help. You get the feeling of despair while still having something that you can sing along to, making it one of the best tracks on here. The next song,
Heart of a Lion, seems to pick itself up out of the gutter and remembers that there is something out there to fight for, but is still struggling to come out on top. The last part of the Act,
My World, takes a look inward at Cudi's determination and is a really downtempo song that may seem like it drags its feet to some, but can seem really laid back to others.
ACT III: TAKING A TRIP
This Act begins with
Day 'N' Nite, one of the best tracks and my favorite song on the CD. Technically this was on his previous mixtape
A Kid Named Cudi, but it fits so well on this album that I would be surprised if it wasn't on here. Near the end, though, it degenerates into something that denotes there's some trouble on the horizon. The next song,
Sky Might Fall, conveys this well with a feeling that you're trying to run from a great fall and it's closing in on you. Then
Enter Galactic comes in and while it still carries an almost worried feel in the back of your head, this song feels like it got distracted along the way and stopped for a second to party it up a bit. Not a bad song, but it breaks the flow a bit. From here, another narration takes you into the next act of the character becoming lost in his own world.
ACT IV: STUCK
This act opens up with
Alive, which features Ratatat and portrays a sense that you're probably on the verge of losing yourself the inner parts of your mind. After this comes
Cudi Zone, which in a way is like you're too far gone, but you're not necessarily fighting to get back. The chorus of this will have you shouting to the heavens and is a blast to sing. After this is....w…wait a minute, stop the music
*record skips*
…Alright. Sorry for the interruption, but I just want to say right now that the next track, Make Her Say, doesn't belong on here. It's not exactly a bad song, the way they use the sample from “Poker Face” is pretty good and keeps you hooked in, but the way this song is just breaks the whole flow of the album. Really, it just sounds like something Kanye West or Common wanted to do so they could slap their names onto this record a little more. To be honest I skipped over this song when I listened to the cd for this review, and it actually sounded better as a whole.
OK then, back to the rest of the CD.
Thankfully the next track,
Pursuit of Happiness, goes back to the trippiness and lays it on thick, making it one of the best songs on the album. This was the second song on here produced by Ratatat, and they really do some good here. This song is the equivalent of how you'd feel if for the last few weeks all you did was party and live it up, and now you're really paying for all of that enjoyment you had. In a way, the song sort of knows that while there should be regrets, it still says “I'll be fine, once I get it. I'll be good.”
ACT V: A NEW BEGINNING
The last two songs on the album wrap up the story for now and close out the album pretty well. The first,
Hyyerr, is something that's really laid back with the samples they use and is really soothing to listen to. Finally, the Act and subsequently the album closes out with
Up Up & Away, that's an uplifting piece of music that feels like you're flying through the clouds, away from all of the stuff that held you down...and then it sort of fizzles out with the final narration telling us that while the story is over, it's not the end of our character here.
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So there's
Man On The Moon for you, an interesting trip into Cudi's mind.
Not all is fine in Cudiland, though. This album, as much as I love it, does have it's obvious flaws. First and foremost, the lyrics can go from pretty good to alright to facepalmingly bad. I mean... he rhymes “girls” with
“girls”. Normally I wouldn't be as bothered by something like this, but for a rap album that's kind of a big problem. Another thing is how it tends to fall into cliché mainstream territory at it's worst and doesn't try to stretch out in some great points to a be more unique as much as it could.
Even so, this album is definitely something all it's own. It may take a few listens to let this grow, but once it does you'll find something that may surprise you. Still, it can fall short and feel weak at parts. You get the feeling that they really tried to do something different here, but at some points things were a little misguided. I feel that with this album, Kid Cudi shows some of his talent, but hasn't reached his full potential yet. Still, if some of the music here is any indication of the future, I think that Kid Cudi might be on the verge of something amazing in due time.
Best Tracks: Soundtrack 2 My Life, Solo Dolo, Day 'N' Nite, Pursuit of Happiness, Up Up & Away
Worst Tracks: Make Her Say
So, in short, at it's worst this would be a 5-6, but at it's best, it's a 9, so I'm going to give my final rating as...
Final Verdict:
8/10
I highly recommend it, even for people who aren't fans of Hip Hop or mainstream music to take the trip down the rabbit hole, and see what awaits you.
and here's some of the album's songs to help you along the way
YouTube - Kid Cudi - Day 'N' Nite
YouTube - Kid Cudi - Pursuit Of Happiness ft. MGMT
YouTube - Kid CuDi CuDi Zone
YouTube - Kid Cudi - Up, Up & Away (The Wake & Bake Song) - 'Man on the Moon: The End of Day' 2009