I'm sure life has been very enjoyable for Kid Cudi these past two years.
From playing underground shows to releasing his mixtape A Kid Named Cudi to being supported by the likes of Kanye West to being featured on 808s and Heartbreaks and the recent Jay-Z album The Blueprint 3, it seems safe to say that Kid Cudi is living his dream.
Even more so with the recent release of his debut album, Man on the Moon: The End of Day.
The album starts with a mellow track, "In My Dreams (Cudder Anthem)."
Kid Cudi sings calming vocals to ease you into the album. The track ends with an abstract narrative by fellow rapper Common. The stern narrative kills the enchanting space vibe of the track, unfortunately. Its tone makes the album seem over-the-top, though the rest of it really isn't.
Kid Cudi resumes his introspective journey as he opens up on "Soundtrack 2 My Life." Cudi showcases his flexibility as he changes gears from singing to rapping.
You can almost sense the pain in Cudi's voice as he rhymes softly, discusses his loneliness as a child, playing with his toys all by himself in his room, caring about his stressed mother and coping with the death of his father.
While one underlying theme of the album is Cudi's pain of being misunderstood, Cudi's moods shift through the album and he displays other aspects of his personality.
Cudi speaks to the ladies on "Enter Galactic," an interesting futuristic love ballad, and the track "Heart of a Lion" serves as a message to the ones still struggling in life but keeping their heads up.
It's no surprise that Kid Cudi kept his smash single "Day N Nite" on his debut album. It's the single that caught the attention of Kanye West, resulting in Cudi signing to West's G.O.O.D. music label.
The Crookers remix of "Day N Nite" is also featured on the album as a faster, techno version of the original.
Cudi's next single "Pursuit of Happiness," featuring mystic duo MGMT and the electric group Ratatat, is an uplifting track that promises to be one of the top-played tracks on the album. Note the hypnotic guitar riffs in the song, courtesy of Ratatat.
Overall, the introspective Man on the Moon definitely makes for a intriguing debut album. It's surey a mature step for a rising artist like Kid Cudi.
Subject matter aside, the album echoes the astronaut theme as each track has a unique yet interesting sound almost as if it came from another planet. For better or worse, after listening to Man on the Moon, it seems to me like Kid Cudi will be around for a while.
