Kid Cudi took a while for me to adapt to, because his music was so different from everyone else. When I first heard him, I really didn’t know what to think. Within a week, I was listening to him every day.
If it weren’t for a certain Mr. Mathers or Mr. West, Cudi’s ‘Man on the Moon Part 2: The Legend of Mr. Rager’ would be the most anticipated hip-hop album of the year. But Cudi has been able to slide under the radar and that’s probably a good thing. The pressure other artists must deal with to continue or even expand on their greatness fascinates me.
For Kid Cudi, now the question becomes not about the anticipation, but rather about the legend of Mr. Cudi himself. Is he here to stay? Can he duplicate his success, while staying true to his uniqueness? Where will this sophomore effort put Kid Cudi among hip-hop’s elite? The answers are yes, yes and he is now definitely part of the conversation.
The album opens with Scott Mescudi vs. The World and it is so damn catchy thanks to Cee-Lo Green’s infectious hook. Cudi’s rhymes are elegant and he addresses his audience right away. “What up? How is everyone feeling?/ I hope you understand what you’re hearing/ Take a minute to roll up for the wondrous/ Clusterfuck of darkness and evil/ I will play the Yin and the Yang for ya/ And my jeans will be off with the little skinnies/ Ugraded, fitted into the T/ Work hard, make sure I don’t become a memory.”
A memory he won’t become, as the music continues with REVOFEV, straight to the end of the album with Trapped In My Mind, each song is part of the story, acting as chapters in a book. Can’t skip any of them, lest you disturb the genius flow.
Instant classics include Don’t Play This Song with Mary J. Blige, Marijuana, Erase Me featuring Kanye, Mr. Rager and hell I could keep going on.
The beats, the lyrics – it’s just so fresh. It’s not perfect but it’s damn close. I could recite more verses and name more songs, but there is no need. Listen to the album from beginning to end and tell me that it is not a work of art.
I can’t really compare the two artists (Kanye and Cudi) because they are so different. But as I got both albums at once, and I have anticipated both albums for quite some time now – I have no choice. My initial reaction is that I like ‘Man on the Moon 2’ a little more as a whole, though Kanye’s album may have better individual songs.
So hey, go get both and let us know what you think.
Check out our second opinion review here.
‘Man on the Moon II: The Legend Of Mr. Rager’ was released on November 9th, 2010