AWmusic

Oddly enough, when I listen to new albums from familiar artists, I become scared out of my mind. I always get the feeling the release won’t be up to par with releases before, and I’ll want to un-listen to what I just heard. For Kid Cudi, from mixtape to mixtape, I was afraid Man On The Moon: The End of Day would not have the same pure original sound as every leaked track and every mixtape song released before. This however, was not the case. Cover to cover, I intently listened to Kid Cudi’s voice relay his smooth rhythms and beat variations. My favorite part of Kid Cudi is his originality plus his frequent references to other lyrics or other people, as shown one of the first songs, “Soundtrack 2 My Life.” The album, does in fact, convey this theme, of HIS type of music to describe his life, his passions, but in a way WE can listen.

For the sake of length, I won’t describe to you every track, but the ones that hit my attention. Getting to “Heart Of A Lion,” his background story is evident once again, but the background beats are just as evident in its catchiness and its perfect fit with Kid Cudi’s vocals. I wouldn’t be surprised if “Enter Galactic” sounded just as awesome performed by Lupe Fiasco, because it definitely has some vibes from his more chill songs. When “CuDi Zone” comes around, the addition of a violin and a quick and more intense beat is captivating and rhythmic with Cudi’s voice. The next two famous songs, “Make Her Say” and “Pursuit Of Happiness” master the art of featuring just as esteemed artists, Common and Lady Gaga in the first, and MGMT and Ratatat in the second. However, I expected a more catchy tune to “Pursuit Of Happiness,” but what we have is nothing to be frowned upon. Upon the last song, “Up Up And Away,” I felt the CD come to and end, with a great satisfaction. The strong finish to end a collection of such great songs. With great pleasure however I continued along the Kid Cudi section of my iTunes with the ’09 Mix, featuring the one song I think Cudi missed when finishing his album: “Dat New New (VIKING Remix).” It’s catchy like you would not believe, remixed to perfection. In fact, I’ve never even heard the original, and I’m not planning on it.

Maybe not THE best album of this year, but my judgment could be biased from my indie rock roots. However, as for breakout artist of the year, maybe hands down I’d let Cudi take the prize. Even though his lyrics to do not possess the outright commentary such as Asher Roth’s “I danced my ass off and had this one girl completely naked,” or his personality unequilvalent to Kayne West’s conceited son of a gun nature, I think Cudi is a work of art of this time, no doubt.

Kid Cudi – Soundtrack 2 My Life
Kid Cudi – Cudi Zone
Kid Cudi – Dat New New (VIKING Remix)

Tags: album