Kid Cudi, the Cleveland rapper and the protege to Kanye West, has broken through the rap industry mold as a rapper with a new style. He breaks away from the hip hop status quo ranging from gangs, women, violence, and drugs, as he gives a more calm and emo-style with his debut album, “Man on the Moon: The End of Day.” After reaching the Billboard top 100 last spring, Cudi is looking to gain a larger fan-base than he already has.
The rapper, who first kicked off his career with his mixtape, “Dat Kid From Cleveland,” has been featured in and collaborated with Kanye West in his 2008 album, “808’s & Heartbreak” in the song “Welcome to Heartbreak,” “Heartless,” and “Paranoid.”
The new album features his hit singles “Day N’ Nite” and “Make Her Say” while advertising rappers Kanye West and Common, and also being assisted by electro groups MGMT and Ratatat. Kid Cudi has really broken ground in the rap industry over the past few months and is getting a lot of attention from hip-hop fans through the internet, rappers like Kanye West, and his most recent small tour with Asher Roth.
Cudi sings and he raps, which has been a trend lately in the rap industry with Lil Wayne coming out with his rock album “Rebirth” and Kanye West’s “808s.” His emo-style lyrics and catchy chorus really draw you into the songs such as “Man everybody wanna be a critic, I have my life and I will live it” from his song “CuDi Zone.”
The album is a story of Kid Cudi’s troubles as seen in his songs “Alive” and “Solo Dolo,” which are both subtitled “Nightmare” as they describe his real life troubles. They are very confusing, but intriguing, allowing fans to dig deep into his lyrics and figure out what is going on. Rapper Common narrates the CD like a story and the album is set up like a play with five acts, four songs in each act.
In the end, the trippy beats and very perplexing lyrics leave hip-hop lovers hazy and subdued. We get to know that Kid Cudi’s mind is cloudy with confusion, but he helps people cope with the struggle of reality with music as a drug.
Cudi goes for detail, having very well-crafted raps and putting in lots of content into the catchy beats . For example in the song “Pursuit of Happiness,” Cudi says,”You don’t really know about the trials of tomorrow, rather lay awake in the bed full of sorrow.”
In the song “Soundtrack 2 My Life” Cudi talks about his father’s death, his drug use, issues and emotions in his life. Cudi writes dense verses, which shame the latest cheap, mechanical, and repetitive beats of Soulja-Boy-era hip-hop.
Look forward to Cudi this year as he should make a big impact on the music charts with the new album as he did last spring. Cudi has been crafted into a star by one of the greatest rappers alive, Kanye West, which should make him very popular in the upcoming future.
