Written Before Listen
Kid Cudi has been a widely acclaimed name for over a decade now. With that being said, this is a TV soundtrack to his Netflix show of the same name. With that being said, Man On The Moon 1 & 2 have always been unique albums in hip hop and are enjoyed by many who appreciate hip hop. It wasn’t until 2018 with KIDS SEE GHOSTS that I genuinely loved a Cudi album. It’s equally Kanye and Cudi don’t worry. With that being said, he is here with a new album and without further ado, let’s get into it.
Production
Nearly every single track except for like 2 or 3 is produced by Kid Cudi and Dot Da Genius. Most of these beats are the psychedelic blend of pop, rap, and r&b we expect from Cudi and it’s pretty entertaining at points but some just sound kind of bland. First off, the beats for “Willing To Trust” and “Living My Truth” are classic Cudi with drum breaks and pop-centric chords. “Do What I Want” is produced by Take A Daytrip and it shows. It’s a very analog-centered pop beat and Cudi rides over it. “Can’t Believe It” is a nocturnal trap banger with an eerie melody and I will say, it is interesting to hear Cudi over a beat like this. Other than that though, these beats are rather predictable or bad. “New Mode” is the opening track but it just sounds like a NAV song. “Ignite The Love” sounds over-produced and Cudi doesn’t do it justice. The beat for “In Love” is also pretty unoriginal as it just sounds like an Illangelo beat done wrong. The bonus track “Burrow” is probably my least favorite track on the album because of how forced the crossover sounds. With that being said, There are some good beats, some predictable, and some bad ones.
Features
There are only a couple of features on this album but all of them play somewhat of a pivotal role. There are two Ty Dolla $ign features. The first one is really good and fits well, but the second one does absolutely nothing to an already underwhelming song. We also have 2 Don Toliver features as he fumbles both of them. There is also a 2 Chainz feature and he does pretty good over the beat, but I think Cudi could’ve chosen someone better to feature on that beat. With that being said, there is one song with a feature where it's necessary and done well.
Concept
Let’s just say I have no problem with television soundtracks in general. Numerous acclaimed musicians have done music for television, and with that, Cudi has made the show the concept. I get it and he does pretty well with some of these songs, but with this, some songs don’t fit into an album format, and some songs are trying to be songs. That’s why when artists do something like this, it can come out pretty bad. With Kid Cudi, some great songs come from this but if it seems too devoted to the show for it to be enjoyed on its own.
Vocal Performance
Kid Cudi has a pretty iconic vocal performance. His hums have saved lives. With that being said, he has his cliches that aren’t my cup of tea. The opening track “New Mode” has a lot of them. The whiny and yelly vocal delivery was never my preference and he continues to do it. He does it again on “In Love” too. Hell, on “Do What I Want”, and “Can’t Believe It”, he recycles past flows I’ve heard him do a million times. That leads me to my main gripe, we’ve heard Kid Cudi do this before. If I want to hear this music, I can probably just listen to his first two records.
Favorite Tracks
As I said, there are some really good tracks on here. I enjoyed “Do What I Want” and thought it had a lot of bounce. “Willing To Trust” and “Living My Truth” I like for similar reasons. Both have very unique drum choices and great instrument choices. The other tracks on the album are rather mediocre or just plain bad. Yeah, This album is an album filled with the cliches of Kid Cudi, which to some isn’t bad, but for me. It’s very hit or miss.
Verdict
So, I know Kid Cudi wasn’t trying to make an album for the sake of making an album, but this is just how it goes. I’m not here to review the show, I’m here to review the group of music that Kid Cudi has brought all of us. I will say that there are some good songs, but the collection of work is not something that I would consider a highlight of Cudi’s musical endeavor. I’m glad he brought some good songs to this album, but as a whole, it’s just not a strong record in the Cudi catalog.