Kid Cudi Goes Back to the Moon

By Nick Mathews (Umass Amherst)

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November 9th marks the release of the New Kid Cudi CD, “Man on the Moon 2: The Legend of Mr. Rager,” and I guarantee you are going to be hearing its 17 new alt-Hip Hop tracks over and over again. I remember the day I first heard “Day ‘N Nite” and thought to myself, “This is going to light up every frat party I know. Well, Cudi’s new album is more of the same in the best way possible. The first single, “Erase Me” is a slow, driving hip-hop track with a guitar-0riented chorus, and it even features McLovin in the video, but more of that later.

Its hard to imagine that “Erase Me” was produced by the same guy that did Lil’ Wayne’s “Lollipop.” It’s slower, with less ear candy than the aforementioned Crunk track, and suggests a lot more class. What can be compared, however, is the anthemic tone that both songs have. Cudi’s new track is the closest thing to rock I think he’s ever created, with the chorus almost sounding Weezerish… good Weezer, not stuffty Weezer. In my opinion, this is one of the best tracks featuring Kanye since Graduation. Maybe it’s my love of the converging genres of Rock and Hip Hop, maybe it’s my love of Kanye for being an egotistical douchebag and a talented artist at the same time, but I found this track to have some real replay value.

Kudi took another page out of Kanye’s book, by making sure to feature a bunch of fantastic artists. Evidence of this can be found in the lead track, “Scott Mescudi vs. the World” which features Cee Lo Green. On a side note, Cee Lo deserves mad props (if a white kid can give mad props) for getting a James Brownesque Funk single on the Billboard Hot 100. Add in some Mary J. Blige and underground artist MC Cage, and Cudi shows that he knows how to follow up an album. Much like the first Cudi album, the majority of the tracks aren’t very reminiscent of the single. Day “N” Nite was a smash success, and “Man on the Moon” was different in every good way possible. In the same vein, “Erase Me” is a great song that isn’t rinsed, washed, or repeated once on the rest of “Man on the Moon 2.”

Track List:

Now, back to McLovin. The “Erase Me” video is awesome. Cudi isn’t an MC, he’s a rock star. The entire video evokes Hendrix on tour complete with booze, Mclovin and a healthy dose of models. I’m serious, I saw look-alike Taylor Momsen,  a look-alike Olivia Wilde and… Mclovin. I’m sure that actor has a name, but to me he will always be McLovin. In the video he plays a ridiculous looking drummer who backs Cudi’s 70’s rock group. Enter models, enter stage-show, enter Jack Daniels, exit great pop song/video. Don’t believe me? Check it out.