Kid Cudi burst onto the Internet in 2008 with the release of his mind-blowing mixtape A Kid Called Cudi. At a time when the Internet was saturated with a litany of mediocre self-released mixtapes, Kid Cudi stood out.
His 2009 debut full-length release, Man on the Moon: The End of the Day, was highly anticipated, but largely ended up flopping. Despite a few good songs (“Simple As,” “Pursuit of Happiness,” and the infectious “Make Her Say”) the album was largely a disappointment.
So where does his latest Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager fit? Firmly in-between his strong debut mixtape and his weak debut album. This time around, Cudi is able to pull us into his wallowing and drug-talk.
It’s more interesting, his song-writing is better and the beats are more infectious. The album moves along with momentum that MOTM lacked, and songs like “All Along,” “Erase Me” and “Trapped in My Mind” are definitely great additions to his catalogue.
Despite his great start, Cudi’s fans are going to have to be patient. His full-lengths just aren’t quite there yet.
Andy Williams