I figure i go into the vault and do some good old fashion album reviews. Going to touch on albums or tapes from present day or the past so if there is anything you want me to speak on let me know. The first one i'm going to do is kid cudi's first album Man on The Moon: End Of Day. This is one of the first, if not the first, hip hop albums of the "new generation" that i listened to. Day n Night hooked me in and as i kept looking for other tracks off his album i ended up liking a lot of them so i eventually just downloaded the whole thing. If i were to put it into a subgenre emo rap i guess is where it would end up. Not that that's a bad thing but he does reveal who he is to us which i think is the best thing a debut album can do for an artist. If they tell us who they are from the beginning we feel more of a connection plus its quicker to see if we like or hate the artist, but by being yourself an artist can never be called fake.
0- never playing this shit again or just hitting the next button
1- if it comes on i'll let it play
2- i go out of my way to play this
1) In My Dreams (Cudder Anthem)
The first track is always important to any album because it sets the tone for what we are about to hear. This is no exception. The minute you hear the beat and Cudi speak you know 1) this album is finna be about all the shit that is is going on in his head and 2) the dude smokes a lot of weed among other substances. We are about to be taken into his dreams aka his state of mind when he is high but with that state of mind comes some real thoughts. Common ends it on some spoken word stuff that cuts the bullshit and tells you what to expect from the sober perspective. Good intro to an album 1
2) Soundtrack 2 My Life
There isn't two ways around it, this song is fucking depressing. The first verse starts off explaining exactly who he is not, not Jigga. He just a dude from Cleveland trying to make it in the world. He lived a tough life by growing up revealing he was raised by his mom which we find out later because his father died. Despite not living in the best circumstances he had role models in his mother, at least one of his older brothers, and his older sister so he had a support system. Then the hook comes in and he emo's it to the 10th degree saying he has sadness that he keeps inside of him. No one can see it because Cudi chooses not to reveal it to the world. The second verse comes in saying he's been messed up ever since his father died but by expressing this as a new artist he is hoping to inspire others who suffer from depression or whatever that they are not alone. And if you didn't get it by now he lives in a dark place, like the other side of the moon dark. Third verse comes in talking about wanting to kill himself then somehow ends up saying even if he gets all that he wants he still wouldn't be satisfied. That's is some fucked up shit but shit who knows what went through his life. 2
3) Simple As...
Right here Cudi is still dreaming and by the beat it sounds like he is still having good dreams. He knows personal dreams can be hard to explain to others so he is going to keep it as simple as possible. He knows what he does not want to be, a loser and a loner, and convinces himself that he is not through his music. If he is a celebrity not only can he gain popularity but he can inspire others like him. He knows though that stereotypes are hard to break. Parents will be reluctant to let their kids listen to Cudi simply because he is a rapper without listening to what he is saying. Also he is putting himself in a box and not being the prototypical "rapper" which may throw fans of hardcore rap by simply assuming Cudi is soft and don't feel like listening to him. Common closes it out on some more spoken word stuff saying we have been listening to Cudi's positive dreams and we are now about to hear his nightmares. So get ready for some depressing shit. 1
4) Solo Dolo
Mescudi is saying he is all alone pretty much in the world. He is not saying fuck the world but is unsure if there is anyone else out there like him and by releasing his music he will be able to find out. He also feels as though he can't do anything right and everything he tries fails. To combat this feeling he lives in his dreams, does drugs to escape reality and go into his happy place. His last verse is the essential fuck you to the haters when i was coming up verse that i guess is a must on every album. i never understood why musicians always address their haters on debut projects. It's not that people don't like them it's that people don't know about them but whatever. 0
5) Heart Of A Lion
This track is all about a plan he has to make it big. He acknowledges that he is stuck in and because he has not yet achieved success he feels as though he needs to ask for help. He fell into a trap of feeling down about himself and smoking weed which in turn turned into a cycle until he was able to keep it under control at least. Remembering words his mother told him Cudi is determined to not let anyone tell him No and comes up with a plan to work hard 25 hours a day in order to accomplish whatever goals he has set out for himself. He could be showing signs of believing in the good angel and bad angel on your shoulder concept. I thought he addresses his haters whenever he is talks to "You" but i am thinking that he is actually talking to himself and the bad angel on his shoulder. 2
6) My World feat. Billy Cravens
This is the song i finally understood what he is talking about by man on the moon. He references it a couple times in this song by saying "in my room...i mean on the moon." The moon is a metaphor for his room as to where Cudi would go to when he wanted to be by himself. No one could bother him in his room just as no one would bother him on the moon. Not only that but with his room being a place of refuge it also seems to be a dark place much like the other side of the moon which refers to the side of the soon that does not receive sunlight and is the darkest part of it. Some more depressing shit here about his failures in life, couldn't talk to girls, and never being able to hold a job in addition to talking about people who didn't believe in him and the bad angel on his shoulder. It's a good song but too depressing to listen to over and over. 0
7) Day N Night
Here's the song that propelled Cudi into the star that he is today. Despite the nice beat it's yet another depressing song. To me it's a track that talks about the cycle he goes through in a typical day. He has a lot on his mind and is constantly on the search for answers yet can never find it and always seems to get frustrated. The hook is saying that he is not comfortable during the day and like most people the real him comes out at night where there are less people to judge because less are out and about. Another reference to his drug use is when he says "free his mind at night." It makes sense seeing as he probably has no responsibilities during the night and has the time to partake in such activities. To make himself feel better he wears fresh stuff like white Nikes and smokes more weed. This in turn is the cycle he goes through every day. 2
8) Sky Might Fall
Some more depressing stuff from our star today but at least he is trying to put a positive spin on it now. He seems to have been happy at one point in his life because he is constantly trying to find it again throughout the album. Nothing in his life is going right at the moment and does not mind if the world were to end. It would surely just put an end to his life that has nothing right going for him at the moment but if the world were to not end he could follow the plan he laid out in Heart of a Lion and attempt to make something out of himself and indeed possibly finally achieve happiness which no one is sure if he has reached today. 1
9) Enter Galactic
No wonder my man is so happy on this track. It's pretty much an ode to either shrooms or weed i can't figure it out but yeah he making a love song to it. Good thing about this is girls can think song is about them while druggys can trip balls, listen to this, and do whatever it is that they do while they on their trip. He has a wack line like "I want to kiss you on the space beneath your navellette...so moist like a towelette." We'll forgive him for now but if drugs were making him come up with that stupid shit then thank god he sobered up. It's whatever though because he actually makes me feel like i'm taking an acid trip and if an artist can put me in his state of mind by what he is saying...it's good. 2
10) Alive feat. Ratatat
Song starts off right away by Cudi stating he is more alive at night than during daytime. By comparing himself to a werewolf he looks for his prey to keep him alive. His prey is happiness or whatever the fuck Cudi is looking for to not make him depressed and I sincerely hope he finds it soon because he got me wanting to kill myself. He then goes on to say again how he is a loner and just wants to be by himself while he tries to accomplish what seems like is turning out to be his life goal of finding peace within himself. Now I believe everyone is in the same situation trying to find inner peace but some people face it better than others. But the point being finding happiness is everyone's goal in some way or form. 2
11) Cudi Zone
It looks like Cudi balls are finally dropping seeing as he appears more willing to say Fuck You to his haters (the evil angel on his shoulder) and is ready to tackle his dreams. As he looks to prepare for the new stage in his life he can't go all in and doubt stays in his head. That is why he can't let go of weed. It has been his loyal friend sticking with him through tough times and Cudi isn't just going to let her go so he decides to bring her along for the ride. He looks to his dreams to imagine the life he will have when he is successful and can already see how great it will be to be finally be loved by everyone. At the same time he knows of certain pitfalls but figures once he made it that far there could be nothing worth throwing everything away for. 1
12) Make Her Say
Now i've said before that on a debut album i prefer the artist the artist to have as least amount of features as possible otherwise it defeats the purpose of introducing an artist. But i like the idea of this one with Kanye and Common. The last couple couple tracks have Cudi getting out of his nightmares and revealing his more positive dreams to us. Make Her Say samples Lady Gaga's Pokerface if any of you completely forgot about her and is Cudi's dream about the perks of being a celebrity...sex with bitches. While Cudi is talking about the girls he wants to bone kanye and common being the veterans that they are tell him the type of girls (girls because women don't subject themselves to that) he can expect to see. The older brothers are showing him the ropes and i hope they told him to always wear a rubber. Funny that kanye ended up wifing a ho but that's his business. Btw the sample is fucking annoying. 1
13) Pursuit of Happiness feat. MGMT
Two points i gotta make right off the bat. 1)No one has told me why Drake is in the video and 2) Schoolboy and Rocky absolutely killed the sample to the cover of the song. So the problem is if i hear the hook i want to hear the Q'ster's version and not Scott's but that's ok. I'll always remember who did the original. Anyways Cudi is actually telling us the stuff he goes through to pursue "happiness." Society tells us happiness is going out, partying, living life to the fullest because YOLO right. Well that shit may work for some people but people like Cudi that life just isn't for him. Trying to achieve happiness through this lane is causing more stress and a feeling of "what am i doing with my life?" Although it may be fun for a while living that life can get old pretty quick and a person needs to decide whether or not they wanna grow up. 0 no offense but the minute i hear the hook i'm switching it to Hands On The Wheel
14) Hyerr feat. Chip Tha Ripper
If you have never heard of Chip Tha Ripper (now goes by the name of King Chip) i suggest you give him a listen. He may not be everyones cup of tea but fuck it you can't say that he's trash, shout out to everyone that laced Oil Money. Now after hyping up Chip there isn't anything to this song. It's your standard weed song, no new ideas here. If you liked Chip's verse check his other shit out. 0
15) Up, Up, and Away
After depressing us for a lot of the album Cudi decides to end it on a good note. He finally woke up after a longs nights sleep, decided to wake and bake, and decides to do whatever the fuck he wants to. He reasons that he will be screwed with any choice he makes. He's going to have his haters if he keeps doing his music thing but he will disappoint the people that matter to him if he sits by and continues to do nothing with his life. Common closes it out saying we always have something to accomplish. Successful people can't just sit back and relax after accomplishing a goal. Even if they don't want it there will be another challenge waiting for them. 1
Total Rating: 53%
So looking at the rating maybe i don't like the album as much as i thought i did. I think it is a hit and miss thing with me and obviously there are a number of misses but it doesn't suck. Not a bad debut at all for the lonely stoner kid from cleveland. It definitely introduced him to us and we know what to expect in terms of where he is coming from. Obviously his content has changed with subsequent albums but it is still the same Scott Mescudi. The things i liked the most about it were the low number of features and no doubt Cudi was the star of he album. The producers didn't outshine him and Cudi rode all the beats well. He realized these beats weren't ripe for killing so he didn't go for the kill. If he tried that the album would have sounded a lot different and most likely come out worse. Thank you to the 10 people taking their time to read this. peace
Starlito- Mental Warfare
Shout out to Big Boy for putting me on to Lito. title track of the Tape he dropped last year. Seriously one of the more underrated rappers out today. He recorded the project in a castle. If that's not some Count Dracula pimp shit then i don't know what is.
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