Kid Cudi- Indicud

Kid Cudi is coming out with his new album Indicud slated for an April 23 release date but pieces fell into the right place and i came across a leaked version pushing the official release date a week earlier to April 16. I didn't even know it was coming out so soon. I just assumed he would release it over the summer but what do i know. It will be interesting to see how far Cudi has come since his A Kid Named Cudi and Man On The Moon days especially since his previous album was a rock album so i don't know what to expect on this one seeing as i don't follow the homie's career like that. He has had a daughter and quit smoking weed since he dropped his debut studio effort so hopefully he isn't depressed anymore. And Cudi also left the Good Music label, apparently on good terms, so it won't be released under Kanye's label. And i just read something where Cudi said it would be like his version of 2001 by Dre which he has said was the album that introduced him to weed but who the hell knows what that means the project will sound like since Cudi seems like the type of dude to something like that then it sounds nothing like 2001. Anyways without further ado here we go...

Ratings right here:
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

p.s i usually link the songs but since it's a leak, the links to youtube will get taken down soon so you just gotta take my word for it in the meantime.

1) The Resurrection Of Scott Mescudi
All we got going on here is some noises so he is making us listen to the album to figure out what this means. When I hear this intro i'm thinking back to that scene in Lord Of The Rings where the orcs are getting dug out of the earth and lava and all that shit is flying around. The aggressiveness of the beat is making me expect it to be a rock album but that wouldn't really make sense since it's not a resurrection so i'm going to use my common sense and project the album to be the return of Kid Cudi the lyricist but over rock beats. We'll see if the prediction ends up being true. I'll give the intro a pass

2) Unfuckwittable
I fuck with the beat but the track as a whole to me is unfuckwittable. Production sounds like it would have fit perfectly onto Man On The Moon 2 but Cudi just don't sound as depressed. Also there's been no lyrical progression since his first album. He is still spitting about how people are fake which is the basis of the whole song. Seriously every line is a synonym for that thought. And the hook is trash but he sounds so good over it i'm probably going to end up catching myself singing it in the shower the next couple of days. C'mon man we all know (or at least think) you a better lyricist then this. 1 the beat goes hard

3) Just What I Am feat King Chip aka Chip Tha Ripper
As i said before on that Man On The Moon Review i fuck with Chip Tha Ripper so i had high expectations for his verse. That being said he put a smile on my face which is exactly what i expected. He isn't going to reinvent the wheel or anything like that but he'll always throw some cartoonish visuals in there. Now most people leave the weed anthem song for the end of the album but Cudi decided to get it over with quick. That being said his hook game is trash. I know, Cudi knows, we all know he sounds good singing a hook or whatever but goddamm that doesn't mean you can just be getting lazy with it on EVERY SINGLE TRACK. I can tolerate that stuff on Alive but when you're on your fourth solo album which doesn't include a mixtape plus working with resources known as G.O.O.D. music you gotta come up with some better hooks. Its like he's letting his daughter write his hooks for him. That being said i could have kinda forgiven him if he came through with a dope verse but he didn't. He sounds more depressed now that his shrink put him on meds than he was doing illegal shit. Then he said "that man ain't wearing these leather pants." Smh. 0 not even Chip could save it

4) Young Lady feat Father John Misty
Anyone else think its not appropriate for a priest to jump on a track named "Young Lady" but whatever. This shit is mad creepy. It's making Cudi seem like a perverted stalker who's going to be getting a restraining order by the time you finish reading this sentence. He is doing one of those women uplifting songs but again, he comes off as that creepy old dude i couldn't imagine any girl bumping this plus the beat doesn't match the lyrics at all. He sounds like he went into Drake's vault and stole one of his songs. I thought there was a GOOD Music vs. YMCMB beef and now they're sharing song ideas. But Cudi isn't with Kanye no more so that explains why he could mingle with anyone he chooses, i just didn't know he fucked with Drake musically like that. 0 i feel like a pedophile after listening to this

5) King Wizard
Here is his hater anthem track. I fucking hate when artists feel the need to address their haters on every album. It's annoying. It's repetitive. It's unoriginal. Whose hate is any different than anyone else's. "Haters" come with the career. You don't want haters then don't get into music. You rich as hell Cudi and still have a career, why address the haters. This just make them hate you more. 0

6) Immortal
This is my favorite track so far. From the beats to the 2 verses to yes even the hook my head was bobbing and i was hitting them melodic notes. I looked at the track listing to see who is making the beats and i dam near fell out of my chair seeing Cudi as the producer on all but 2 of the tracks. I didn't know he gets busy behind the boards like that but then again it's not like the beats are complex or anything so that should've tipped me off. Anyways the first line of the song "spent the last month feeling bad for myself" then i said to myself here we go again. But nope Cudi actually is feeling good about himself. I don't know what it is and he doesn't know either but thank god it's some positive shit talking about how everything is starting to become clear for him and it's bringing him out of depression. Even though the hook is lazy again it's cool on this one because it sounds like he was going for an anthem sound and when you have an anthem you don't want to be over complicating things so i'm cool with the lazy hook here. 2

7) Solo Dolo pt II feat Kendrick Lamar
So this is a sequel to Solo Dolo off of his first album and it sounds nothing like the first one. For starters the production is way more upbeat which i was feeling and he has a feature on it so he isn't doing it solo this time. Maybe it means he isn't as much of a loner anymore. The feature on it is Kendrick Lamar and he has shown an ability in the past to renegade tracks he is on so Cudi needed to step his game up for this one and his flow was real tight on it. I never heard Cudi rap like this before so if anyone got any other songs where he does let me know. Well i guess he is back on drugs. I thought he was off it but old habits take him back. Who knows i'm confused as hell. Although he did his thing i do prefer Cudi with that singing shit that he normally does because i feel like that just fits him better. If he were to stick to rapping like how he did on this track i think he would just get lost in the shuffle. That being said Kendrick came in with the first hook on the album to have some oomph behind which no doubt K Dot wrote then he came in with his verse. He didn't kill it or nothing because i'm sure he didn't wanna embarrass Cudi so he stepped off the gas. Kendrick didn't bring any quotables so what can you do. 1

8) Girls feat Too Short
Goddammit Cudi your hook game is so trash. Even though it gets stuck in your head it ain't the good kind of stuck in your head. It's not "Wu Tang Clan Ain't Nuthin To Fuck Wit," it's more of a "I'm On A Mexican Radio, oohwoahoh" (shout out to Wall Of Voodoo). He needs to spend more than 30 seconds writing his hooks because that shit is actually getting worse as time goes on. That being said i have no idea how he and Oakland legend Too Short got in the studio together. It's not like people been screaming for these guys to collaborate or Cudi was making music anything close to resembling Too Short. Maybe Cudi is trying to expand his repertoire and show versatility idk, the shit just sounds weird. Cudi just doesn't portray a pimp in any way whether it be a slick talker or a straight shooter like Short Dawg. His first verse he sounds like he's at a brothel looking to choose an escort. Well whatever his second verse came in and was gone before you knew it and for sure won't be on anyone's "favorite 16" list in the near or distant future. And Too Short came in and did what Too Short does. If you under 18 you're aren't going to like his verse. If you're a Cudi fan who never heard of Too Short you probably won't like it. If you're a mother who cares about her kids you won't like it. If you a YG or Tyga fan, you'll be like "Oh so that's how it's done." Even though it's mad creepy having Too Short still rap about that shit he a legend so he can do what he wants. Imagine your uncle coming with you and you're 20 years old and he's trying to mack on girls at a college party. Kinda weird but again it's Too Short. He's the black Hugh Hefner. 0 Cudi sounds mad awkward on this and Too Short has literally thousands of verses that are the same

9) New York City Rage Fest
Seems to be an interlude but it says rage fest so i'm assuming the album will get more uptempo now. pass on the score

10) Red Eye feat Haim
First thing you guys gotta know is that this should be a Haim (rhymes with dime) song feat Cudi because only thing Cudi does is his OOHWHOOOAA thing that he does at the end of the track. I had idea who Haim is so according to their wikipedia page they are a band made up of the three Haim sisters, who knew? Props to Cudi for giving a band not too many people heard about a chance to shine and shit i might even check them out down the line so Cudi did his job. Idk who wrote the song but if it was Haim, i could see why Cudi likes them. 1

11) Mad Solar
I'm conflicted with this one right here because i'm digging the track but i feel like i've heard this a bunch of times from Cudi before. Nevertheless i'll give him the benefit of the doubt because it seems like he is getting happier. The hook game moved up to the featherweight division for this track but that's still a far way away from the heavyweights. 1

12) Beez feat RZA
Leave it to The Ruler Zig Zag Allah to have the best verse on the album so far. It was actually cool with Cudi handling the production on this one and it shows the respect Rza has for Cudi to jump on the album. When he said "i don't write songs grasshopper, i write sceneries" i just said goddam Bobby Digital. His philosophies in making music haven't changed at all. And I like Cudi's ode to Mind Playin Tricks On Me in the hook which he said was the song to inspire Day N Nite. Then Rza comes in with a second verse and comes in with another classic Rza verse. If you like his style you're going to like the track, if you don't then you won't like the track. It's vintage Rza. I don't know what cudi is doing. It's not like Rza is Haim, the man is and has been established in the game for 20 years so it's not like he needs a push. It weird that after the interlude 2 out of the 3 songs don't even have a Cudi line on it so i'm not sure if the rest of the album is just going to be him lacing beats while other guys rip it so wtf. 2 when the second best song doesn't involve the album's artist that can't be a good thing

13) Brothers feat King Chip and ASAP Rocky
Another Chip Tha Ripper sighting and even though he ended every line with either "you" or "niggas" i fucked with it. Chip is a smart motherfucker. He's listed on three different tracks on this album meaning if he only gets 1 verse per track that's 3 verses for him to showcase what he can do. 48 bars to prove yourself and so far after two verses he is setting himself up for something big. Being on this album is setting Chip up to have a big year and his appearance on Indicud is going to be his coming out party. Now i'm not the biggest fan of ASAP but i was digging his verse. He had about three different flows in one verse but wasn't saying anything until about a quarter of the way in. It's like the first couple lines were lay ups, he was just trying to get his feet wet then later on he started hitting threes and shit. I don't know why he just didn't start ripping it from the start but i guess he needs to warm up. Cudi came in and laid down his best verse of the album. Now if you guys couldn't figure it out the song was about your real homies who are with you from the start. Before you got famous, stuck with you during the fame, and will be there for you after the fame. That shit resonates with everyone and i bump this track. I think that's the first time that i like two consecutive tracks on the album. Oh and the hook is trash again btw. 2

14) Burn Baby Burn
Idk what's gotten in to Cudi but his last several tracks have been very good. I thought he was off drugs well that shit was wrong. He was saying all the times in recent years he told us he quit he was actually just trying to see what it's like too live sober. Now after a while he has gone back to using it but he isn't as depressed as before so he found a way to keep it under control it seems. I'm not one to comment on parenting but the dude does have a daughter but again, he could be the greatest dad in the world and i don't know. 2, that's 3 in a row and 4 out of 5 that i'm digging

15) Lord Of The Sad And Lonely
Ok based off the title i'm not going to like this shit. However it wasn't really what i was expecting. On Cudi's previous albums he was the one giving a voice to the loners of the world but now he is embracing. He accepts the fact that he is who he is and figures you can't hide from who you are. Cudi is still acting as the voice for these people but he is saying "look i made it being this way and you can too" so this is his inspirational joint to that demographic of his fans. I ain't mad at the track but at the same time i can't really relate to it. 1 

16) Cold Blooded
This is what i'm talking about. Cudi is hungry and he is spitting. He just venting frustrations at the people who dont realize his talents *cough Kanye cough* and saying fuck you for sleeping on me. I don't know how he and Kanye are still on good terms after he pretty much called him an idiot for not realizing what Cudi brings to the table and letting him flounder and not get the shine he deserves from the label. I'm digging the beat too even though it's not my forte. 2

17) Afterwards (Bring Yo Friend) feat Michael Bolton and King Chip
I don't know what was worse, having michael bolton on the track or making it 9 minutes long. Why is michael bolton on here, why did Cudi reach out to him? The only reason i can think that this is 9 minutes long is because he is intending this to be played at raves or something where all the people are just going to be screaming "BRING YO FRIENDS." If you're curious the title of the song also are the lyrics to the song. That's 9 minutes of my life i could have spent listening to Krit's new project. 0 waste of time, the beats switches halfway through were Cudi says "just bounce, no hands" for 5 minutes.

18) The Flight Of The Man And The Moon
After opening the album with an instrumental Cudi decides to close it with one as well. I have no idea what the symbolism was.

Final Grade: C-

I hate to compare this album to Man On The Moon I but it wasn't as enjoyable for me. This was an up and down album for me with mostly downs and only one stretch of good tracks that came consecutively and those tracks were the only reason he didn't get a grade in the D range from me. He is evolving as a person and as a producer but lyrically, i don't see it. I feel like he is actually getting worse so idk what is going on with him. We'll see what his move away from GOOD Music does to his career. In the meantime i'll give this shit another couple listens to see if i missed something but if it doesn't change me then what can i say.


Chance The Rapper- Nana