459. Kid Cudi, "Man on the Moon: The End of the Day"

 


Man, this is a super interesting record.  Sonically, it's kind of all over the place, but there are some incredibly hooky melodies (especially in "Pursuit of Happiness (Nightmare)" and the virtually anthemic "Heart of a Lion (Kid Cudi Theme Music").  I wasn't surprised to see that MGMT guested on "Pursuit" because it has that golden hum-a-long thing you associate with the best MGMT songs.  Meanwhile, "Up Up & Away" has a chorus melody that could have been lifted from any number of angsty pop-punk bands.

I hope Cudi catches up with Happiness because this is the most emo hip hop album I have ever heard.  Dude is down.  If emo-rap wasn't a thing before, this album created it.  It's interesting because - and please correct me if I'm wrong - I'm think rap was a lot more full of bluster and braggadocio, not an exploration of one's own interior pain.  There's a lot more of that now, but this seems like an early trailblazer.

Of course, Kanye shows up and contributes a verse that's the antithesis of all that, since he's Kanye.  (He had already done his own emo thing on "808s and Heartbreak," of course. Come to think of it, maybe that's the first emo-rap?  Cudi helped on that one too.)

Definitely worth a listen if you're not familiar.

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