Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager

Kid Cudi’s hard life, difficult name and sophisticatedly titled albums

No doubt, Kid Cudi is much easier to read and say than Scott Ramon Segring Mescudi. So, thank you, man, for changing this. In the meantime, Cleveland-born young hip-hop star yielded to the temptation to release his albums under gigantic, which is all rage today, titles. You first present a concept, then give a number to your work, and then, finally, name the work itself. Acting this way, the beginning rapper surfaced in 2009 with a CD called Man On The Moon: The End Of Day, and in a year, he presented a record with an even longer name, Man On The Moon II: The Legend Of Mr. Rager. Thinking big and looking far ahead, Kid Cudi, packed as many as seventeen tracks inside the package as if saying: all right, guys, I am ready to slave, i.e. pen and play music 24/7. We could have seen this work much earlier had the young mad avoided that kind of troubles which often happen (for some unknown reason) to rappers. Kid Cudi was arrested for possession of controlled substances and almost placed behind the bars. After that, the artist made it clear that all his drug issues were behind and that he had chosen a whole new way of life.

Honesty is the best policy (M. Cervantes)

Honesty, in fact, becomes practically Kid Cudi’s most efficient creative tool as he tries to be so sincere and open with his listeners. The Legend Of Mr. Rager is quite a large story of the singer about himself. His name is even mentioned in the album’s opener Scott Mescudi Vs. The World. The song immediately shapes the CD’s main concept: one’s conflict with the world, struggle for one’s own place in life. Sure, this young man is not the first rapper to add a lyrical touch to hip-hop with much crooning and emotional intonations. Drake, for instance, has recently offered a work in the same manner. The difference is that Kid Cudi makes an accent on the issues of repentance and regret, while the others sing out loud about highs and lows of love. Wild’n Cuz I’m Young features the singer mentioning his father from whom he inherited something he can not be proud of. MANIAC goes even farther as it unfolds a tale about demons to be cast out of a man. As we pass over to the music content of Mr. Rager, we have to say that Kid Cudi has not yet decided where to draw the margins, sometimes trying to embrace too many styles. For example, Erase Me, and Mr. Rager propose quite intense rock guitars, which, contrasting to the music of the rest, complies with the lyrical themes of the songs.

Missteps of the youth are behind, the stardom lies ahead

For less than two years, Kid Cudi dropped two albums of thirty tracks lasting two hours. This should not confuse anybody because young performers are well-known for being extremely enthusiastic and motivated to work hard in sweat of their faces surprising everybody and themselves too. Should we compare the two parts of the Man On The Moon series, the second one stores more rap and less pure singing. To get inside our circle of trust, Kid Cudi keeps telling us about his life, in some songs addressing mostly himself. Supported by a great many of producers, he achieved polished sounding and stumbled over some kind of stylistic inconsistency. Seventeen tracks seem to be a little bit too many because a couple of songs do sound odd, especially The Mood, giving unnecessary details into too private life. However, if we take for granted Kid Cudi’s words who states that he has got smarter, that he confessed everything and is not going to do it again, then we have the right to expect a good, and probably, even great career from him in the future.