KiD CuDi’s sophomore album, Man On The Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager has been one of my most anticipated releases of the year. The guy’s one of my favorite artists out there, and to say that I was heavily into his mixtapes and first album is an understatement. If we still lived in the day and age of records or CD’s, my copies of A Kid Named Cudi and Man On The Moon: The End of Day would be scratched and out of commission. Both are pieces of work that I keep coming back to and continue to obsess over. With that being said, Cudi had a lot to live up to with his second effort.
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The Legend of Mr. Rager is a different breed. I’ve listened to it all the way through two or three times, and it’s an extremely dark, bizarre, yet captivating collection of songs. Originally, Cudi was going to make this a party/club record with a bunch of heavy features, and as he was doing so he switched his mind entirely. He realized that people are attracted to him because of his unique style and storytelling raps, so he changed his path and went the route of his first album.
A lot has happened to Scott Mescudi since he released his debut album. The dude’s had his highs (the success of Man On The Moon: The End of Day, a consistent part in the HBO series How To Make It In America) and his lows (cocaine problems and altercations with fans). That being said, from the opening track “Scott Mescudi vs. The World” to the haunting closer “Trapped In My Mind”, Cudi has put together a group of songs that tell his personal stories, and they’ll take a bit to warm up to.
Thinking back, I felt the same way with his first album, and it’s now one of my favorites. There were no tracks that immediately jumped out at me and took over my ears, but as I gave it a chance, I started to get into each song individually. The Legend of Mr. Rager has a similar feel. After a couple of listens, I’m not consistently coming back to one track or two…aside from “Erase Me”, there are no obvious radio/club standouts, which I think in this case is a good thing.
In the age of the hit single, Kid Cudi has gone against the grain. It’s obvious after listening to his second album that he could care less about radio popularity or being on the Billboard Top 10. He’s put together two discs now that flow together collectively, from start to finish. While after one full listen of the album I felt a bit disappointed, I can tell that Man On The Moon II will be an album that takes a bit to get into; which I have no problem with. If you’re into the different, trippy sound that Cudi often brings to the table, then you won’t be let down by his sophomore effort. Hit a couple of my favorite tracks below, “Scott Mescudi vs. The World” (which features Cee-Lo) and “All Along”.
Afterwards, order the album here.
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