Well Kid Cudi has lived up to all the hype and, I think, surpassed it. I got my hands on a copy of his CD Man On The Moon a couple days ago and haven’t stopped listening to it since.

Touching subjects most rappers wouldn’t even think to rap about (souls, truth, imitation, rejection, self-consciousness, loneliness, pride, the working world (AKA the real world), disappointment, the meaning of life), Cudi is able to tell the story of a loner left with only his dreams and a burning desire to make those dreams become reality. It’s possible to compare it to Kanye’s 808s & Heartbreak but where Kanye’s attempt at emotional rapping felt cold, calculated, and disingenuous; Cudi’s delivery drips with sincerity.

Despite the subject matter, the CD has the ultimate effect of being very uplifting. The story involves deep subject matter but it’s all about overcoming those odds while remaining true to yourself. As he says “This will be my world, I told you so”.

The instrumentation backing him up on all the songs is nearly flawless as well. It could be knocked for being sparse and brooding at times, but there are enough hooks and variation to keep people interested the whole way thorough.

“Pursuit of Happiness” featuring indie-rock royalty MGMT and Ratatat is the highlight of the album with “Solo Dolo” and “Simple As…” coming in right behind it. Do yourself a favor and get these songs and remember to support the artist and actually buy the CD when it drops on the 15th. It’s worth the money.

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DOWNLOAD: Kid Cudi – Pursuit of Happiness (Ft. MGMT & Ratatat)

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DOWNLOAD: Kid Cudi – Simple As…

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DOWNLOAD: Kid Cudi – Solo Dolo