Man On The Moon 3: The Chosen - Kid Cudi: Review
aka Scott Mescudi is an Ohio born R&B and hip hop artist who first made a name for himself on the druggy and psychedelic Man On The Moon records in 2009 and 2010. Since then Kid Cudi has released some material that received widespread backlash from critics with 2012's WZRD and 2013's Indicud but reached a new peak of critical ire in 2015 when he released Speedin Bullet 2 Heaven an album that many consider to be one of the worst of the entire 2010's. After releasing a better received record in 2016 then collaborating with Kanye West as Kids See Ghosts Cudi seems to have recouped some of his reputation as hype for Man On The Moon 3 was incredibly high despite it's lack of any singles.
Review By Lav:
I certainly wouldn't consider myself a Kid Cudi fan. Speedin Bullet 2 Heaven is mostly deserving of its reputation but I'm even more willing to pick a fight with one of my least favorite albums of the entire decade Indicud. The first time my displeasure with Cudi's music came to light in a proper review was on his Kanye collaboration Kids See Ghosts, a short but incredibly inconsistent record full of indulgent experiments that sometimes went over well and sometimes were a disaster. Despite the fact that I still occasionally get a fly DM criticizing me for that review I was actually excited for Man On The Moon 3. Not only is it the sequel to two of the better records in Cudi's discography but it is also following the best record Cudi dropped in the 2010's Passion Pain & Demon Slayin'. As it turns out MotM 3 has some highlights particularly in the second half but it's just as bloated as nearly every record Scott has ever released.
The 18 tracks and 60 minutes of this record is split into 4 Act's that are labeled but have absolutely no narrative significance that I can find. The first act is only 4 tracks long but with no highlights in sight, it feels much longer. After a short opener we get into the track Tequila Shots, it's a spacey trap opener that fits pretty comfortably with just about everything Cudi has ever done. I wish the hook was better since the track is determined to beat it to absolute death over just 3 minutes despite it not necessarily being all that catchy. It kind of sounds like if I tried to imagine a Kid Cudi song from memory this is what I would come up with. Another Day opens up with some lower register slurred vocals that I keep wishing Kid Cudi would stop doing but he never does. The instrumental here is better with some pulsating drums that I like quite a bit and the hook has some genuinely decent moments. It would be nice if Cudi could deliver his vocals with any emotion whatsoever but I'll take what I can.
She Knows This is the liveliest track on the recor dup to this point with Cudi actually rapping over a high energy trap beat. I don't really care for the effects his vocals are absolutely slathered in but not as much as I don't really care for the fact that this entire song is a textbook Travis Scott rip off even down to the beat switch-ups and reverb soaked adlibs. Dive is the closest thing to a highlight on Act 1 with Dot Da Genius crafting a seriously hard-hitting but still fittingly spacious instrumental. Kid Cudi sounds confident and ruthless in his two verses delivering some actual energy I just wish it lasted longer of had any kind of legitimate structure to it.
Act 2 is an improvement starting with Damaged a track that could have fit perfectly into Cudi's last record with it's high hat claps and R&B influences. The track has a slurred hook and some personal lyrics that are the only things separating it from how much it sounds like a Travis Scott song. Show Out is another one of the better tracks which features a seemingly Cudi inspired hook delivered by the late Pop Smoke perfectly. Not only does Skepta show up and infuse the song with energy but Cudi follows that up with one of the best verses he delivers on the entire record full of tight energetic flows. Mr. Solo Dolo III is the longest track on the first half of the record and thankfully I think it's solid. Cudi sings a pretty engaging hook and dives into his well of personal storytelling for some of the records more compelling lyrics. The song mostly succeeds in being focused on coherency rather than spacey production tricks with the exception of some hokey vocal effects in the second half.
The only major dud on act to is one of the biggest duds on the entire record Heaven On Earth. The song is a mess form a songwriting perspective with weak ass refrains all over the place and a completely uninspired instrumental. The idea doesn't work vocally, lyrically or instrumentally and really just needed to be scrapped entirely.
Act 3 is the longest on the record and it gets off to a bit of a rough start before picking up on the last two tracks. Sad People isn't terrible but it doesn't feature some of the most fragile vocals you'll hear on the record. Maybe there is something appealing to it sounding like his voice could just crack at any moment give the nature of the song but it is incredibly distracting. Elsie's Baby Boy is definitely the most confusing track on the record that sees Cudi paying tribute to his mother over an instrumental that kicks off with audio from Stand By Me and works in a sample of House Of The Rising Sun for some reason. It is definitely one of the most awkward beats I've heard in my entire life which is really a shame because I think the rest of the song is decent. Cudi holds nothing back and I think the hook is decent but it's hard not to have mixed feelings about the entire song. Sept. 16 is the records biggest throwback as I think the song could have fit perfectly on the first MotM project. That being said there is almost nothing concrete to hold onto in the entire track as the songs instrumental is constantly fading out to better fit these passages where Cudi hum sings his way through what should be some kind of actual bridge or refrain or something. The song isn't terrible but it's split equal time between the more vapid moments.
The record kicks off a good streak of tracks to end the record off starting with the last two songs of Act 3. The Void features a hook that I like quite a bit even if the metaphor is a bit rocky the refrain itself is a total earworm. The instrumental bounces between long spacey passages and stark bouncy percussion which dominates the track whenever it emerges. There are some weird artistic decisions on the song for sure but the end result is still a solid track. Lovin' Me pulls off a Phoebe bridgers feature which is far from the first time Cudi has collaborated with somebody from the indie realm. It's one of the brightest sounding songs here despite the confessional nature of the lyrics which gives the song a pretty triumphant edge. Phoebe fits great in the song and it may legitimately be the first track on the record up to this point that I don't have any major complaints.
Act 4 is the best of the records acts by far and is just one dud short of being a nearly perfect section of the album. The Pale Moonlight has a plain but upbeat instrumental with some pretty tight bars coming from Cudi. The song dabbles in more conventional hop hup lyricism but the instrumental definitely calls for it and the combination is effective. Rockstar Knights has a Trippie Redd feature and honestly it's kind of refreshing. I feel like he brings a braggadocious side out of Cudi on the track and the two make an actual melodic trap banger. Trippie's hook is catchy and he actually out-performs Cudi on the verses, as a whole its definitely one of the better songs here. Lord I Know is a pretty good closing moment for the record which features some of Cudi's best vocals on the entire album. Paired with a catchy hook and genuinely bold instrumental the song is another highlight. While I don't love the fact that the song just fades out completely out of nowhere it does have some impact as the albums closing moment.
Unfortunately 4 Da Kidz interrupts the great run of tracks to end the record off. While it isn't terrible it does feature a few of the slurred rambling refrains that seem to pop up constantly in Cudi songs and are almost never good. My favorite part of the track is the surprisingly detailed instrumental which rattles with spacey keys and drums but doesn't quite make up for my issues with everything else on the track.
Man On The Moon 3 isn't Cudi's longest project but it still feels like you could cut a lot off of the record. Even then I don't think there is a masterpiece buried in the tracklist here, in fact there's barely enough great tracks for an all time Cudi EP. Thankfully save for a handful of tracks he mostly avoids the complete disasters that have dragged down many of his other projects. Once again Cudi's inconsistencies have prevented me from truly enjoying one of his projects and the lack of high end songs on the record make me wonder if Cudi will ever return to the songwriting peaks of his debut record, however Man On The Moon 3 is far better than the valleys of his career. 5.5/10
Album Cover Review By Tyler Judson:
At first look I didn't care for this cover. I thought it was a little overdone but after seeing it a few times I actually really enjoy the illustration and the attention to detail. There are a lot of things going on but they all work together o form a cohesive image. The idea of the fading into sky is cool and the skeleton underneath is a nice small addition that could've made it cliche. I love the color and think this palette does an amazing job of forming contrasting and vibrant colors. 7/10
For more hip hop check out my review of 21 Savage and Metro Boomin's Savage Mode II here
