“Heart Of A Lion…”
GENERAL By Gotty™ on September 21, 2009 at 10:29 pmI was already on the cusp of saying how much I’ve enjoyed the musical maturation of Scotty. Yeah, we’ve seen these freshman for what seems like forever. Yet, what we sometimes lose track of the fact that Man On The Moon is his debut and he and his classmates are all still fresh in the game. But after catching his BET Rising Icon’s performance late the other night, I’m sold. Nothing about CuDi’s sound is perfect. His lyrics & delivery are still weak in spots, subpar in others. But the melodies & his ability to immerse himself into the album’s production & instrumentation make the listening experience ethereal.
While I’ve seen his music beleaguered as being “emo rap,” it’s actually driven more by a sound & feel that isn’t rap @ all to me. The formula for what rap was/is has been blurred by all the genre-bleeding that’s taken place over the years. A rapper doesn’t have to sell dope or struggle economically as a prerequisite. MOTM reflects that change, implementing elements of the musical aspects that Kanye employed on 808’s…, added in doses of Wayne’s seemingly nonsensical rhymes & lyrics covered in experiences: death of male mentors, a loner mentality, drug hazes, freaky ladies and all of the aspirations of a kid from Cleveland.
Growing up, life for me was about discovering Blackness. If you’re 28+ your parents were a part of the Civil Rights generation & the whole idea of racial identity was still very important. A lot of youth now, that’s not them. Things changed before Obama took office. Many of the ties that bind today’s culture stem from the immersion in pop culture. Where we were once different, we’re much more alike in our influences. A younger listener today is search within themselves more than they’re looking outward for answer. CuDi’s line in “Soundtrack To My Life” - “I try thinkin’ bout myself as a sacrifice, just to show the kids they ain’t the only ones that’s up at night” - reflects how he sees himself as a martyr for the cause. Luckily, fans & listeners see it the same way.
Sure, it reflects a youthful mentality to perceive yourself as the world’s sworn enemy. Yet, Hip-Hop revolves around youth. And when you watch the video clip above, nobody’s analyzing his lyrics. They’re immersed in the music and experience alongside CuDi. For a moment, they’ve found peace in their minds, an ultimate high in music that we all long to achieve.
Hopefully, the artist & the fan make their way together on a successful journey. He’s off to a good start looks like.
Previously Posted — “Enter Galactic” - Review Of KiD CuDi’s Man On The Moon: The End Of Day | For The Free: KiD CuDi Posters
Posted in GENERAL, MUSIC, VIDEO — Tags: BET Rising Icons, K.i.D. CuDi, Man On The Moon: The End Of Day, VIDEO
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20 Comments
dope write up.
poker face? how about zito’s lip gloss on my
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kENQgYr2qM
Yeah even though the lyrics make me scratch my head at times I can still enjoy the album. I just hope we don’t see a lot of CuDi-alikes out here post Man On The Moon.
this kid is the future, he does him and puts him self out there for you to love/hate. the part on “a kid named” where he drops the “ppl want to know why i sound diff/why not” is true. man “emo rap” what you think pac did “dear mama” “keep your head up”. big had “suicidal thoughts” shit if that song isnt him dropping some emo shit on your ears, then i dont know what is.
Alright I can go along with most of this. Cudi is talented and manages to do himself (uhh?) - but enough is enough. To the person above me, there is a most definitely a difference between putting emotion into your music and the “emo” tag. My head almost exploded when you put pac and biggie shit into the dark, dismal pit of despair known as emo music.
Cosign the hope for no Cudi doppelgangers too.
My head almost exploded when you put pac and biggie shit into the dark, dismal pit of despair known as emo music
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i could quote sundial thoughts, but you can go ahead and listen to that song again, and see what i meant when i said that. also, if you have never heard real emo(fugazi/rights of spring/sunny day real estate) then you dont know what “emo” is or the proper usage of the word. “emo” is post-punk/post hardcore. giving the name cause the lyrics were emo-tional, what you hear on the radio is not emo and im taking a guess and going to say that what you think are emo-bands are not.
“Shhhhh! Don’t tell noooooobody.” (C) Shawn Wayans
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=Q3Y2HUR7
This type of writing makes the album look like it is better than it is, it makes Cudi look like he is better than he is.
That’s as blunt as I could put it
Damn, somebody at Conart pissed…
http://www.conart.bigcartel.com/
^
It’s all our opinons man… some people feel this way and others don’t.
& we’re still going back and forth about this album behind the scenes, lol.
xg4sx-
You’re right - its not my scene and I am unfamiliar with all the bands you named. However, my ignorance to true emo is more or less irrelevant since the connection you made was to emo RAP (which for the record is what I was commenting on). And yes I can quote Suicidal Thoughts too and I understand why you came to the conclusion you did. But that doesn’t make my head hurt any less. Emotion in music still doesn’t equal emo music. As in relating Big or Pac to Cudi. Once again let me state that I mostly like Cudi but he’s gonna need to grow a lot more if he’s gonna fill those shoes.
And as far as your future prediction? Hopefully not for rap. I like my rhymes with a little less whine.
I’ll check the bands you mentioned tho.
Damn G.
You just made me realize that i have been listening way to objectively..
A younger listener today is search within themselves more than they’re looking outward for answer. CuDi’s line in “Soundtrack To My Life” - “I try thinkin’ bout myself as a sacrifice, just to show the kids they ain’t the only ones that’s up at night”
It’s true. We are all lost right now as a generation.. Not sure where we’re headed.. Robots are taking over the labor force so we’re trying to get in where we fit in wherever we can.. It’s hard to search for a career path when all the jobs available except for a few are based on abstract human thought.. (economics, journalism, psychology)
Still not a CuDi fan.. But i see where the infatuation is coming from now..
Calling cudi the greatest anything automatically makes any points made by said person moot lol.
Dude isn’t a great rapper, no denying that. He’s a good musician though or at least he created a grwat piece of music here.
like ppl have said before, cudi isn’t the best rapper out….but he has a natural ability to make great music and amazing songs. the teenagers i kno all looove this album, because i think it speaks to them…which i thought was a good point made. they don’t see the rules of what music should or shouldn’t be. it’s generally the rap purests that have some sort of a problem with what kid cudi is doing.
^ Basically.
For an older cat, it may be hard to plug in to it. But if nothing else, the music & melodies are strong enough to trump that IMO.
In my opinion, I don’t care what you categorize this guy’s music as - I think it’s mediocre. I think he could’ve done less songs and been better off.
ya damn right Gotty!!
In the box thinkers…free yourselves.
ive warmed up to the cudi album…i dont like the majority of it but the songs I like I find to be very dope.
A younger listener today is search within themselves more than they’re looking outward for answer.
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damn you took the words out of my mouth…no homo
thats what seperates me and my era of artists from what goes on today…cats want to relate to everything they hear but coming up I just looked at niggas as story tellers and hood reporters.
times are a changing.