The backwash of success brings about a multitude of reactions. Some spectators shower with praise, some overanalyze, some are hypercritical of being critics in the first place. None of the above was ever that deep to KiD CuDi. Whereas most rap acts live–and thrive as a result–from being gazed upon in the public eye, Scott Mescudi has arguably seen his celebrity grow from acting akin to most famous rockers; a recluse. Barren of the infamous Twitter account and offering little excitement in his interviews (most of the time), CuDi strokes his ego the old-fashioned way: through music made solely for his liking regardless if your opinions are parallel to his. It was just over a full Earth orbit ago when the Cleveand, OH-bred manchild saw accolades bestowed on him with his debut Man On The Moon: The End Of Day. Initially chastised for his simplistic and, at times, off-key harmonizing, it was eventually his hit-making prowess that spawned staples like “Day N Nite,” “Sky Might Fall” and “Make Her Say” that established him a fanbase in the blossoming stages of the current Digital Age.

Setting his coordinates to “zone,” Cudder is back in the company of the stars with Man On The Moon II: The Legend Of Mr. Rager. A more expanded glimpse into his dopamine receptors which makes for a noble subsidiary into his catalog if nothing more.

With CuDi’s frame of mind, he’ll forever be more Andy Kaufman than Neil Armstrong so accusing him of any sort of chemical imbalances may come off as a compliment. The Legend Of Mr. Rager delves deeper into an experimental projection of his artistic preferences. Not playing by the rules, the tripped-out “MANIAC” finds CuDi fancying thoughts about lurking in the shadows as a ghoul in a vengeful manner. The ode to the album’s protagonist, “Mr. Rager,” is a brilliant example of the master of melody Cudder has become with hypnotic vocals that stick to your gut consonant to a bottom feeder in the ocean.

The aforementioned rockstar is ever present, showing his colors on the catchy “REVOFEV” while diversifying his harmony on “Trapped In My Mind,” which is both awkward and captivating like a marionette dancing center stage. Equally deserving the credit is the core ensemble of producers in Emile, Plain Pat and No I.D. who have somehow developed an unique brand of Baroque pop to match the stylings of Hip-Hop’s favorite spin doctor. Plenty of hollowed rhythms and anti-climatic yet progressive orchestration accompany Mr. Rager on his journey to make it that more memorable.

Of course the general prognosis of experimentation is a high-risk, high-payoff ordeal and in CuDi’s case, the option to choose not to match his previous Top 40 chart-toppers reveals boldness as an artist but doesn’t exactly score extra points in song quality. The poppy heartwrencher in “Erase Me” comes the closest with its sing-a-long chorus and Kanye West star power booster but pitting it right against the drudged clanking of “Wild’n Cuz I’m Young” is like chasing an upper with downer for the negating effect. Also missing is the sense of geniality in CuDi’s depressed happiness. Telling the people “Don’t Play This Song” was futile on the predecessor as the emotional vibes were immediately felt without any sort of studio undermining. And then there’s just straight up clunkers. Personal tastes or not, the intricacies of CuDi’s lyrics are still flimsy comparably speaking, as shown when he skates around the issue of logic on “Ashin Kusher” (If you really knew man/I don’t really worry about it/niggas tryin’ to judge/who are you—Judy???).

Flawed but never finagled, the sequential cohesiveness of The Legend Of Mr. Rager ultimately allows a bygone to be a bygone and smoke its weed in peace. For there’s only one KiD CuDi and his uniqueness is exactly what makes him one of us, all the same.