Man On the Moon, Vol. II: The Legend of Mr. Rager (Album Review)

As notoriously huge Cudi fans (remember when Les and I waited for 6 hours in line for tickets to see him perform at BC?!) it's only natural that Rusted Revolution review the rapper's sophomore album, Man On the Moon, Vol. II: The Legend of Mr. Rager.  The 17-track album was released under GOOD Music and Universal Motown this November 9th, including previously-released singles "Erase Me" featuring Kanye West, "REVOFEV," and "Mr. Rager."  Man On the Moon II features famous guest artists ranging from Cee Lo Green, to Mary J. Blige, to Chip Tha Ripper.

As an avid lover of music and music journalism, I understand the extraordinary pressures placed upon contemporary artists by critics and the general public to maintain and even supersede their previous successes with the release of a second album/project.  There are always expectations to be vastly different and innovative while simultaneously remaining loyal to their traditional sound and style - to me, it seems like an incredible daunting and stressful task.

I personally jumped at the chance to take charge of this project because, having finally gotten the time to listen to the album in it's entirety, I've come to better understand and appreciate the massive artistic, technical, and stylistic differences between Man On the Moon II and the Kid's earlier work. When asking Cudi fans for their opinions on the new album, I received mixed responses; some were entirely turned off by the rapper's radically different sound, others showered him praises, but most were unsure of their feelings, expressing a like for some tracks but also a general dissonance and skepticism about the album as a whole.  I myself fell into the latter category.  I was initially familiar with "Erase Me," "REVOFEV," and "Mr. Rager," all of which he performed at BC, and I was moreso intrigued than enthralled by his new style.  Back in the day, I initially fell for Cudi's effortless ability to fuse soulful lyrics with mellow, yet uplifting beats.  In Man On the Moon II, Cudi experiments with genre and sound.  The rapper explains, "Man On the Moon II is dark by nature and instead of bringing you into my dreams like the first album, I'm bringing you into my reality, good and bad: It will explain more of who I am as well as pushing the envelope musically."

Essentially, the style and sound of the music itself speaks volumes for the artist's intent to shift his "Cudder" persona to a more modern, concrete image of self which he calls "The Revolution of Evolution (REVOFEV)" (originally set to be the album title).  If you are unfamiliar with Man On the Moon II, I recommend checking out "Ashin' Kusher," a hip-hop-fused classic with a bumping beat, "Scott Mescudi vs The World (feat. Cee Lo Green)," a blues-y track with smooth beats and a melancholy yet catchy chorus (very reminiscent of original Man On the Moon), and "Marijuana," a trippy, pensive and semi-psychedelic song sprinkled with hypnotizing bursts of piano and wailing electric guitar.

Most critics have praised Cudi for his ability to decorate the realm of rock and electronic-fused hip-hop with a deeply personal subject matter.  Charles Aaron of Spin recommended the album for "boldly reshaping Cudi's sound - with vivid production," explaining that "the dizzy friction between rap's grasping for control and rock's desire to lose it entirely give Cudi's confessions a dice-y, volatile edge."

In short, I highly recommend giving Man On the Moon II a listen.  While I can't promise that all Cudi fans will be satisfied, one has to appreciate the raw risks he takes for the sake of artistic and personal innovation.  This Cudi fan is extremely pleased and anxious for more.

xoxo
Lucy

PS - stay tuned for new Cudi track's on RR's Winter Playlist!