Man on the Moon

Kid Cudi is a victim of the so-last-week indie music crowd. Believing themselves ahead of the learning curve for the better part of the last year and shouting the new 'it' kid's name from the rooftops has left Day 'n' Nite in the 'so last year' pile before its time. Album reviews from the blogosphere have taken to undercutting the release of his first official solo project by suggesting he did 'better than expected' or 'dealt with expectations well'. Perhaps the expectations were higher than any artist in recent memory. Which in this instance means about three and a half weeks or until the next episode of Gossip Girl, whichever comes first. To suggest not falling flat on your face is some sort of moral victory for the Cudi entourage does his undeniable talent no credit. Man on the Moon: The End of Day is a stellar 'debut' by any standard.

What sets Kid Cudi's freshman debut apart from so many contemporary hip hop albums is the pace at which he goes about winning you over. He hooks you with a generous economy that differs from the overbearing sing-a-longs of his not so cool counterparts. That isn't to say his collaboration with MGMT and Ratatat won't translate into millions of ring tone dollars. However; there is something about his calculating pace that harkens back to a better time. A time when a slow jazz infused loops was fertile ground for an MC with a firm grasp of language. In this instance I'm thinking of A Tribe Called Quest. In exploring Man on the Moon, both in its audio pleasantries and its beautifully rendered album artwork, you come to understand how the album slips into the accepted conventions of the modern hip hop album. Nearly every song on its track list includes the word 'featuring' followed by one of Cudi's prime time pals. Where Cudi sets himself apart in his ability to tell a convincing story. A story that should do well in firing a warning shot across the nose of the so-last-week indie music crowd.

Click HERE to preview Man on the Moon on iTunes