kid cudi

NOTE: Please read and respect the warning at the beginning, I don’t need any of you to go dying on me.

So yeahhh, this video doesn’t really do it for me and I’m sure I am going to to take some shit for it. The video starts out with what looks like a good video with the small girl walking around the city streets, but then it evolves into Kanye dancing on cop cars with little link back to the opening sequence. A major opportunity was missed in involving that plot of shielding your daughter from the ills of inner city life, however, it was mostly lost by the disjointed nature of the rest of the video. There is one redeeming factor though and it happens to be Rihanna’s boobs, it really is amazing how someone can look so much better when they are half naked lol.

“Welcome to the World” is easily one of the most anticipated songs off of TI’s upcoming album No Mercy, along with the Eminem joint, and it sees him taken in a direction that we haven’t seen much from him on past albums. No ID builds the beat off of simple piano chords with a a banging synth loop added on top to give it some bang. Cudi adds some singing on the chorus and a stuttering style to his verse that Kanye also adapts for some of his verse and they all deliver to make one of the better collaborations of the year (barring all the Kanye shit because that is unfair). No Mercy will be available in stores and online December 7th if you want to help him replace some of his lawyer fees.

Download: T.I. ft. Kanye West & Kid Cudi – “Welcome to the World” (Prod. No ID)

Unlike the majority of the people I have talked to, I was not personally a fan of Man On the Moon: The End of Day.  Yeah it was an interesting album, one that encompassed a style that I had not heard in rap before, or at least in mainstream rap; but I felt Kid Cudi was working too much towards the abstract or extremities of rap (more towards pop), even more than Kanye had tried to test rap’s boundaries previously.  While I liked “Day n Nite,” I saw that as more of a concept track (much like a concept car): something that is made as a sign of innovation but is not made into a legitimate product release and is certainly not a model for the norm.  I was looking for more of the “Make Her Say” style track, heavily based on sample, a strong bass-line, and Cudi just straight spittin’ fire, but instead I got tracks like “Pursuit of Happiness” which were just simply too different from the heart of rap (the model that had made me fall in love with rap).  So, as a result, I was not waiting on the edge of my seat for the release of Man On the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager… Sue me. Read the rest of this entry »

I have to rest my fingers after typing that out but after hearing the song it was well worth it. I’m not sure I heard all the artists the first time through but that is to be expected with such a clusterfuck of artists. Don’t get me wrong though, even though there are a ton of artists the song flows surprisingly well, or I should say as well as it can. Kanye’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is dropping Nov. 22nd and the album is great since we have already heard almost every track.

Download: Kanye West ft. John Legend, The-Dream, Ryan Leslie, Tony Williams, Charlie Wilson, Elly Jackson, Alicia Keys, Fergie, KiD CuDi, Rihanna & Elton John – “All Of The Lights”

Spotted @ The Rap Up

One more G.O.O.D. Friday Saturday, one more track from ‘Ye. Once this series wraps up, this will make for a damn good mixtape. “The Joy” exudes smoothness, and Kanye’s first verse is one of the best he’s spit in a while, as he goes off on the topic of unplanned pregnancies. There’s truly nothing to criticize about “The Joy” because it’s just that solid. Even so, this won’t be on the album, as is shown by what looks like to be the final official tracklist (after the jump).

Download: Kanye West – “The Joy”

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Cudi embraces the overall rock style of the song and makes a mock video that would make Spinal Tap proud, complete with McLovin playing the drums. I will admit this song isn’t one of my favorites but this is one of the rare videos where the music video could change my mind about it. Cudder channels his inner Jimi Hendrix to man the mock band and although Kanye doesn’t keep up the whole rock band vibe with his outfit, he does make an appearance for the video. It is a little odd to see him handling the rap verses while another rapper does the singing parts but Cudi blurs the lines on this one as much as his mentor so maybe this is part of Kanye’s rededication to hip-hop. You can get Cudi’s latest album called Man On The Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager on November 16th but I wouldn’t hold my breath for that date.

Due to leaks, Kanye had called off this week’s G.O.O.D. Friday, but in a change of heart, he decided to keep the train running with “Christian Dior Denim Flow”. This is testament to the man’s unparalleled work ethic. Even though there are people like Lil Wayne who define prolific (even if that means releasing the odd song about an STD), Kanye has not let quantity get in the way of quality, with song after song sounding album-worthy. It’s easy to be a mixtape rapper, whose main duty is to jump on whatever beat is hot at the moment and rap about rap, but to actually fashion original songs from the ground up almost daily is a talent that only a handful of musicians possess. The line up on this is familiar to G.O.O.D. Fridays with the exception of Ryan Leslie and Lloyd Banks. The MVP of “Christian Dior Denim Flow” has to be Pusha T, who delivers hands down the tightest verse. Mr. Thornton, hurry up with that Fear Of God mixtape already!

Download: Kanye West – “Chrisian Dior Denim Flow”

Update: CDQ, now with more Ryan Leslie – Download

More G.O.O.D. Friday goodness, this time with a roster track. Most people likely expected that these weekly leaks would result in unnecessary throwaways, but Ye’s really been batting 1000 with these. The soul sample on this one is more upbeat than “Devil In A New Dress”, and it’s definitely a feel-good song. Pusha T is a much welcomed addition to the G.O.O.D. Music family and I’m sure his The Fear Of God mixtape will be fire whenever it drops.

Download: Kanye West – “G.O.O.D. Friday”

Kid Cudi Featuring Kanye West – Erase Me by Hypetrak

“Erase Me” saw the light of day recently in the form of a radio rip but now we get the CD quality version of it. The song sounds very 90′s alternative rock and I have heard comparisons to Weezer or other bands of that type, so maybe I should be calling it emo instead of alternative rock. Cudi takes over the singing and thankfully we don’t have to sit through another 808s styled attempt by Kanye to sing and instead he drops the only rap verse at the end. Shouts to Hypetrak for the audio stream and look for this on Man On The Moon II: The Legend Of Mr. Rager dropping on September 14th, a.k.a. G.O.O.D. Music Day.

Download: Kid Cudi ft. Kanye West – “Erase Me” (CDQ)

This video proves one thing to me, everything is funnier when we all look like bobble heads and that includes throwing food at each other. Cudi teams up with Rostam from Vampire Weekend and the Best Coast to perform a track that is sponsored by Converse. The song suits Cudi well with the heavy rock influence and his style of rapping/singing which allows him to easily merge genres and be the front man for the verses. The song is still available for free from Converse and can be downloaded by following the link below the break.

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