Kid Cudi leans into the chaos and gets lost in it

Hours after release of Kid Cudi's ninth solo album, Insano, a strange sight appeared on a barge in New York's Hudson River. It was a massive statue of Cudi, his eyes blazing red and fluorescent light coming from his mouth. A similar barge floated off the coast of Long Beach, while a third Cudi statue stood in the middle of Paris' Place de la Bourse. “Satanic Kid Cudi Slammed For Revealing His Massive Statues” read a hilarious Page Six headline garnering backlash on social media for the stunt.

While it's questionable whether the statues reveal that Cudi is a card-carrying member of the Illuminati, they seem like an apt reflection of the strange mix of self-absorption that defines the rapper, singer, and producer's musical career. Since breaking out with his classic 2008 single, “Day N' Nite,” the Cleveland-born artist has portrayed his inner eye as a source of psychedelic magic, high drama, and unfathomable sadness. In his best work, he dazzles as the personification of his listeners' fears and desires. At his worst, he wallows in pompous self-centeredness and melodic smugness.

Cudi's variations have resulted in one of the most impressively chaotic discographies of the blog-rap generation. You never know what it'll deliver: a soft, afropunk-bait alt-rock riff like 2015 Speedin' Bullet 2 Heavena surprisingly exciting reunion with mentor-turned-brake Kanye West as 2018 Children See Ghostsor a competent but inconsistent series of familiar stylistic tropes like 2022 Enterogalatic soundtrack. New Insano it's another mixed bag, at least in terms of execution. At an hour and 21 songs and with a 'deluxe edition' rumored to arrive soon, it comes off as repetitive, with too many songs floundering around the same messages and ideas. But it also has a handful of numbers that soar to Cudi's true strength: imbuing his words and sounds, however easy, with unrepentant conviction.

While music critics have long agonized over Cudi's work — a strong dynamic he lamented in the 2021 documentary A Man Named Scott: The Kid Cudi Story — the 39-year-old has become an elder statesman to an audience accustomed to experiencing rap as a hazy atmosphere of sing-song melodies, drunken euphoria and youthful angst. Travis Scott cited him as a major influence. Playboi Carti and Young Nudy called him out Their infamous 2019 leak, “Pissy Pamper”. (Cudi tried to recruit Carti for Insanobut the notoriously enigmatic rapper wouldn't clear his vocals.) With Insano, the original Mr. Rager re-enters the party, inviting collaborators like Scott, A$AP Rocky, Lil Yachty and Young Thug as well as veterans like Lil Wayne, DJ Drama and Pharrell Williams to join. Rocky Uses His Appearance To Hit Back At Drake For The latter's Demonstration Of Rihanna For all dogs. “These niggas can't stomach me/You better go get a drake man,” he raps on “Wow.” In the meantime, Cudi samples a verse from XXXtentacion's “Orlando.” for “X & Cud”.

“Man, I love these raps, ha ha/Tell most of these niggas that I'm the daddy,” Cudi raps on “Often, I Have These Dreamz.” Insano may be Cudi's biggest burst of positive “superhero music,” as he's called it, since 2013 Indic. However, Indic it was also inspired by the angry indifference to the demands of the star as well as unnamed enemies, giving the music a palpable edge. (Last November, when Cassie's lawsuit against Sean “Puffy” Combs claimed to have blown up Cudi's car in 2012some fans speculate that of Indicud fiery album refers to the incident.)

In contrast, Insano it is mostly devoid of emotional content. With DJ Drama as our host, tracks like “Most Ain't Dennis” pump and pulse as Cudi commands us to “bounce”, brags about how he's “winning” and delivers low-calorie hard bars like “See me in the fall/I've got a bad bitch, I'm a steak/Too much.” “Electrowavebaby” is a catchy but ephemeral version of Ace of Base-flavored island pop. “Cud Life” offers to transport us to Ragertown with drinks and rants, but the result is more like being stranded on a very crowded dance floor, lost among a sea of ​​bros and Beckys.

It's not until the second half of it Insano that Cudi begins to offer some context for his self-inflicted drunkenness. He harmonizes about the “demons” that haunt him on the keyboard-driven melancholy of “Tortured” and “X & Cud” and expresses his thanks for being “blessed” on “Funky Wizard Smoke.” “If you got the cash, let's go/If you got that swag, let's go,” he croons on the latter. Throughout, Cudi's uniquely raspy voice is ever-present, oscillating between melodic hums and fervent spoken word raps. These tics may deter some from digging it of Insano chuff to reveal decent cuts like “Wow” and “Rager Boyz” featuring Young Thug. For the rest of us, these moments offer a little proof that one of the key architects of modern rap can still create meaningful sparks.