Kid Cudi has been burning up everybody’s radar since his exceptional mixtape hit the web last summer. His chart-topping single, “Day N Nite” has catapulted Kid Cudi to superstardom. Expectations for his debut album, Man on the Moon: The End of Day, were reaching monumental levels at this point.
Because of his affiliation with hip-hop genius Kanye West, we all (I included) came to expect a 2009 College Dropout from Kid Cudi. Not surprisingly, the album leaked before its September 15th release date, and after a handful of listens (4 so far), it misses the bar set by Kanye’s debut album. Man On The Moon is on a whole other playing field, setting up bars of its own. A bar that fellow newcomers Wale and Drake now must meet, and to be frank, a bar they probably cannot hang onto with the longevity proposed by Man on the Moon.
The third official single off the record, “Pursuit of Happiness,” was produced by electronic duo Ratatat and features Brooklyn superheroes MGMT. The beat is smooth and slick — props Ratatat. It wraps itself nicely around Kid Cudi’s painstaking lyrics and MGMT’s subdued vocal contributions.
Man on the Moon: The End of Day is out September 15th and a deluxe edition with a DVD will also be released. Catch Ratatat and Cudi performing “Pursuit of Happiness” on “The Late Night Show With David Letterman” tomorrow (Tuesday). Listen to the track here:
It took me a few listens before I actually started enjoying the track… or the entire album for that matter. After a few introductory tastes, the album felt bland and left me bitter, as you probably have noticed if you follow me on Twitter.
However, I succumbed to overwhelming peer pressure and gave it another listen, then another, and another. I am not in love with it, but it’s definitely not “awful” and “utter bullshit” (words I used to describe my first listen 
). Have a great Labor Day!
Props to Lupe man serious……dont really think its offtune its more on the side of a style (just as if 50 sings). Ratatat and MGMT retarded for this for real…cant even hate on it man….DOPE!!!!!!!!Lookin forward to the album…..peace
Ok, so I’ve never even heard of Kid Cudi until I saw him perform on Conan O’Brien tonight, and his live performance was pure AGONY! This guy cannot carry a tune if it was presented to him with a big gold bow. Now I know why auto-tune is such necessary tool for most of these singing rap and R&B artists. This song was nowhere close to his range, and well past his reach as a vocalist. You can wave your hands all you want, but it won’t make you sing in tune.
Try comparing this performer to past greats like Marvin Gaye and many others in the Motown family. Now that is true musicianship. This is pure and utter commercial bullshit, and I’m sick of it. If you care at all about real music, please check out “Before the Music Dies” documentary.
um Kid cudi isn’t a singer, and R&B artist for the most part if there real artist do not use auto-tune. R&B ARTIST SING, SING that’s what R&B is SINGING, there for you are not R&B if you are not singing. RAP ARTIST use AUTO-TUNING, because they do not expect to sing, THEY RAP. R-A-P, THIS IS WHEN PUT A BUNCH OF RHYMES TOGETHER TO GO WITH A BEAT. There for you don’t need to sing, you RAP.
MOTOWN is i agree amazing! However it is a different type of music, KID CUDI is rapping, he is for people in a down mood or for someone who is HIGH! although he tries to belt out a few tunes, and i agree he can’t, he dosn’t really need to. IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT MUSIC.
You need to understand exactly what music is before you start tearing someone up. The type of musician KID CUDI is, you could probably compare most to BOB MARLY,
WHEN I SAY THAT, I MEAN BOB MARLEY AND KID CUTI ARE BOTH IN GENERAL STONNER OR DOWNER MUSIC. YOU LIKE TO LISTEN TO THEM WHEN YOUR IN A SLOW MOOD. I love Bob marly, in fact i have a poster with him smoking a fatty, however if i would compare cudi to anyone it would be them, NOT MOTOWN. You must be old school if you would even refrence them to KID CUDI.
So what if he went a lil oftune!?! That song is a good one.good lyrics,good beat. that is what people really want and that’s what they’re gonna buy.
kid cudi is amazing. i can relate to so many of his lyrics. i listen to him when i feel down. hes always singing about who cares about everyone else..pursue your own happiness. and who cares if ppl talk, they always will, but its your life so live it for you. hes real. his words are real. and for those who say he isnt good, you must not be listening to what he’s singing about. hes like a lupe fiasco not a kanye so listen up people!
So raw all i can say.
its not bad, its just off key.. well maybe it is bad..
u must be stupid if u tjhink this song is bad its the first song in a long time that mean sumding
its not bad, its just off key.. well maybe it is bad..
I love how laid-back Cudi's singing is, how relaxed and cool he is. I always marvel about the confident swagger of rappers… Jay-Z, Lupe Fiasco, Kid Cudi, Andre 3000. All pretty great artists. (especially Lupe!!)
this song is the bset of kid cudi, very good for thinking about our lifes!!!
yo idk why, but it’s been changed, they’ll be on letterman Sept. 11
He put much effort in to this, you cant deny it. Some people dont like it, just because its not what there into. I love this dude, cant wait to light one n listen to the album as a whole..
The sad part is how ppl try soo hard to put down music tho, going to 5 different blogs to say negitive things! smh
Cant wait to buy the dvd too!
i love soundtrack to my life even more then this song, and thats just cudder’s style, you love it or you dont.
i think kid cudi made a superb fuckin album. its so fresh its sickening. soundtrack 2 my life, up up and away, alive, etc. they are so refreshing that you can’t help but commend the man for his effort. even if you don’t like the album you HAVE to hand it to him for bringing something to the table that is so original…. i personally think the album is at least an 8.5 out of 10. amazing production, great lyrics, MGMT!!! (ratatat helps too =) its just a great album. kid cudi is the man. i can easily call it my new college dropout bc i love it as much as i do when i purchased kanyes debut….
i looooove this album
@DopeBoyFresh
thats just kudi, slow, smooth, laid back, amazing. some times i can only take a few verses but if you start to get in to it can last for hours.
@Bernard
On the contrary, I’m a Bobby Ray/ Antipop guy myself.
I don’t know if his flow is too smooth or his regular production is a little too plain to me, but a song like Make Her Say sounds a thousand times better Soundtrack 2 My Life (and its not just Yeezy and Common).
@DopeBoyFresh there is a reason why his songs sound the way they do. I guess you’re more into t-pain/50 cent/florida…?
I’m not really into rap/hip-hop but i’m really enjoying his new record. You should listen to Soundtrack 2 My Life, it has such a great chorus
It’s albums like this and kanye west’s (even he’s a douchebag) Graduation that keep my faith in this genre.
It’s okay, more MGMT! Just kidding, I’m not going to let by MGMT fanboy-ism affect my opinion on this song
This is a great song, and I bet the album will be awesome! I like his style.
I’ve sort of always thought Cudi is kind of bland. He’s not awful, just vanilla.