Once thought as the prodigal son of hip-hop, the career of Scott Mescudi—better known to the masses as Kid Cudi—has definitely been a roller coaster. Emerging onto the music scene in 2008 with his breakout single, “Day ‘n’ Nite”, and later signing to Kanye West’s GOOD Music label, Cudi has definitely been one of the most influential artists in the past decade. Some would even say that he’s criminally underrated and many people don’t give him the recognition that he deserves. Even though he might not get as much praise as the contemporaries that entered the game around the same time he did (i.e. Drake most notably), Cudi has amassed a cult-following that will continue to support his career no matter what. But since the release of his last studio album, the indie-rock attempt and critically panned Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven, even his die-hard fans were questioning Cudi’s ability to produce a project that’s been as universally loved as the first two entries of the Man on the Moon series were. I can say confidently that his latest effort, Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin’, has steered the ship back in the right direction.

       Now before I get into what I liked and disliked about this album, I want to give a little more backstory of the album and the promotion of it leading to its release. Cudi began working on material shortly after Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven dropped and previewed a couple of tracks titled “The Frequency” and “All In” on his SoundCloud in the first quarter of 2016, giving fans a first glimpse of what the new album would sound like. He would then continue to provide snippets of tracks through his various social media accounts. Based on those previews alone, the overall sound was more reminiscent of his previous hip-hop work compared to the punk-rock aesthetic he recently tried to emulate. That definitely peeked my interest and many of Cudder’s die-hard fans’ interests as well, and I was definitely curious to see where Cudi was going with this. Slowly more details emerged as the year went by such as the title of the record; the variety of producers he was working with like Mike Will Made-It, Pharrell Williams, Mike Dean, Plain Pat, and of course his long-time friend and WZRD bandmate, Dot Da Genius; and some features like Travi$ Scott and Willow Smith. Cudi would also reveal via Twitter that the album would be a double-disc album, and it would be released at the end of September.

       That tentative release eventually got pushed back due to sample clearances, and Cudi would be apart of some controversy as he had a short public beef with Drake and Kanye West after he called both of the superstars out on Twitter. Not too long after the beef, Cudi would go on to post a letter to his fans on Facebook stating that he had checked himself into rehab for depression and suicidal urges—leaving the release of the album in question. Kanye later reconciled publicly with his former GOOD Music signee at one of the stops on his Saint Pablo tour shortly after Cudi went into rehab. After a little over a month in rehab, Cudi came back into society and once again began to promote the rollout for the album with a definite release date of December 16th and a final track list that included additional features from André 3000 and divided it into four acts, much like in the Man on the Moon series. Fans were in for a pleasant surprise from Mr. Solo Dolo.

       I cannot deny that I loved this album. It took me multiple listens and a couple of months after the release to fully appreciate it as whole. The production and instrumentation is hands down the best it has been since Man on the Moon II, and that’s primarily due to Cudi enlisting others for help unlike his previous three studio albums where he handled most of the production himself. The intro track, “Frequency”, sets the mood perfectly for the sonic journey the listener takes through the album. The overall sound is the typical atmospheric aesthetic that’s been present on most of Cudi’s albums, and it compliments his vocals well. He also implemented some beautiful string arrangements on certain songs that I absolutely loved. Lyrically, Cudi doesn’t overcomplicate what he’s trying to say; he’s being as honest as he has ever been when he raps/sings about his inner demons, how fame is affecting his life, and how he continues to push through and produce his art. That honesty is what I have always appreciated about him as an artist. Also, some of the standout songs are structurally some of the best songs he has crafted in years—from the melodies, grooves, and songwriting. The guest features also compliment Cudi’s style and don’t overshadow his prowess for the most part. Even though I thoroughly enjoyed the majority of the album, there were still some elements that I didn’t like and I felt they were a little unnecessary.

       One of the main issues that has been the consensus amongst critics and fans alike is the length of the album. With 19 total tracks, the album is an hour and a half long. If every song on the album was a perfect gem then length wouldn’t be an issue, but unfortunately that’s not the case. I feel that Cudi stretched the ideas on certain songs—whether it’s having the instrumental go on for a certain amount of minutes or where Cudi just vocalizes some of the lyrics repetitively—to have the songs last 4 to 5 minutes where they could’ve easily been 2 to 3 minutes long. If he would’ve trimmed some of the fat and cut it to about 12-14 songs, I think that this project would have been up there along with his first two albums in terms of quality.

       Overall, this album was an enjoyable listen despite its length. Kid Cudi delivered something that his fans will enjoy as it is truly an amalgamation of all his previous works, and it’s the most focused he’s been musically in years. He brings honesty through his lyrics and songwriting, the instrumentation is varied and very infectious to the ear, and the album is consistent throughout. It might not be for everyone as Cudi does appeal to a certain niche of people, but I can confidently say that there are songs here for everyone. The perfection summation of Cudi’s career can be heard on the album closer “Surfin’” as he proclaims on the chorus, “Now, I ain’t riding no waves. Too busy making my own waves, baby. I ain’t riding no waves!” Simple but effective and whether fans gravitate to Cudi’s experimentation in genre-blending or not, he isn’t riding what’s trending in the current music scene; he’s simply doing him. To conclude, I’m very excited to see where Cudi goes on his next project and maybe we finally get the concluding chapter in the Man on the Moon series? Who knows but Kid Cudi definitely displayed all of his passion, voiced his pain, and slayed his demons on his latest effort.

Overall Rating: 8/10

Favorite Tracks: By Design, All In, Rose Golden, Baptized in Fire, Kitchen, Surfin’

Least Favorite Tracks: Releaser, Wounds

^Official teaser poster and images are courtesy of Lucasfilm Ltd LLC/Disney

What a time to be alive for Star Wars fans! Rogue One came out on Blu-ray in the beginning of the month and the hype from Star Wars Celebration has finally subsided and what a celebration it was. Now that I have had a week to digest and process all that was revealed at The Last Jedi panel, I can now discuss the poster and the teaser trailer for Episode VIII. During the panel, director Rian Johnson, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, and some members of the cast gave us a small glimpse into what we should expect from the new entry of the Skywalker saga.

Before debuting the trailer, Johnson revealed the official poster as it depicts Rey posing with a lightsaber and holding it high up into the air (which mirrors the classic pose that Luke Skywalker had in the poster for A New Hope), and it has Luke on one side and Kylo Ren on the other. The color palette is mostly red and symbolizes a more darker tone for the second entry of the sequel trilogy. So many things to speculate just from the simple image, and it’s honestly a terrific poster that I would gladly hang on my wall. Anyway, let’s get into discussing the trailer because I have been anticipating this for months and wanted to see what tone Episode VIII is going to have.

Overall, I think the trailer did its job by teasing us on what we can look forward to in the film. It didn’t give us too many details on the plot, which I definitely appreciated because some movie trailers give away too much of the plot in their trailers. It gave us glimpses of what some of the characters both old and new. It was a very Rey-and-Luke heavy trailer with the other main characters excluding Snoke. Now the big “oh shit” moment of the trailer comes at the end when Luke declares that the Jedi should end. Just that one line of dialogue created a plethora of theories about what he meant. Did he mean that the philosophy that the Jedi Order was built on stemming from the prequels needs to end? Or in order to fully establish balance in the force is to have the Jedi end? So. Many. Questions....

THE EPISODE VIII TRAILER IS FINALLY HERE!!! (YES, I HAD TO TYPE IN ALL CAPS B/C I’M THAT EXCITED)

Hello people of the interwebs. My name is Chris Gonzalez, and this is my first blog. I’m using this platform to post anything that interests me or random stuff if I feel like it. But I’ll mainly use it to post music, movie, and some TV reviews. I’m ready to take my writing and creativity to the next level so even though this is MY blog first and foremost, I always like to hear other people’s opinions and not opposed to constructive criticism. So enjoy, share, comment, bring yo popcorn, and get ready to enter the complex mind that is my own.