The kid is finally back, Kid Cudi that is. After about year of production and the help of producer Dot Da Genius, Kid Cudi finally released his new album WZRD on February 28th of this year. The album is a little different from what Cudi typically produces, but it’s still essentially the original genetic sound you would expect from him.
Kid Cudi unveiled the project on Twitter in January of 2011. His objective was to attain an alternative rock persona but to also maintain his catchy lyrics and knocking hooks. We all expected it to be a little different due to the fact that he was working with Dot Da Genius, but it still seems to fill the Cudi emptiness fans have been experiencing this past year.
The album debuted #3 on the Billboard 200 chart, having sold a total of 66,000 digital and physical copies in the first week. WZRD also debuted #1 on the Top Rock Albums and Top Alternative Albums. Yet we feel we were all disappointed with what both artists’ created; expecting the original Kid Cudi that made him a success. It’s something we didn’t expect from him, but it still fulfilled what we have been urging to listen to.
The album opens up with the futuristic rock instrumental of “The Arrival”. A little guitar strumming and hand claps are all Cudi needed in “High of Life” to show his new life of sobriety. Between the help of Empire of the Sun and the trance of the music, “The Dream Time Machine” turned out to be a very unique track. With a little bit of a featured rock sound, they captured the hard sound of Cudi’s vocals in “Love Hard”. “Live and Learn” kept the album steady and “Brake” broke the boundaries Cudi was limited too. The lead single of “Teleport 2 Me, Jamie” has the Cudi we’ve all grown to love, balancing the album. A cover of Nirvana “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?” and “Efflictim” kept the rawness of Cudi alive. “Dr. Pill” featured an electro sound that will catch the attention of everyone, seeing a side never seen by Cudi. Being the most uplifting song on the album, “Upper Room” leaves the crowd speechless and wondering what is left to expect from the Band on maybe another album together.
