Man on the Moon: The End of Day

by Kid Cudi

Overview

Kid Cudi is a fascinating rapper, claimed by the backpackers for his work with Kanye West on 808s & Heartbreak but equally loved by the mash-up club kids who went ape for his "Day N Nite" single, especially in its nu-disco remix from Crookers. His debut album was deep in the category of "much anticipated" as soon as it was announced, but when the promised game changer finally arrived, it became obvious that Cudi had already changed the game, and maybe debut albums aren't what they used to be. With its narration from Common and a track list broken into five "acts," Man on the Moon: The End of Day is almost as conceptual as its name implies, kicking off with a spaced-out slow roller coated in strings while Cudi states "Welcome, you're in my dream now." You most certainly are. What follows is Pink Floyd-styled story where the real world pain of "Soundtrack 2 My Life" mutates into sci-fi fantasies from the dark side of the moon. Along the way, brilliant samples -- like a bit of OMD's esoteric album Dazzle Ships -- and innovative sounds from Cudi and special guests Emile, Ratatat, and MGMT slowly shuffle the listener through the man's spliff-fueled exploration of space, a place where the artsy escape ridicule but fall prey to crushing isolation. With its bleeps, the hooky "Day N Nite" belongs, but the follow-up single, "Make Her Say," is a glorious mix of glitz and vulgarity with Kanye and Cudi twisting a Lady GaGa sample from "Poker Face" into "Poke Her Face." While it lightens the mood just before things turn ponderous, it barely fits. If it wasn't for the song, it would be as if Cudi launched his career with his own 808s, and therefore anyone looking for a more gripping kickoff should seek out either of his widely available mixtapes (A Kid Named Cudi or Dat Kid from Cleveland). This first official release is a soul searcher and may require more patience than your everyday debut. Still, the chilly, complicated Man on the Moon perfects the futuristic bleak-beat hip-hop Kanye purposed a year earlier, and rewards the listener with every tripped-out return. ~ David Jeffries

Product Details

Release Date:	09/29/2009
Label:	Universal / Universal Distribution
UPC:	0602527188386

Tracks

1. In My Dreams [Cudder Anthem]
2. Soundtrack 2 My Life
3. Simple As...
4. Solo Dolo [Nightmare]
5. Heart of a Lion [Kid Cudi Theme Music]
6. My World
7. Day 'N' Nite (Original)
8. Sky Might Fall
9. Enter Galactic [Love Connection Part I]
10. Alive [Nightmare]
11. Cudi Zone
12. Make Her Say [New Album Version]
13. Pursuit of Happiness [Nightmare]
14. Hyyerr
15. Up Up & Away
16. Day 'N' Nite [Crookers Remix]

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Kid Cudi   Primary Artist,Vocals,Co-Producer
Common   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Chip Tha Ripper   Primary Artist,Featured Artist,Vocals
Billy Cravens   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Ratatat   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
MGMT   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Wale   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Bily Craven   Primary Artist
Kanye West   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Andrew VanWyngarden   Vocals
L.E.X.   Vocals,Vocals
Ben Goldwasser   Vocals
Larry Gold   Strings,Conductor
Jeff Bhasker   Keyboards,Vocals (Background)
Alain Whyte   Guitar
Mike Stroud   Guitar
Scott Mescudi   Director
Bily Cravens   Featured Artist
The Larry Gold Orchestra   Strings
Morgan Zwhirledge   Guitar

Technical Credits

John Conte Jr.   Composer
Dot Da Genius   Mixing,Engineer,Producer
Oladipo Omishore   Composer
J. Baptiste   Composer
Scott Mescudi   Composer
Jason Chung   Composer
Patrick "Plain Pat" Reynolds   Producer,Executive Producer
Phil Sarna   Management
Billy Zarro   Marketing,Product Manager
Emile Haynie   Composer,Engineer,Producer,Management,Executive Producer
Nigil Mack   A&R
Stefani Germanotta   Composer
Faheem Najm   Composer
A.J. Baptiste-Cassell   Composer
K-West   Composer
David Guy   Composer
Josh Shultz   Assistant Engineer
The Kickdrums   Composer
Michael McHenry   Composer
Christopher Henderson   Composer
Christian Mochizuki   Assistant Engineer
Terius Nash   Composer
M Friedman   Composer
Jean Baptiste   Composer
Evan Mast   Composer,Engineer
Plain Pat   Executive Producer
Chris Padovan   Composer
Scott Sandler   Design,Art Direction
Nathaniel Walker   Composer
Kirk Harding   A&R
Bill Sienkiewicz   Illustrations
Paul Humphreys   Composer
Andy McCluskey   Composer
Sylvia Rhone   Executive Producer
Angela McCluskey   Composer
Kenny Gamble   Composer
Common   Narrator
Christopher "Deep" Henderson   Composer
James Brown   Composer
Larry Gold   String Arrangements
Gabriel Mark Hasselbach   Composer
Jamie Foxx   Composer
John Conte   Composer
Lonnie Lynn   Composer
Patrick Reynolds   Composer,Producer
Christian "Crada" Kalla   Composer
A. Whyte   Composer
Christian Kalla   Composer
Paul David Humphreys   Composer
Charles Worth   Composer
E. Mast   Composer
M. Stroud   Composer
Gerard Kawczynski   Composer
Rasheed Faheem   Composer
Alex Fitts   Composer
Jim Henson   Engineer
Taylor Rohrbacher   Assistant Engineer
Matt Pentilla   Composer
Chip Tha Ripper   Composer
Kid Cudi   Producer,Executive Producer
Christian Plata   Assistant,Mixing Assistant
Andrew Dawson   Engineer
Erik Madrid   Assistant,Mixing Assistant
Matthew Friedman   Composer,Producer
Michael Makowski   Assistant Engineer
The-Dream   Composer
P. Reynolds   Composer
Breyon Prescott   Composer
Kanye West   Composer,Producer,Executive Producer
Ratatat   Producer
Jeff Bhasker   Composer,Producer
Ari Raskin   Engineer
Anthony Kilhoffer   Engineer
Alain Whyte   Composer
C. Stewart   Composer
Manny Marroquin   Mixing
Ryan West   Engineer
Anthony Palazzole   Assistant,Assistant Engineer
Leon Huff   Composer
Mike Stroud   Composer
Trevor Dandy   Composer
Dave Guy   Composer
Leon Michels   Composer
Thomas Brenneck   Composer
Vlado Meller   Mastering
Lady Gaga   Composer
C. Kalla   Composer
Crada   Producer
D. Guy   Composer
Olubowale Akintimehin   Composer
Brandon Melancon   Composer
Christian Padovan   Composer
Claude Puterflam   Composer
Free School   Producer
Gerard Kawszynski   Composer
L. Michels   Composer
Matt Friedman   Composer,Producer
Mike McHenry   Composer
Nadir Khayat   Composer
Nathan Walker   Composer
P. Humphreys   Composer
J. Chung   Composer
Paul Zaza   Composer