Kid Cudi: "Man On The Moon III" Review - Michael Barnes
As promised earlier this year on “The Adventures of Moon Man & Slim”, the trilogy has continued. Kid Cudi has returned with the third installment in the “Man on the Moon” trilogy, titled “The Chosen”. To many people of my age, this is a big deal. Cudi rose to stardom with “Man on the Moon” as I entered middle school, “Pursuit of Happiness”, “Cudi Zone”, and “Up up & Away” were all go-tos during those formative years, I am certainly not alone in this experience, he is one of those generation-defining artists and, needless to say, means alot to myself and many others. He followed that debut album with an equally impactful sequel. Following those two releases, Cudi’s music took a pretty objective turn for the worse. “Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven”, and “Passion Pain and Demon Slayin’” left me completely scratching my head, not because they were sonically different, but because there was such a clear dip in quality. Additionally, and likely not unrelated, Cudi went through some pretty significant and public battles with his mental health. After leaving the spotlight for a few years, he returned with Kanye West to deliver an absolute magnum opus for both of their careers, Kids See Ghosts. Kids See Ghosts was a huge moment for both Kanye and Cudi, but for Cudi it was a clear revitalization, a cathartic release that asserted he was back. More importantly, he has seemed much happier and calmer over the past few years and continues to promote dialogue on his struggles and the broader stigmas surrounding mental health. This coupled with the fact that the few singles he has released this year have been awesome made me very optimistic that “Man on the Moon 3” would be a return to form for Cudi from a solo project perspective.