By Zack Gase

One thing you should know about Kid Cudi, is that he is going to do what he wants. Was it admirable to ditch the formula that brought him great success on his first two records, and try something different on his 2012 album WZRD? Sure. Did it make the project any more listenable? Absolutely not. Unfortunately, on his third solo album Indicud, Kid Cudi’s ambition remains the undoing of an album that had a lot of potential.

Kid Cudi, who has never previously produced a song on any of his records, has a production credit on all 18 tracks of Indicud. And while early singles like the King Chip-featured Just What I Am and King Wizard showed that Cudi is capable of making solid beats, his limited synth sounds grow tiresome very quickly over the course of the album.

On the record’s better cuts, Cudi’s vocal melodies mask otherwise forgettable beats and breathe life into stale songs. Cudi isn’t a terrible producer; he has plenty of good ideas (like the reversing of MGMT’s Congratulations on Immortal), he just hasn’t fully honed his craft yet. The only track that features outside help on the boards is Red Eye, which features co-production from Hit-Boy, and is consequently the best track on the album.

Kid Cudi has never been a strong technical rapper – rhyme scheme wise or lyrically – and that has not changed. He does try his best to match lyrical wits with Kendrick Lamar on Solo Dolo, Part II and isn’t entirely terrible on Cold Blooded, but on his best day Cudi will always be a rudimentary emcee. His strengths is his ability to form great melodies on hooks and on his sing-song verses, as he does on King Wizard and Immortal.

Aside from the anemic production, the main pitfall for Indicud is its length and unevenness. This record is 18 tracks long with a run-time of over 70 minutes; there are only a handful of rappers that can hold a listener’s attention that long, and Kid Cudi is not one of them.. Indicud features some really great songs like Brothers and the aforementioned Just What I Am, but it also features some really bad tracks like Burn Baby Burn, Lord of the Sad and Lonely and Young Lady. Also the three instrumental tracks are completely unnecessary and self-serving because not even his biggest stans want to hear eight minutes of Kid Cudi beats.

Is it admirable that Kid Cudi is brave enough to part with the production team that brought him great success, in order to be more independent? Yes it is, and I applaud his effort to stray away from the dark and moody nature of his Man on the Moon records and try something more positive and upbeat. But if there ever was an artist who should stick in his lane because that’s when he can create his best work, it’s Kid Cudi. Unfortunately, Cudi’s ambition doesn’t make Indicud any better and it certainly doesn’t make me miss Emile and Plain Pat any less.
Out of 5

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