"second time around"

last week, i hastily reviewed the three prominent hip-hop releases from kid cudi, raekwon, and jay-z. i broke down my thoughts on each track, but i didn't compile an overall score. being a mathematical genius, i composed a complex equation to normalize those numbers and produce an initial score. after having a few days to let each album soak in, i changed my final score accordingly and provided final thoughts. read on, friends!

+ kid cudi - man on the moon
initial 58/100
final 72/100
thoughts cudi is a good artist, but he still can't sing or rap. what he can do is select thought provoking production and craft memorable hooks and choruses. while man on the moon has grown on me immensely, this album would be better served if everything was kept in tact and cudi's attempts at rapping were discarded. maybe i was judging the book by its cover because dear god, that was one of the worst album covers i've seen this decade. i can't lie though. i find myself listening to this album more and more.

+ raekwon - only built 4 cuban linx pt. 2
initial 84/100
final 84/100
thoughts yes, this album sounds incredibly dated and would have been better if it met a pre-2000 release, but ob4cl2 is still dope. the production is vintage and top shelf while raekwon and company keep everything flowing smoothly as they weave in and out of the coke drama. there is classic material in there, but a handful of production missteps and sometimes stale lyrics keep it from achieving the lofty heights of its predecessor. for me, it won't get better with time... unless we were somehow able to revert time.

+ jay-z - the blueprint 3
initial 75/100
final 70/100
thoughts i didn't want to harp on this before, but jay-z has severely regressed as a rapper. there are moments of clarity where jay-z shows glimpses of his previous greatness, but they are few and far between. we are mostly left with a listless jay-z that's content with delivering passable verses. production wise, the timbaland tracks were indeed awful and we all would have been better served if jay-z had continued working with sean c and lv. personally, this is nearly a one and done listening experience.

"the sky might fall"

+ "in my dreams"
feature none
producer emile
notes kid cudi's singing seems completely off key. emile's production is reminiscent of the matrix. i feel like slowly contorting my body to dodge kid cudi's soundwaves.
first look score 1.5/5

+ "soundtrack 2 my life"
feature none
producer emile
notes kid cudi has a passable flow, but lyrically, he's kind of thin. he's not that technical. you won't find yourself rewinding to hear "what did he just say?" moments. as for production, emile crafts an airy and spacey background that can be best described as sparse. the highlight of "soundtrack 2 my life" is the chorus. it's been said before, but kid cudi can craft and perform a hook.
first look score 3/5

+ "simple as..."
feature none
producer plain pat
notes the vocal sample is well integrated, but it just seems weird. as with the first two emile tracks, plain pat continues the simplicity. once again, kid cudi displays a fairly competent flow, but his song writing seems incredibly simple. the common interjections work well to bridge the gaps, but it seems like he's trying to go over your head.
first look score 2.5/5

+ "solo dolo"
feature none
producer emile
notes this one has a little more to it, production wise. if it wasn't obvious yet, kid cudi has no obligation to follow convention on his debut album. if you are looking for 16 bars, chorus, 16 bars, etc., you aren't going to find it here. what you will find is sporadic rapping, seemingly random singing, and operatic build ups.
first look score 3/5

+ "heart of a lion"
feature none
producer free school
notes to be honest, kid cudi reminds me of an amateur rapper. he just happens to be backed by expensive sounding production. when you listen to myspace rappers, you can tell that their homemade production was made in fruity loops or is simply garbage. with kid cudi, the sound is very clean so it gives the aura of professionalism. "heart of a lion" falls flat.
first look score 1/5

+ "my world"
feature billy cravens
producer plain pat
notes this sounds like a 808 leftover. kid cudi has a very lazy style. it would work better if he was saying anything of substance. the chorus is awful. there's nothing good i can say about this. everything seems so random.
first look score 1/5

+ "day n nite"
feature none
producer dot da genius
notes by now, you should know the track that put kid cudi on the map. this is what i expected when the kid cudi album fell on my lap. unfortunately, kid cudi didn't collaborate with dot da genius further. lyrically, this is terrible, but it's incredibly catchy. that's the difference that makes this track memorable and his other tracks disappointing and confusing.
first look score 4.5/5

+ "sky might fall"
feature none
producer kanye west
notes it isn't hard for me to admit that i'm in love with this track. i think it's expertly crafted from front to back. strangely, i think this is kid cudi's strongest and most lyrically adept track. kanye west created a simple, yet hauntingly effective background as cudi drearily sings "the sky might fall". it's the most complete track on the album thus far. the new additions to the track work well except for kid cudi's bridge, but even that isn't enough to ruin this.
first look score 5/5

+ "enter galactic"
feature none
producer illfonics
notes wow. i don't think i can even comment on the singing or rapping. it's dreadful. the production is the saving grace. i think this would have been much more effective as an instrumental. fortunately for dj's, "enter galactic" can be mixed easily in any house set. kid cudi takes himself incredibly seriously and he's trying to impart that perceived knowledge to the listener, but it comes across as disingenuous and pretentious.
first look score 3/5

+ "alive"
feature ratatat
producer ratatat
notes ratatat is generally awesome even though all their tracks virtually sound identical because they only know one guitar/synthesizer setting. you could take kid cudi out of this and it would just sound like an outtake from lp3. it's disappointing to hear kid cudi because he seemingly had a lot of potential, but he has absolutely no idea how to construct a track. it's not even about concentrating on rapping or singing. he needs to improve dramatically in all categories.
first look score 3.5/5

+ "cudi zone"
feature none
producer emile
notes goodness. kid cudi cannot rap. he hasn't had a single memorable line. his flow is relatively spot on. he displays that ability here, but lyrically, he is abominable. the production has been fairly good so far and emile does a good job here especially on the strings. kid cudi has been spotty on the singing. on this track, he is in the zone and his chorus is strong.
first look score 3/5

+ "make her say"
feature kanye west, common
producer kanye west
notes other than "sky might fall", this is probably the best produced track, but it doesn't fit on this album at all. kid cudi's vocal contribution is awful, but kanye west and common rescue this track. the video for "make her say" was also well made and that adds to the overall score and reception of this track. honestly, i don't see why kid cudi couldn't work with his label head and improve his rapping. kanye west has shown noticeable improvement on every album and hopefully, we see the same from cudi.
first look score 4.5/5

+ "pursuit of happiness"
feature mgmt, ratatat
producer ratatat
notes once again, ratatat deliver with the production. they can't do much wrong since they do the same thing over and over again. mgmt are another of my preferred indie bands and they try their best to help cudi here. "tell me what you know about dreams"... i don't know, man. kid cudi is really trying to push this art house agenda with music that should be going over our heads, but it's just terrible. man on the moon is definitely an album that requires an instrumental release.
first look score 3.5/5

+ "hyyerr"
feature chip tha ripper
producer crada
notes see, this is new age production with substance and feeling. sadly, it's blatantly obvious that chip tha ripper is leaps and bounds better than kid cudi. i like this track though. kid cudi does his best bone thugs n harmony impression and it works well with this production. right after i typed that, kid cudi started rapping, meh.
first look score 4/5

+ "up up & away"
feature none
producer free school
notes this sounds like it's from another album. i guess it's an apt track to finish this album. it makes no sense. kid cudi does a solid job with the chorus and he attempts to rap. i'm sure that the good family is somewhere giving kid cudi props on his artistic endeavor, but for me, it's been largely disappointing. while my review has seemed harsh, it's not all that bad. i can see myself listening to this album repeatedly because it has solid production values and a lot of catchy choruses.
first look score 1.5/5