When I first saw Kid Cudi in his role as Reggie Watts’ replacement bandleader on IFC’s alt-comedy hit Comedy Bang! Bang!, I was impressed. Not because I didn’t believe the rapper could be funny, or that he wouldn’t fit in with the show’s ultra-specific sense of humor, but because I was shocked by how normal he seemed.
Which seems like a weird thing to be impressed by — after all, normalcy isn’t exactly the rarest human characteristic. But it is one that seems nonexistent in whatever world Kid Cudi inhabits.
To clarify, that’s because Kid Cudi is crazy. His name on Twitter is “The Chosen One,” a name he almost certainly chose for himself. He recently released an album of melodyless moaning broken up only by interludes starring Beavis and Butthead. He once discussed his music potential in an interview by saying: “People think that I’ve peaked. I haven’t even gotten a fucking nut off yet. I’ve been pre-cumming for the last eight years.” And he wants to name his next release Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin’.
So put away your well-thumbed copy of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders — the facts are there.
But six years ago, the only thing Cudi had going on was a bright future. Man on the Moon: The End of Day and its sequel cemented the rapper as a favorite amongst the legal-weed generation of stoners; his frequent work with Kanye West and Common loaned him some critical acclaim. “Day ‘n’ Nite” and “Pursuit of Happiness” were legitimate hits, and his contributions to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy helped shape the sound of one of modern rap’s most acclaimed albums.
And that’s about it.
Since then, Cudi’s musical output has matched his public persona: It’s inconsistent, unhinged and generally unenjoyable. In fact, while rap peers such as Kendrick Lamar have continually improved with each album, and artists such as his once-mentor Kanye have evolved with each release, Cudi’s music has somehow managed to get worse and worse.
WZRD wasn’t great, Indicud was pretty bad and Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven was an audio recording of a plane hitting a train hitting a baby stroller. And really, that’s Cudi’s fatal flaw. The American public has an absurd tolerance for erratic celebrity behavior – be it cheating, drugging or ranting. In fact, people eat it up. But with that undying attention comes an unspoken clause: You still have to remind us why we care in the first place.
It’s something Kanye West is great at. Just when he says something you can’t support, he releases a song or video that reminds the world why he’s one of modern music’s greatest creators. But when your music is: A) largely adored by people who listened to it while smoking weed for the first time seven years ago and B) growing progressively shittier, it’s hard to justify your insanity.
He was pretty funny on Comedy Bang! Bang! though!
