Man on the Moon III: The Chosen Review

 

  

   

   Man on the Moon III: The Chosen is the third installment in Kid Cudi’s Man on The Moon trilogy. Diving into his self-destructive and emotional turmoil, these series of albums details his journey from a void of loneliness to a weathered man who has journeyed from the darkness to become the best version of him and find his happiness. Plagued by some lackluster features and a few tracks that sonically fell short, The Chosen is a psychedelic, heartfelt message about Cudi overcoming difficulties in his life and being happy with the man he has become.

    The album is broken into four separate acts, those being “Return 2 Madness,” “The Rager, The Menace,” “Heart of Rose Gold,” and finally the last act of “Powers”. This concept almost plays out like another Man on the Moon series within itself, with a theme of descending into a dark place, to healing, growing and becoming a man with what Cudi describes as so called “Powers.”

    The album begins with the track “Beautiful Trip,” a super psyched out instrumental with some beautiful classic Cudi hums that makes you feel as if you are on the surface of the moon alone, about to begin a so called journey back to earth. The track sets the tone for the rest of the record, as it seems to convey a feeling of melancholy and eagerness all at once. Cudi in a sense is still alone as this “Man on the Moon,” but it is unclear at this point if he is calling out for help or if he doesn’t know he needs help. Tracks like “Tequila Shots,” showcase some of the great production on this record. A trap banger you would listen to while cruising in space at light speed, there are these droned out piano keys that are hitting constantly and right after the drums to really give the track a feeling of urgency and a psychedelic feel. In this same act, Cudi says on the track “Another Day;” “The Rager from the dark, Day fades and the sun goes down, same old nigga and the same old pain.” Here we can clearly see this descent, or “return” to a dark place. Cudi is aware of this change, but he is always growing and evolving, and it is unclear to him as well if this change is positive or negative, hence the reason he becomes the Rager and the Menace.

    On Cudi’s second album in this series, The Legend of Mr. Rager, the Rager persona is what I would consider his villainous alter ego. A party animal and a desolate man who is truly lost at rock bottom. On The Chosen, Cudi once again becomes this person as The Rager and The Menace. Tracks like “Damaged” and “Heaven on Earth” showcase the moody, synthesized production while also showing us Cudi’s ability to flow over these instrumentals and deliver very emotional and soulful hooks as well. On “Heaven on Earth,” we get these very light, spacy keys that feel as if we are floating alone through the stars, and the reverbing base that comes in on the hook really grabs you and immerses you in the track. It is apparent that Cudi has reverted back to a dark place and that is chronicled heavily in the second act especially in tracks like “Mr. Solo Dolo III,” where Cudi constantly reinforces this idea of feeling alone and lost. Lines that Cudi raps such as “Deep in Hell in dark Corners, Deep in my dreams perceived nah” really show that he’s trapped within himself, and he continues to say that nobody else understands him and that he doesn’t need anyone. The hook on this track is unbelievable as well, with Cudi pouring so much soul and emotion into it, making it one of the best tracks on the record. Unfortunately the track “Show Out,” which features the late Pop Smoke and UK Grime artist Skepta comes up very short. This track didn’t fit with the conceptual and aesthetic feel of this entire record, trying to combine Drill rap elements and Cudi’s style together, and it makes for a pretty boring song with a disappointing feature from Pop Smoke and a forgettable one from Skepta. Pop Smoke’s feature is just a series of words uttered again and again throughout the hook, and the production has these annoying, sharp high-hats that hit so fast, coupled with a bland bass in the background that gives this track a generic, rushed trap vibe. Arguably the only dud on here, it just wasn’t something that needed to be on this record at all.

    A huge theme in this this album is the concept of dreams and how they influence our thoughts. Cudi seems to almost be in two places at once, reflected in the album’s artwork where we can see half his face and the other shows him floating near the moon. Kid Cudi has acknowledged this apparent divide within himself, like when he raps on Tequila Shots: “You can’t stop this war in me.” Also on the track “Dive,” Cudi says “This is the sadness in me, sad times, just another evening.” Throughout the record there are always conflicting emotions and Cudi is really struggling to regain control and not fade away. This record isn’t just one about self-turmoil though; there is a huge spiritual aspect to this album. On the track “Heaven on Earth,” Cudi mentions that angels are watching over him, but then seems to contradict that by saying “Don’t embellish this hell that we in.” He seems to be trying to heal himself, but in a sense he is still the Man on the Moon, trying desperately to get back to earth.

    Cudi at his core is also a lover, and as he has discovered himself, is surrounded by people that reciprocate that feeling. Tracks like “Sept 16” where he raps about the love of his significant other “washing over him” is just so pure and honest combined with his trippy, heartfelt vocals and smooth piano keys humming in and out throughout the background of the track really make this one of his most genuine songs. Continuing the theme of the rose gold heart we get tracks like “The Void.” The drums on this hit really clear and the snare is ever so light but perfectly tuned. Combine that with the emotion you hear through Cudi on the hook and you have a really beautiful track. He raps on this song “When it’s dark and my heartbeat echoes, Yeah that’s just what I love, ooh, Heaven ain’t too far now.” The imagery that Cudi can convey with just a few simple lines is truly remarkable and this bar also shows us the idea that Cudi is on his way to finding his “heaven,” and he is doing that through loving himself and those around him.

    Finally Cudi has come out of his dark place and back to earth, and now he has taken what he has learned and developed super powers. Not really, but his “powers” are sort of his skills he has learned to be a better person overall. The last four tracks are probably the most upbeat and positive, reflecting on past difficulties but always overcoming them. On the track “The Pale Moonlight,” Cudi is constantly reflecting on his past and overcoming his difficulties. He raps “Yeah, caught in the moonlight, In the mirror, used to hate what I’d see, Healing but I’m dealing with some things, shit’ll never stop.” This is probably the most truthful, real world line that you could apply to anyone. We all have to deal with bad times, but we always heal from them and there will always be new struggles in our lives to overcome. “4 da Kidz” is a track basically to his fans and anyone struggling, in which Cudi raps about keeping your family close and that if you are going through a rough time, we are all in this world together so you can always lean on somebody. There is a Trippie Redd feature on the track “Rockstar Knights” and I really enjoyed this one. Trippie’s vocals on the hook combine really well with the psychedelic trap aesthetic of this track and he flows really nice over the spacy piano keys and fast paced synth like drums in the background. Cudi comes in with a deep, almost menacing tone at first, then when the beat switches up near the end and slows down, we get some signature Cudi hums and the outro verse from Cudi is one of loving, partying and driving into the night once again, reflecting on who he is and what he must do now. The final track “Lord I Know” comes in with some super sweet flute notes reverbing throughout with some hard hitting bass that complement Cudi’s flow quite well. He raps “Start the show, blessings in my life, lord I know you can make it right.” This line sums up Cudi’s outlook right now really well. He has come back from the dark place in his mind as well as his life and he is ready to “start the show,” so to actually really start his life almost for the first time. To end, his daughter Vada whispers the words “To be continued.”  Perhaps we will get another album in this storied series, or maybe Cudi will transcend and evolve beyond this inhibiting persona and become the ultimate version of himself.

    Arguably his best project since he released the second installment in this series, Man on Moon III: The Chosen is a psychedelic trap journey that takes us into the mind and life of Kid Cudi once again as we get to see him overcome his darkest demons and become the best version of himself we have ever seen. Great song writing combined with ethereal, dreamy trap production and heartfelt themes leave us with one of the best records of the year and one of Cudi’s most personal albums ever.

Score: 8/10