Kid Cudi, one of the most inspirational musical artists of all time teams up with Amazon to present an in depth look at his life during his career starting from his roots from Man on the Moon all the way to his latest release of Man of the Moon III.
Joined by the likes of Kanye West, Plain Pat, Schoolboy Q, Jaden, Dot Da Genius, A$AP Rocky, Shia LaBeouf and many more, this musical documentary explores the rise of Kid Cudi and the struggles he find with fame and drugs as his success grows and grows.
Before the review begins I must point out I am a big Kid Cudi fan and to see him so happy with himself now is really beautiful and shows through the dark times you will find the light.
Man On The Moon: The birth of an Instant Classic
Man on the Moon is really one of the best albums of all time. Cudi become a role model for millions of kids around the globe who had no one to look up too. I never realised Day N Nite had been around since 2007. Man seeing all these classic tracks being revisited and the thought process behind them is awe inspring. The way Solo dolo’ iconic haunting instrumental was created is incredible and seeing tracks like this being created really shows the creativity and work that is required in order to create stand out music. Its obvious to see how this album was so revolutionary due to its sound being so different from the typical gangster rap of the era and Cudi shows that you can be different and successful, the norm does not have to be followed.
Man On The Moon II: The Other Side of Fame
The look on Plain Pat’s face when asked about Man on the Moon II triggers a sense of uncomfortableness. As him fame rose his happiness decreased with drugs especially cocaine being used to “escape from reality”. An Arrest and altercations with fans followed showing this was one of the darkest periods during his career. This section makes you understand tracks like Mr Rager more as you can hear as well as now see what he was battling during this era. It’s an interesting insight to see these darker periods knowing Cudi has come out strong in the present day and seeing the obstacles he has come over is inspirational to those going through similar problems.
WZRD: Listen to my Heart
Probably one of the most interesting parts of the documentary was the WZRD listening party. I had never seen or heard of this footage before but the passionate rant Cudi goes on shows the state of mind he was in, that his passion could sometimes trigger a ball of rage which can come of as aggressiveness, but when in reality he just wants you to listen to what he has to say from his heart rather than having to say what others want him to say (In relation to him constantly being told to make a radio hit).
Indicud: The Love of Performance
Indicud created my favourite song of all time “Just What I Am” featuring King Chip. Damn I wish I was at that Coachella show where he bought out King Chip, I would have wept my eyes out, I have this strong deep connection with that song it makes me feel different every time I press play. We really see Cudi’s love for performing and his fans in the montage that goes with the Indicud chapter.
Note: I never knew Cudi did a version of the classic OutKast Track “Chonkyfire”, that s**t was dope.
Speedin Bullet 2 Heaven: The Darkest Timeline
Its no secret that this experimental album did not go down well with critics however its obvious to me this album was used to push his creativity further while it was also needed for Cudi to express his inner emotions through the only way he knew how at the time, through music. Emotions ranged from sadness to all out rage. Cudi states that he was in a even worse way than during the Man On The Moon II era and does not really want to talk about any of the songs on the album. We get the impression this was the time where Cudi lost a lot of people and began to feel isolated from the world.
Passion Pain & Demon Slayin: Tackling the Addiction
The documentary is excelelnt for showcasing the struggles of drug addiction. We see that Cudi begins using to then becoming sober to then begin using again as he deals with his personal demons. A common phrase reiterated is the idea of shame. Cudi past would dwell on him as he references his past relationships and how the thought of letting people down would eat him alive at times.
The Facebook post from Cudi tagged alongside the famous video of Kanye telling people his “brother” has checked into rehab , sparks a range of emotions from sadness to relief. This was one of the best decisions in his life as I feel this saved his life. The montage of fans talking about Cudi’s music is powerful and really shows the impact he has had on people, an impact not many artists can say they have had.
KIDS SEE GHOSTS: The Return of Moon Man
The closing section of the documentary shows the importance of Kanye West in his life. When it comes to the Legendary Mr West, people seem to focus on the negatives rather than the positives. Cudi even states how West saved him and I feel Kids See Ghosts help Cudi rediscover not just himself but the positive parts of life.
Closing Thoughts
A very insightful documentary into one of my favourite artists of all time. I love the brutal honesty of Scott as he openly talks about his problems that he has had to deal with and that he acknowledges he has made mistakes which as us fans can sympathise and feel what he went though in his life. This documentary has made me appreciate his music more especially MOTM II and SB2H as I can now visually create an idea of what the thought process was behind these albums.
My only gripes with the resentation of the documentary is that I was not a fan of the artistic dancing or performances. I would have preferred more clips of studio sessions or performances but that’s just me.
For any Kid Cudi/ music fan this is a must watch.
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