WZRD
WZRD
Wicked Awesome, HeadBanga Muzik, Universal Republic
Known for his expressive, emotional lyrics, American hip-hop artist/rapper Kid Cudi has taken melancholy to a new level with WZRD’s debut album WZRD, released Feb. 28. The album comes as a collaboration with record producer Dot da Genius.
A recently sober and arguably renewed Cudi has really poured himself into this album, speaking of his life struggles and search for happiness. However, his sobriety is possibly the only good thing that has come out of this album. To be frank, the music is bad.
It’s understandable that this phase in a musician’s life is a vital stepping stone while redefining their sound, but why such a leap?
Along with a change in genre from hip-hop/rap to alternative rock, Cudi’s inspirations and collaborations have also changed from Kanye West and Snoop Dogg to Nirvana and Pink Floyd.
Don’t be mistaken, Cudi isn’t being faulted for trying something new; he’s being faulted for doing it poorly.
The entire album lacks musical substance, as well as any sort of catchy, upbeat tempo. The song “Love Hard” is corny, starting out with a loud electric guitar before Cudi begins to rant “blah blah blah blah blah” quite obnoxiously. “Love Hard” also makes the listener cringe and turn it off. Sadly, that would be the best advice for anyone expecting to actually hear something worthwhile.
The tracks all mush together with what seems to be the same harsh electric guitar, heavy drums, and mumbled lyrics throughout each song.
“High Off Life” is by far the corniest and most annoying track on the album. Cudi is extremely repetitive and his voice is just screechy the entire time. Yet, the meaning of the song itself makes sense. Cudi’s lyrics, “Never thought the day would come for me when I would be high off life,” is an obvious reference to his new sobriety and realizations of the better things in life.
The song had the potential to be a decent track, but the rocker version of Cudi just failed to follow through.
If you didn’t already sense the dramatic, depressed, slightly suicidal undertones present in each song, “The Arrival” really presses those themes. The nearly three minutes of instrumentals is an unnecessary track. Unlike the other songs where he rants out the same lyrics over and over until they’re meaningless, Cudi remains silent for the “song” that sounds more like the music on a menu screen of a bad horror movie.
At the very least, Kid Cudi is a talented artist, but it just isn’t projected in this album. So much more could have been done with the relatable themes in the songs, but the album just lacks everything needed to make it a success.
If one didn’t know Cudi’s previous music, they would either think he was some small-town kid with a mix tape trying to make it big, or a drunken trucker at a karaoke bar. Sorry Cudi, maybe next time.
