QUICK SPINS: Cee Lo Green, Kid Cudi
By Tankboy in Arts & Entertainment on Nov 9, 2010 4:40PM
Both Cee Lo Green and Kid Cudi release highly anticipated albums today, so let's throw each on the turntable and share our thoughts on what comes pumping out of our stereo.
When Cee Lo Green’s “Fuck You” firebombed the internet this fall with it’s supreme catchiness we wailed in despair that due to its late release we were robbed of the Song of the Summer 2010. It also set up what could have been insurmountable expectations for the album it was appearing on, The Lady Killer. Now that we’ve heard the whole album we’re again wailing in despair over the realization that this was the Album of the Summer 2010 that never surfaced.
Green mixes moods and beats throughout the album but everything is grounded in the sensibility that timeless R&B never grows stale. There are party jams, desolate lovers wails, and ridiculously entertaining boasts that would leave even Barry White bemusedly but knowingly shaking his head. Amazingly, throughout all this stylistic shifting, Green never forgets the importance of the hook so the whole stew is seasoned perfectly and there’s a not a single portion of it that’s out of balance with its surroundings. Green may be centered on “love” throughout the songs on The Lady Killer, but through his endless readings of countless wild variations upon the concept he ensures we never get tired of the subject. In the hunt for Album of the Year we suspect The Lady Killer will be one of the most sought after.
Kid Cudi
Man On The Moon II: The Legend Of Mr. Rager
Kid Cudi’s sophomore effort finds finds him exploring many of the same heavy stoner hip-hopera atmospherics of his debut. Instead of feeling like a return to the safe and familiar, though, Cudi instead expands his sonic ambition and lays himself upon its bed while opening his deepest emotional veins, streaming confessional lyrics all over the place. In most this approach would be insufferable, but Cudi’s own self-awareness in cunningly balanced by a fearlessness that gives credence to his words without forcing them to be bombastic.
And the music finds Cudi to be just as fearless. More orch-pop in places than hip-hop, veering into Weezer-ish guitar territory without sounding canned in others, Cudi seems obsessed with matching the sounds of his music perfectly with his sentiment and emotional thrust, instead of trying to reverse engineer the match. These adventurous inclinations do come with a price; as Cudi allows himself to wallow ever deeper in his interior spaces, attempting to unravel "just what it all means," the album does begin to lose some steam during stretches of its second and third acts. Despite those moments, and even these stumbles are still pretty compelling listening, Cudi continues to make the case that he is currently one of the few in hip-hop really willing to push the boundaries both musically and emotionally in an effort to create great art.