Man on the Moon 2: The Legend of Mr. Rager review.

Kid Cudi is one of those artists that you either love or hate. His first mix-tape, A Kid Named Cudi, is a classic in my eyes and I could play it every day of the week with songs like Down & Out, Man on the Moon (The Anthem), The Prayer, Embrace the Martian, Save My Soul (The Cudi Confession), T.G.I.F., Cudi Spazzin' and Cleveland is the Reason. (Basing on the number of tracks I listed there, you can easily tell I really like that mix-tape.) Ever since that mix-tape, I've been a fan of Cudi, despite the path he's taken his musical career on lately.

However, at least to me, he has really regressed since that mix-tape. His debut album, Man on the Moon: The End of Day, drifted a little away from what he brought to the table with A Kid Named Cudi, but it was still a pretty good album nonetheless. When I listened to some leaks for the sequel of that album, Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager, I was disappointed because none of them sounded appealing to me whatsoever.

So with zero expectations, I put off giving this a full listen for a little while after I obtained the leak of it. (There was almost this little mix-tape called Mood Muzik 4 that was restricting my motivation to listen to Kid Cudi too.) Could this surprise me and prove to be a nice sequel to the first chapter of this story?

Scott Mescudi Vs. The World [3.5/5] leads off the album and I like the play on words from Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World. The production on this is nice, like I would imagine since I'm a big fan of all the production Cudi gets, but I enjoy Cee-Lo's hook more than Cudi himself. That's not a bad thing, but it brings down the rating a tad.

REVOFEV [2/5] was one of the leaks I heard before the entire album came out and although it has grew on me, I still am not feeling it. After already praising the production in the last paragraph, I've come to not necessarily hate the production on this track, but I don't like it. Cudi's second verse with him singing "I'm so high" constantly isn't too appealing for me.

Don't Play This Song? [5/5] What are you talking about Cudi? I'll play this song all day, every day. This is exactly what I want out of him, because I feel it mixes both the old Cudi with this new version of him and it sounds amazing. Mary J. Blige does a great job on the hook and I'm glad she found an appearance on this album.

We Aite (Wake Your Mind Up) [3/5] is an interlude, I believe. Nice beat, but nothing else is really going on here.

I don't smoke Marijuana [4.5/5] but I am really feeling the song. The beat is awesome, the hook is pretty nice and the first verse is good. I laughed at the comment at the end by Cudi, waiting till the last moment to announce the time "4:20", which is also the track's duration. Very clever Mr. Mescudi, very clever indeed.

Mojo So Dope [3.5/5] was the only original leak that I liked. And although I still like it, it doesn't hold a candle to Don't Play This Song and Marijuana, which lowers the ranking a bit. The hook is nice though, which has always been one of Cudi's strengths.

When I read some other people's thoughts about this album, I got an overwhelming positive response for Ashin' Kusher [5/5]. They were absolutely right. This sounds like it's off of A Kid Named Cudi with the actual rapping from Cudi, an awesome hook topped off with great production once again. Before getting this album, I would have never guessed to give out one 5/5, but two 5/5's means it already surpassed expectations.

Erase Me [4.5/5] should be absolutely horrible. Rock and rap doesn't mix in most cases - see Lil' Wayne and Rebirth for an example - but there's just something, something I can't point out, that makes this song click. I even hated it when I heard the leak, but I can't stop playing it now. Kanye West comes in with a decent feature near the end.

The original leak of Wild'n Cuz I'm Young [3/5] was much better with Kanye on it. However, this track now just doesn't do anything special for me besides nice production once again.

The Mood [4/5] is strange, but in a good way. The production stands out the most, with whatever that is screaming or singing in the background; I can't explain it with words but you all know what I'm talking about when you listen to it. That alone makes this a good track to me.

MANIAC [3.5/5] is another nice track but near the end, there is far too much going on production-wise. Cage did a nice job with his guest feature and Cudi was good, but like I said, the production was nice for most of the track, then just got sloppy near the end and turned me off of it.

I love the hook on Mr. Rager [3/5], but the rest of the track? It's forgettable. I don't think I would have to mention the production again on this album; most of the time, it results in a positive comment.

There's just something about These Worries [2.5/5] that's off for me. Maybe it's because it seems that Mary J. Blige is getting more face time on your own track (That's not a problem in enjoyment value, obviously.) but nonetheless, there's something that I just don't like. The song also seems too long; when I first listened to it, I swore it was at least seven minutes in duration. The ending throws me off too and not in a good way.

Nicole Wray is the lone downfall on The End [4/5] after not delivering with hook duties. I don't really like her voice, but maybe it's because I'm used to hearing Blige on Cudi's hooks on this album; you know, since she has two already. GLC, Chip Tha Ripper and Cudi all come with enjoyable verses however.

All Along [4/5] is just something all of the listeners can vibe to. That's the best way I can describe it. There's nothing bad about it, there's nothing amazing about it; it is what it is. And that's why I enjoy these songs from Cudi.

GHOST! [1.5/5] should have made like a ghost and disappear from the album. I hate the beat and the horn or whatever it is in the background and Cudi's voice seems off. I added half a point to the rating because I do like the last minute, but it doesn't make up for the rest of the song.

Trapped In My Mind [3.5/5] ends the album on a positive note. I catch myself numerous times singing the title's name at the beginning of the song and the overall vibe of this song is solid. I don't like the shift of beat during the second hook though.

After listening to the entire album [3.53/5], I have to give Cudi a round of applause because it definitely exceeded the little, to no expectations I had. There's a slightly different vibe (I feel like I've used this word too much during the review.) to this album compared to The End of Day, but I'd definitely have this below the first chapter of the Man on the Moon saga.

Before I get some negative feedback, with some comments like "oh, you gotta smoke to love this album", remember that my album of the year at this point, Pilot Talk, is classified by many as a "smoker's album." The difference between the two, besides the stellar production on Pilot Talk to just the good/great production on this, is that Curren$y throws around some clever punchlines and really does his best to make it known that he's a rapper first, entertainer second. I know Cudi is falling back from actually rapping, but it still makes a mark on me because I really, really loved A Kid Named Cudi and want that Cudi to come back.