Indicud
The album features guest appearances from King Chip, Kendrick Lamar, Too Short, RZA, ASAP Rocky, Father John Misty, Michael Bolton and Haim.After his crossover into rock music with Dot da Genius, on their project WZRD (2012), Cudi soon began working on his third solo studio album.In April 2012, in Geneseo, New York, Cudi performed before a sold-out crowd and premiered a hip hop song, his first since 2010.[17] On October 1, 2012, Cudi confirmed that production from electronic rock duo Ratatat, with whom he collaborated on "Pursuit of Happiness" and "Alive" from his debut album Man on the Moon: The End of Day (2009), would be featured on Indicud.[17] On November 17, 2012, via his Twitter feed, Cudi announced the song he recorded with Kendrick Lamar was produced by himself and is titled "Solo Dolo, Part II".[21] He also stated his former GOOD Music label-mate Common would be featured on the album, on a song produced by Dot da Genius and Cudi's mentor 88-Keys.During his barrage of tweets, Webber gave insight on the album, revealing Too Short and Wu-Tang Clan's RZA as features, as well as praising Cudi's production, rapping and singing.I was able to make some really great records, but it was the most aggressive music I ever made” In an interview with Billboard, released March 2013, Cudi confirmed he was working closely with ASAP Rocky, while also revealing Haim, an all-female indie rock band, would appear on the album on a song produced by high-profile American record producer Hit-Boy and himself.In an April 2013 interview, Cudi told MTV News how his collaboration with "the '80s legend" Michael Bolton came about: "My mom is a huge fan so I grew up hearing him in the household and he did the song with The Lonely Island that I thought that was genius."[29] "I reached out," Cudi added, "he responded immediately and we were able to get him in the studio for like three hours and most of the time he spent talking and just dropping science.As for the A$AP Rocky feature on "Brothers," Cudi explained that he made the decision to go with a minimal hook and let the Harlem rapper dominate the track: "I felt like that was a perfect beat for A$AP to get on there and speak some truths and talk to the younger generation, because he's in a place where a lot of kids are up to him and Kendrick.[8] In late November, Cudi made it known he would be withholding the album's exact release date, until it was certain, to avoid push backs.[24] In January 2013, Cudi took to Twitter to express his frustrations with record label, Universal Republic, not supporting and promoting his music.After providing facts about singles "Just What I Am" and "King Wizard", defending their strong online presence and lamenting about not getting radio play, Cudi tweeted, "if things dont change soon, theres gonna be some problems.[40] Three days later, Kid Cudi announced via Twitter that the album had officially been completed and turned in to his label, Universal Republic.[48] On August 12, 2012, Kid Cudi released the lead single from Indicud, a song titled "Just What I Am", featuring his longtime collaborator and friend, rapper King Chip.[53] On October 3, 2012, one day after "Just What I Am", the album's lead single was officially released via iTunes, Cudi liberated "King Wizard" as the second offering from Indicud via SoundCloud.[54][55] Cudi who also produced the track, had teamed up with Samsung Mobile to release the clean version of the newly mastered "King Wizard" as a free download.[58] On November 7, he revealed the upcoming single's title to be "Immortal", and that it again was produced by himself like the two previous releases, "Just What I Am" and "King Wizard".[63] On April 2, 2013, Cudi released "Girls" for digital download via the iTunes Store, as the album's fourth single."[70] Steve Jones of USA Today said, "Scott Mescudi handles the production of his third album, creating moody, surreal soundscapes to bolster rhymes that run the gamut of emotions."[77] David Jeffries of AllMusic stated, "It's an entertaining, vibrant, and artistically filling album, so consider it a "presents" effort and enjoy the show."[76] Dan Buyanovsky of XXL stated, "As a whole, Cudi’s version of 2001 is an original and bold project [...] This ambitious project does not fall flat, and credit is due to Cudi for continuing to challenge himself post-WZRD, taking on a new skill-set and concept rather than throwing together a collection of identically moody anthems."[69] Logan Smithson of PopMatters said, "If you've heard a Kid Cudi album before, you probably know what you’re going to get from Indicud, and for those who have been patiently awaiting his latest release, that's great news.The point is, this record just proves that Kid Cudi has a lot of sorting to do, and continuing down the same old path simply won’t cut it in the long-run."[79] Joe Gross of Rolling Stone said, "Someday this Cleveland MC/producer/former weed enthusiast will find the lyrical and vocal charisma to match the scrumptiously dark, quasi-industrial tenor of his moody beats.They commented saying, "the album's cinematic feel puts Cudi in the director's seat as he compiles a diverse ensemble cast of luminaries, ranging from rap legends like RZA to indie rockers like Haim to West Coast spitters like Kendrick Lamar.[81] In December 2013, HipHopDX placed it on their list of the top 25 albums of the year saying, "In a manner akin to Robert Johnson selling his soul to the devil to become a magician of a bluesman, Kid Cudi also clearly sold his soul to the demons that once claimed it in order to craft this album.The album was an honest representation of the maturation of Cudi’s space age sound and middle finger to the world attitude.