Kid Cudi is a talented man. His ability to blend his smoky drawl with any number of different beats gives him a surfeit of possibilities for any subgenre he chooses to experiment with. His content is another story. With “The Message,” a laid back exploration of his struggle for fame, he seems comfortable merely skimming the surface. Though it taunts you with the promise of something better, the song never manages to make good on it.
It starts off with dreamland keyboards and a pretty woodwind melody, and your attention tends to wander back to what is the strongest part of the song. Cudi’s sleepy charm is initially enough to overcome the banality of his story until it drops off into a limp, cloying chorus. It drains the song of its momentum and it never really recovers.
Lyrically, Cudi has been much better. His witticisms and colourful observations of the everyday are sadly absent and what remains lacks edge or focus. Lines about after school specials and Nokia ring tones are glanced at through a peephole, providing flashes of what may have been possible, making the whole thing a little frustrating. The destiny/higher calling mantra may still have corners to be explored, but with trite and occasionally unlettered lyrics there isn’t much evidence that Cudi can excel with this subject matter.
