In the world of hip-hop, there are many debates that permeate throughout the culture: East coast or West Coast, mainstream or underground, freestyle or written. One that currently seems to divide the masses, is rappers beginning to sing in their songs. Though this has been happening for years, it somehow always seems to anger someone. Since he blew up, Kid Cudi was always a rapper who mixed singing into his rapping: singing the hook, creating backing vocals, or rapping in a melody. Amongst the pop minutiae that also strived to make this sound work, Cudi stood above most. Better than the likes of B.O.B and Mac Miller, Kid Cudi was a success story; he was a talented rapper who sang, and though it could be hit or miss, it was usually enjoyable. This is what makes WZRD, his band with record producer Dot Da Genius, such a divisive subject. With their eponymous debut album, WZRD has created a work that is incredibly frustrating, to say the least.
A rapper switching genres to work on a rock album happens more often than it should. But when WZRD was announced, fans reserved their judgment: we had heard Cudi do rock-style songs, Dot Da Genius can make some cool beats, maybe they can pull it off? I was sure that if Cudi could somehow merge the hypnotic, dark beats of his hip-hop albums, with some rock influences and awesome production by Dot Da Genius, then the outcome would be something new and interesting.
Unfortunately, it didn’t come together as well as I had hoped. Though there are some examples of brilliance on this album, often, it feels like a mess. Tracks often sound generic and cheesy, and sometimes a little preachy. Cudi’s writing ability from his rap records did not seem to come with him to all the recording sessions either, with some tracks having lyrics that are downright awkward. One such example, “Love Hard,” Cudi sings “Oh, if you love soft, then you’ve already lost. But oh, if you love hard, you should let down your guard, and follow your heart.” Oh, and to top it all off, it degrades into an electro-pop song about halfway through, feeling a little too ‘David Guetta’ amongst the album’s 10 other songs. Also a little jarring is the cover of the classic “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?”. Though originally a cover of a Lead Belly song, it’s hard to do that song now and not be put in direct comparison with Kurt Cobain. And when WZRD doesn’t bring much to the table besides heavier dose of bass and less passion, it’s difficult to not want to listen to Nirvana instead.
But like I said, this album is not horrible, just frustrating. When Dot Da Genius is let loose upon a track without anything to hold him back, he can create some of the most mesmerizing sounds to ever come out of a pair of headphones. On the highlights of WZRD, like the hypnotizing “Dream Time Machine,” Dot Da Genius reaches levels close to being reminiscent of Nine Inch Nails or Thom Yorke; just listen to the amazing instrumental intro track “The Arrival” and call me a liar.
When the duo is able to successfully merge both rock and hip-hop elements into a cohesive product, such as on “Upper Room” and “High Off Life,” WZRD’s sound comes off being very fun and fresh, though the latter song turns into an odd chant about overdosing on life. Finally, the band’s lead single, “Teleport 2 Me, Jamie” gets props for sampling Desire’s “Under Your Spell,” a song that was recently featured in the soundtrack to the movie Drive. It is an infectious song that uses the sample to its advantage, to the point that it makes me wonder if the song is good as a whole, or if the sample is simply the best part of it. But Cudi throws in some solid lyrical work on top of a catchy hook. Overall, WZRD is a very troubled album, but it holds enough promise and brilliance that it is something worth listening to for any music fan.
