By definition, the phrase “Sophomore Slump” refers to when an artists first project, fails to deliver the same if not better quality than their first project. Sophomore slumps are all too common nowadays, but back in 2010, Scott Mescudi (aka Kid Cudi) proved that not everyone has to go through it.

The year is 2010, and Cudi, is still riding the wave of his massively successful debut “Man on the Moon: End of Day”. A record that peaked at #4 on the Billboard charts and sold 140,000 units in its first week. When it came time to record a follow-up, Cudi got into the studio and created the sequel “Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager”. 

The story on behind this record begins in 2009, where following the release of volume one, he said in an interview that the previous album and the album to come is a part of a trilogy, and once that trilogy is done, his solo projects would be done. From volume 3 forward, he would only be making collabs. 

Viewing this in hindsight, we know how this turned out, but at the time, it was scary to Kid Cudi fans of the time. 

In a HipHopDX interview, he revealed the title to be “Man on The Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager”. He also outlined how the record would be different from his debut, saying “Instead of bringing you into my dreams, I’m bringing you into my reality” 

He also mentioned in an interview with Complex saying “It’s explicit, but smart explicit. I’m not holding back. I have no regard for what people consider right or wrong.” With both of these quotes, hype began to be built. This next chapter was going to show us a side of Cudi that we’ve never seen before. 

Phonetically, the record feels like a great mix of the synthetic hip-hop from 808’s and heartbreak and the vintage rock sounds of Jimi Hendrix and other sounds from the late 1900’s. It breaks through with themes of Psychedelia, while staying true to its predecessor remaining to talk about themes such as addiction, depression and anxiety. 

The first two songs on the record “Scott Mescudi vs The World” and “Revofev” serve as an introduction to the album, illustrating the light and the dark of that reality that Cudi lives in. But it’s not all dark, as he does tell kids to have hope. 

The following two tracks “Don’t Play This Song” and “Marijuana” both give insights into Cudi’s history with drug abuse and how he used it to cope with the struggles he had with his mental health. The first track also goes into his need to repress his suicidal thoughts. 

“Erase Me” is the album’s lead single and tells the story of a girl who is “Obsessed” with Cudi, but can’t seem to forget him, no matter how hard she tries. Themes like this run rampant throughout the record, truly living up to the sound that Cudi promised. 

Doubt is prevalent throughout the record as well, displaying emotional uncertainty (“These Worries” and “The End”) as well as the dark times (“Maniac” and “Mr. Rager”). It truly feels like this record tells a story of the rise, fall, and re-rise of the alter ego of the man on the moon in Mr. Rager. 

At the end of the day, he paid his penance and suffered the consequences of his actions, but because of it, he has become a better person. Experience = Wisdom is what this album is all about. Although this album is all about the “Mr. Rager” Character, it’s the most honest, vulnerable, and transparent he’s been with us. 

Honestly and Vulnerability aside, this record does leave a little to be desired. Is it solid? Absolutely. Is it better than his debut? No. 

It’s not worse than the debut because the quality is lacking, it’s worse than the debut because he set that bar so high. MITM 1 is one of my favorite albums of all time (#90 on my top 100 albums list), so that’ll be a hard bar to get over, but this is an excellent record and one that should be proud to dawn the “Man On The Moon” title