Man on the Moon III: The Chosen

Kid Cudi released the first edition of his Man on the Moon series in 2009; with the subtitle The End of Day, the album detailed the struggles of Cudi's loneliness in his formative years, as well as dealing with the death of his father at an early age.[3] The album, which included the worldwide hit single "Day 'n' Nite", was divided into five acts and featured narration from Cudi's then-GOOD Music label-mate and fellow American rapper Common.[4] The next year he released the sequel, the follow-up to his critically acclaimed seminal debut; with the subtitle The Legend of Mr. Rager, Cudi took an even darker approach, creating an alter ego by the name of Mr. Rager and chronicling how his initial sudden and unexpected rise to fame drove him to alcohol and drugs.[5]

In 2014, Cudi released Satellite Flight: The Journey to Mother Moon, which he called a prelude to Man on the Moon III.[6] However, in a 2016 interview with Billboard, Cudi announced Man on the Moon III would never exist: "Guys, you have to realize: I came up with Man on the Moon when I was a young man. People change their vibe! We can follow the same template and do the five-act split. Sonically, I'm still going to be where I'm at. Honestly, I was ready to live up to the obligation and do Man on the Moon III. I haven't been dicking around. I was planning on doing it after Speedin' Bullet. But the Speedin' Bullet response tore me up. It made me realize what's most important. I'm getting back on the bike again and doing what I do best: me."[7]

In 2016, Cudi reunited with Emile Haynie and Plain Pat, both of whom are former business partners of Cudi and helped formulate his signature sound, to produce Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin', which followed the same format as the Man on the Moon projects. The significance in the release is it marks the first time all three had collaborated since Man on the Moon II (2010) and the disestablishment of their record label, Dream On.[8]

According to Cudi, Man on the Moon III is, as with all his releases, "nothing" like any of his previous works: "My first 2 albums were meant to be untopped. I didn't even think Id live to make another record after motm 2... My point is, u cant top timeless. And that was what we aim for everytime."[9]

The album features production from Cudi's longtime collaborators Dot da Genius, Emile Haynie, Plain Pat and Mike Dean, all of whom helped shape the sound for the first two installments of the Man on the Moon series.[11][12] In an interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music, Cudi explained that he was encouraged by his protégé, Houston-based rapper Travis Scott to be more lyrical and made a concerted effort to showcase his skill set as a rapper on this album, since he feels he is overlooked in that aspect of his artistry.[13]

When speaking on the song "Show Out", his collaboration with the posthumous Brooklyn rapper Pop Smoke and London-based rapper Skepta, Cudi said "It was powerful because like I talked to Steven Victor [Pop Smoke's manager] about this and he said, when he [Pop Smoke] first recorded this song, he had thought of me on it. Steven had thought of me on it. The reason why I kind of got this record, Dot da Genius and Plain Pat had worked with Pop, like before he blew up at the Brewery in New York, at Dot's studio. And they had this record, they just never did anything with it. It was just something that Dot had on tuck, you know?"[14] Cudi went on to reveal that once Dot da Genius played him the record, he was compelled by it: "And I was chilling with them one day because Dot's working on our album and he was like, 'Yo, I got this record. I'm going to play it for you. Let me know what you think.' He plays this shit. And I'm like, 'I need this. Like I need this, man.' I was like, 'Nobody's ever heard me on anything like this. Skepta sounds amazing. Pop Smoke sounds amazing. Like this would be so unexpected. I think I can be on this and I could hold it down and like do my thing.' And this is also another way I can, you know, showcase these bars."[14]

The cover art depicts Cudi staring directly at the listener, in contrast to the artwork of the previous installments in the trilogy, which feature Cudi looking downwards; the right side of Cudi's face is composed of a "psychedelic/prismatic explosion of bones and sinew", with a moon and a falling moon man obscuring his eye.[16] It was designed by illustrator Sam Spratt, who was hired due to Cudi liking his artwork for Logic's album No Pressure. Spratt stated that the artwork was meant to capture Cudi's feelings, while still being "something that would stand out in a Spotify gallery and steer the algorithm", calling it a "glorified piece of marketing".[16]

The continuation of Kid Cudi's Man on the Moon trilogy was first teased in his July 2020 collaboration with Eminem, "The Adventures of Moon Man & Slim Shady", in which Cudi raps on the outro, "The trilogy continues".[17] Cudi officially confirmed Man on the Moon III in October 2020, releasing a trailer with the caption, "The trilogy continues... soon."[18] In November, he tweeted, "The music is coming. I promise".[9] On December 7, 2020, he released a cinematic trailer, revealing the title, release date, tracklist, and the cover art, designed by Sam Spratt.[19]

The songs "She Knows This" and "Heaven on Earth" were released as promotional singles, with accompanying two part music videos.[20][21] The music video for "Heaven on Earth" picks up where the video for "She Knows This" left off.[21] Both videos were filmed cinematically and were directed by high-profile music video director Nabil Elderkin. The videos were a part of YouTube Music's Artist Spotlight series.[22]

On December 20, 2020, Cudi revealed he would be releasing a deluxe edition of the album, dubbed The Cudder Cut.[23]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	6.9/10[24]
Metacritic	71/100[25]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[26]
Clash	9/10[1]
Consequence of Sound	B+[27]
Exclaim!	8/10[28]
The Line of Best Fit	8/10[29]
Loud and Quiet	6/10[2]
NME	[30]
Pitchfork	4.9/10[31]
Rolling Stone	[32]
Sputnikmusic	3.6/5[33]

Man on the Moon III: The Chosen was met with generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 71, based on 10 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[25] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 6.9 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.[24]

Critics have generally found the first half of the album to be weaker. Riley Wallace of Exclaim! stated, "Cudi sparkles in the first two acts. ... While satisfying, the most endearing and powerful standout moments appear in the third and fourth acts."[28] For The Line of Best Fit, Luke Ballance complimented the guest appearances and the album's progression beyond Act II, concluding: "While it might take a few listens to make sense of the album's seemingly muddled introduction, one thing is clear: by the end of this hour-long journey, Cudi has reached his destination."[29] Skye Butchard of Loud and Quiet wrote that "Cudi finds his feet again on the back half of the project, allowing himself to wander into trippy and introspective songwriting".[2] Some were also dismissive of the album's concept; Butchart found it to be "flimsy, there to give greater a sense of weight to what are largely formulaic pop rap songs",[2] and Alphonse Pierre of Pitchfork opined it was placed to "make the album seem more important".[31] For Danny Schwartz of Rolling Stone, it has a more "half-baked" narrative compared to Man on the Moon II, which he said to contribute to the album's "faux-epic scope".[32]

In a positive review, Mason Meyers of Clash dubbed Man on the Moon III: The Chosen as Cudi's "best solo album to date", praising the production and modern influences.[1] Writing for Variety, A. D. Amorosi praised the album, stating that "The album generally finds his deep-breathing, sing-song-y baritone nestled almost exclusively in ambient synth-hop. Ultimately, this nearly single-sourced sound is more consistent, and easier on the ears. ... But it's when Cudi is by himself – lonely and punching through the darkness – that his somnolent, bittersweet reveries are at their tastiest."[34] Will Lavin of NME said, "Kid Cudi gives us every part of himself, laying out his insecurities and inner demons in the hope that it might help someone else, his words etched into a vivid backdrop of intoxicating melodies and palatial riffs. No one does mood music quite like Cudi."[30] Rowan5215 from Sputnikmusic enjoyed the album, saying, "This is a fun, sometimes moving project, extremely consistent and concise by the standards we apply to Kid Cudi since around 2013."[33] Fred Thomas of AllMusic wrote, "Man on the Moon, Vol 3: The Chosen represents both a return to form for Cudi as much as a distillation of his most successful experiments with genre and delivery."[26]

Some critics found the album to be unoriginal. Danny Schwartz of Rolling Stone stated, "We've seen it all before. Kid Cudi's ability to be an avatar for people's struggles with mental illness has always been central to his appeal. His music might still be relatable, but it has never sounded so cliché."[32] Writing for Pitchfork, Alphonse Pierre found the album underwhelming, and commented that its second half is too reminiscent of Cudi's past works, naming his "lifeless hums" and "half-assed singing" as clichés. He wrote that "[Cudi's] stories about how struggles with depression and loneliness affected his relationships were detailed enough to be personal but also vague enough to be easily applied to anyone's life. That's not the reality anymore, and Cudi doesn't appear to realize it."[31]

Man on the Moon III: The Chosen debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 with 144,000 album-equivalent units (including 15,000 pure album sales) in its first week.[35] This became Cudi's fifth top 10 album.[35] The album also accumulated a total of 167.45 million on-demand streams of the set's songs in the week ending December 17, 2020.[35]

With 18 simultaneous placements on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, Cudi became the fifth artist to post at least that many entries on the chart in a single week. His company includes Drake, who has claimed 10 separate weeks with 18-plus entries, Lil Uzi Vert and the Weeknd, each with two such weeks, and Lil Wayne and Pop Smoke, who have managed the feat once apiece.[36]

The album also produced nine chart entries on the Billboard Hot 100 chart of December 26, 2020 with "Tequila Shots" the highest entry at number 41, as well as the intro "Beautiful Trip" at number 100. At 37 seconds long, "Beautiful Trip" is a shorter Hot 100 track than the 45 second long "PPAP (Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen)" by Japanese comedian Pikotaro, the current Guinness World Records holder for shortest song to chart in the history of the Hot 100.[37]

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies a co-producer
• ^{^[b]} signifies an additional producer
• ^{^[c]} signifies an uncredited co-producer[38]

Sample credits[39]

• "She Knows This" contains an excerpt from the 2010 film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, performed by Mark Webber and Michael Cera, courtesy of Universal Pictures.
• "Dive" contains samples of "Love/Paranoia", written by Kevin Parker, and performed by Tame Impala.
• "Mr. Solo Dolo III" contains samples of "Score", performed by Nicholas Britell, taken from the 2019 film The King.
• "Elsie's Baby Boy (Flashback)" contains an excerpt from the 1986 film Stand by Me, performed by River Phoenix and Wil Wheaton, courtesy of Columbia Pictures; and samples of "The House of the Rising Sun", written by Alan Price, and performed by The Animals.
• "The Void" contains samples of "Time", performed by The Panchanga Boys.
• "4 Da Kidz" contains an excerpt from the 2000 film Cast Away, performed by Tom Hanks, courtesy of 20th Century Studios.

Credits adapted from Tidal and Pitchfork.[40][39]

Musicians

Technical