WZRD represents Kid Cudi and Dot Da Genius’s first attempt at making “rock music”. The inverted comas betray my lack of belief that this is in fact rock. I feel like someone needs to send out a memo to the general public reiterating that layering your tracks with monotonous guitar riffs do not make you a rock star any more than wearing a dress makes you a woman. It might make you a pop star, but to slap the moniker “rock music” onto every half-assed attempt at making rock and roll is an insult to the genre. I thought rappers learnt their lesson after Lil’ Wayne showed the world how not to be a rock star on “Rebirth”. Yes, music evolves, but is this really how low the bar has been set for what constitutes as rock in today’s society? Cudi tries to flourish where Wayne failed (dismally) and the results have yielded a very mixed bag.
Now that I’m done ranting about the classification of music I can return to the task at hand. WZRD is actually a very interesting piece of art. The head-bob inducing “High off Life”, coupled with laidback tracks like “The Dream Time Machine” and “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” make for a very chilled out album. It lacks intensity, but depending on personal preference that’s not necessarily a bad thing. My personal favourite though, has to be “Teleport to Me, Jamie”. The production on it sounds exactly like something Cliff Martinez would have conjured up for the “Drive” soundtrack which in my opinion was quite phenomenal. I could very easily say that it is by far the most creatively crafted track that Dot Da Genius manages to churn out on this outing. If Dot had experienced a few more brain farts on that level, then this album would have had a serious potential for greatness.
Unfortunately for Dot Da Genius, it is indeed his production on this album that irks me the most. Most of the tracks have an unfinished feel to them. They just sound a little empty and it makes WZRD feel more like an EP rather than a fully-fledged album. This is disappointing, considering the fact that Dot Da Genius was the man behind Cudi’s smash hit “Day N Nite”. Dot really needs to up his game if he wants to be able to stand next to legends like Kanye West. Comparing the quality of production on “WZRD” with “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” is like comparing the levels of pleasure derived from a foot massage with sex. Kid Cudi is not without his own shortcomings either. He really isn’t very convincing as a singer. However, he does manage to produce some half-decent vocals considering the fact that he has such a limited vocal range, which somehow ends up adding to the charm of what makes Kid Cudi’s music so unique and enjoyable. If you’re a Cudi fan, his singing ability (or lack thereof) won’t detract much from your listening experience at all. But don’t expect this sound to spawn too many new Kid Cudi enthusiasts and even if it does, it is very unlikely that it will spill over into an appreciation for Cudi’s older works due to his vast departure from that sound.
All things considered, WZRD is a bit of a hit and miss but then again this is expected when unintentionally pioneering your own genre of music.If Dot Da Genius works on improving the incorporation of guitars into his music and giving his baselines a little more complexity then they might be in it with a shot next time around.As Cudi has said he may be “too cool for hip-hop” but he certainly isn’t cool enough for rock and roll. The person who decided to classify this album as rock seriously deserves a face palm. – Ivo Wustrow
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this review are not affiliated with that of UCT Radio, but of the writer alone.
