Kid Cudi - Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin'

Kid Cudi
Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin'
2016
Spotify

Kid Cudi checked himself into a mental hospital this year shortly before this record came out in order to deal with his depression. The signs were all there; He completely changed his musical style, was calling out former friends and producing music that felt mediocre at best. Last years Speedin Bullet 2 Heaven was odd a had Cudi taking on a more Kurt Cobain persona, which fell so very flat. He is not that good at guitar, not a great singer and his major MAJOR strengths are in rapping so why totally abandon it? With this new record however Cudi seems to be leaving the rock god behind and moving more into Kanye territory of producing modern music that exists somewhere between all the genres. Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin' is decidedly better than his previous record but it still has some major holes. "Swim in The Light" really does have a beautiful and haunting sound to it, but Cudi never pays out on the promises he makes. The song ends up being too long with a bunch of autotune singing unintelligible lyrics. "Releaser" has this really compelling narrative as the song is told from the perspective of Kid Cudi's addiction and his struggle with loving the high that drugs give him, but still his demons eventually catch up. Even reading my description back gives the song a whole new life, but it is so hard to pick out those themes on just a single listen that I doubt most people with find the connection. This is probably the most frustrating this about Kid Cudi, you know there is some real greatness in there but can he get it out.

"By Design" which features Andre 3000 (Benjamin) is so close to being a hit, as it should be with two stars of this caliber, yet it just slightly misses making both artists look pedestrian. However the one time this all really comes together is on "All In". This is where Kid Cudi really seems to lock in to his sound and find one that works really really well for him. The song is somewhere in between rap, trap, house and a journey to outer space but it also extremely satisfying start to finish. "Rose Garden" which features Willow Smith is another high point. There is almost an hour and a half of music here, a great deal of which is quite nice, and some editing could have really made this album 1. more accessible and 2. more focused and direct rather than floating around hoping you will land on a point. There is just so much here to dig in to you really need to spend some major time with Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin' in order to buy in. "Flight At First Sight/Advanced" is almost halfway through before you get some really awesome rapping by Cudi, but most people would not even stay around that long to get to the really good part. It seems like a lot of the best rappers these days have a lot of trouble staying focused for a full album, for better or worse. I struggle with this record, because there are times that I really like, maybe even love, but there is quite a bit that is not so great as well. Yet Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin' is not a record that is middle of the road, it is much more than that, but how much more that's what I haven't put my finger on just yet.

7.8 out of 10