INSANO by Kid Cudi | Album Review
Scott Mescudi returns to rap with his star-studded 9th studio album
Listen to INSANO: Apple Music | Spotify
Originally slated to drop in September, Kid Cudi has finally released INSANO after pushing the album back a few months. I’d argue that since 2018 there’s been a great resurgence in Scott Mescudi. Following his contributions to the acclaimed KIDS SEE GHOSTS, Cudi has been making his way back to the limelight with various guest appearances and relatively successful albums such as Man on the Moon III and Entergalactic.
The recently revealed tracklist for INSANO featured some of rap’s superstars ranging from Lil Wayne to Travis Scott. On the production side, Cudder would be working with frequent collaborator Dot Da Genius once again, alongside Plain Pat and BNYX among many others. Top that off with a forthcoming deluxe edition that would add even more songs to the whopping 21 tracks of the regular version, it looked like Cudi was ready to go all in for his new album.
At its best, INSANO offers some solid beats and some of Cudi’s best flows. Unfortunately, the good gets overshadowed by a plethora of generic production choices and awkward rapping that makes INSANO a jumbled mess rather than the star-studded blockbuster Cudi was aiming for. The result is a mediocre/average offering from Scott.
Production-wise, Cudi has always had a knack for slower, psychedelic beats. It added a spacey vibe to his music that made his songs so atmospheric. On INSANO, Cudi trades his signature sound for a trap, Cudi’s dabbled in trap before on MOTM III and while the tracks on there were decent, what we have on here is a mixed bag.
Most of the time the beats sound great, as on the album’s closer “HIT THE STREETZ IN MY NIKES” or the bass-heavy “CUD LIFE”. Yet a majority of the songs sound like Youtube type-beats and they come off as hollow and generic. “MOST AIN’T DENNIS”, A TALE OF A KNIGHT” and “AT THE PARTY” in particular, suffer for their empty and uninspired sounds. It’s all the more surprising when you consider the album’s producers, as if they gave Cudi their bottom-of-the-barrel beats to work with.
It’s not all negativity, INSANO decides to step out of the box a bit with the SoundCloud nuances of “TOO DAMN HIGH” and the infectious groove of “ELECTROWAVEBABY”. There are also glimpses of that old Cudder sprinkled throughout the album’s second half, such as the eerie sounds of “TORTURED” and “X & CUD”, yet those moments are short-lived on INSANO. The issue here is that Cudi just doesn’t sound that well on a trap beat, plain and simple. His vocals are very awkward sounding on the album, and I think these beats would’ve been better off in somebody else's hands.
The guest features on the album though were a stellar choice. Longtime fan Travis Scott brings his A-game as he effortlessly rides the beat of “GET OFF ME”. A$AP ROCKY flexes his bravado (and throws shots at Drake) on “WOW”. Meanwhile, Lil Wayne and Young Thug practically outshine Cudi on their respective tracks, and Lil Yachty proves once again why he’s severely underrated on “TOO DAMN HIGH”. DJ Drama also makes himself known with ad-libs scattered throughout. The biggest surprise, and one I was not expecting to like was that of the late XXXTENTACION. A sample from his 2017 track “Orlando”, X’s somber vocals add an emotional touch to “X & CUD”, easily making it one of the album’s standouts.
When it comes to Cudi himself, he sounds a lot more upbeat and happier on INSANO. His positive aura is felt throughout the album and I commend him for that. His hums and harmonies are present, adding an ethereal effect to the sound of “FUNKY WIZARD FLEX”. At the same time, however, he comes off as drab and boring. A majority of the songs have him use this lower, monotone delivery and nearly all of his vocals are filtered, making the chorus of songs like “SEVEN” sound like he’s singing through a drive-thru speaker box.
Lyrically, INSANO is quite weak. I’ve never considered Cudi to be the type of artist to spit clever bars, as it’s not his best feat, but the album is chockful of meh verses from Scott. Very rarely did I hear something noteworthy, as a lot of Cudi’s verses are him flexing his lifestyle as in “CUD LIFE” (“Might think about the times we was broke. Then I wake up with a blunt on the coast.”). When Cudi does decide to tap back into his bread and butter is where he excels, as on “TORTURED”. The song’s introspective lyrics are a stark contrast to the majority of the album.
Now this isn’t to say that I need to hear Cudi sound all depressed for me to enjoy his music. His happier side does work, such as in the case of “HIT THE STREETZ IN MY NIKES” where he shows genuine gratitude for the life in front of him (“Neva did you imagine, Ma’. Say what you need from me, I got you, aight, Ma’.”). Yet I have to admit that when Cudi does away from his signature emotions in favour of something more high energy, it doesn’t work the way he intended.
Overall, I can’t say I was disappointed with INSANO, but I didn’t enjoy much of it either. The choice to go into a trap-heavy influence in the production works sparsely with some songs sounding decent and others coming off as generic. Despite having a notable list of guest features (with some outshining Cudi) it doesn’t make up for the album’s lacking lyricism and Cudi’s performance being a step down from his previous albums.
I’m feeling a 5.5/10 on INSANO. The fact the album was pushed back from its original September release makes me wonder if the delay was even warranted for what we got. While there are a handful of tracks I might go back to, they’re few in far between. As a huge Cudi Fan especially, I don’t see myself returning to this album for some time.
Final Rating: 5.5/10
Favourite Tracks: WOW, ELECTROWAVEBABY, TORTURED, X & CUD, HIT THE STREETZ IN MY NIKES.
