Man on the Moon or Space Cadet?

Any hip-hop fan knows next week holds an important release date. Kid Cudi will finally debut his first album.

Anybody who just listens to the radio most likely thinks that the artist behind the infamous “Day N Nite” single would have already released an album.

“Day ‘N’ Nite” was released by Cudi over a year ago and was the initial spark that ignited his career. Cudi released a number of strong mixtapes following the success of his first single.

After establishing his name nationally with the “Day ‘N’ Nite” hit, and creating a solid underground following through mixtapes, he released his second single, “Make Her Say” and plans to follow that with the release of his much anticipated album.

So how does an artist who has had two top ten singles without a record follow such enormous success?

With a concept movie/album entitled “Man on the Moon: The End of Day,” Cudi has created enormous amounts of hype within the hip-hop world, with all eyes set on his freshman album.

Well, one thing Cudi should recognize – being the internet/blog friendly hip-hop artist he is – is the possibility of an album leak.

Just like Tha Carter 3, “Man on the Moon” has leaked to the public. In my opinion, Cudi goes out on a limb with this album release.

Although, complete with amazing beats and huge guest stars like MGMT and Ratatat, Cudi fails to deliver the way he did with his mixtapes.

A short 15-song album, with three previously released singles makes for a quick listen.

There are a few standout songs, but nothing compared to his mixtape work. Kid Cudi’s “Man On The Moon” isn’t so out of the world this time.