This is an album that’s pushing 90 minutes. Some songs, such as the aforementioned Frequency go on for too long. He makes you sympathize with him rather than come across as a teenager throwing a tantrum. In Wounds, he exclaims “I did everything right didn’t I? So why aren’t I whole?”. Cudi delivers more humming, moaning and some surprise French, but where this would have failed spectacularly in years passed, here it works. It seems there is no middle ground for these. There are some tracks that will either be loved, or hated. Andre makes a second appearance on The Guide and proceeds to awe listeners once more. By Design is the definitive highlight of the album. If there’s one thing 2016 should be remembered for, above all else, let it be remembered as the year of the flawless Andre 3000 feature.
By far, the best features go to Andre 3000, credited here as Andre Benjamin. Willow provides backing vocals to Kid Cudi’s gruff, tumbling voice and harmonizes beautifully. Rose Golden proves even the oddest of artist collaborations can work wonders.
Imagine if, in 2015, a random stranger had walked up to you and told you a track by Kid Cudi featuring Willow Smith (of hair whipping fame) was pretty damn good, you would have probably laughed them off the planet. Outside of the outstanding production, there are a few rather great, if not completely surprising guest spots. The production is easily the greatest strength of Passion. Cudi had the help of a multitude of producers, including the infallible Pharrell Williams. There isn’t a weak, or bad beat on Passion. It will appear on every song, and though it’s done tastefully on this album, it may not be for everyone. There’s two things from the opener to take into account for the rest of the album: first, the humming and moaning. It’s an earworm, and if there’s one thing Cudi has always excelled at it's writing catchy hooks. Frequency, though a bit long, has Cudi humming and somewhat rapping - more repeating a few lines often - over an airy beat. To say this was make or break for the troubled artist is an understatement. While Kid Cudi had always seemed to like experimenting (there’s a drug joke in there somewhere), the past few years of said experimentation had led to some awful releases from the mediocre but salvageable Indicud, to the unmitigated trash heap of used needles that was Speeding Bullet 2 Heaven. Kid Cudi always had a knack for trying new things. Rager album was practically dedicated to his addiction to cocaine), thus as a result had fallen into the depths of depression, for which he checked himself into a rehab center – though not before conjuring up some controversy via twitter. He developed an addiction to drugs (not that he hadn’t had one before, the Man on the Moon: Legend of Mr. Mentally, the man on the moon seemed to have taken off elsewhere. The past few years have seen our self proclaimed “big brother” go through some tough times.
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