Review Roundup: Kid Cudi - 'Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager'

Kid Cudi’s Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager lands in stores today featuring the Kanye West-assisted single “Erase Me” and collaborations with Mary J. Blige, Cee Lo Green, and more. How did Mr. Solo Dolo’s sophomore set fare with critics? Find out below.

USA Today: Mr. Rager‘s 17 tracks presented in five acts navigate a haze of parties, sex, and drug abuse over a soundscape that eddies between his hip-hop and alt-rock leanings. There’s an artiness to it, but it’s Cudi’s raw intensity that is so compelling. 3.5 out of 4

Entertainment Weekly: His half-sung vocals, alternately surly and vulnerable, weave in and out of the mix along with distorted guitars, sweeping strings, twinkling harpsichords, ghostly samples, and who knows what else. No other major-label rapper in 2010 is pushing boundaries in quite the same way. A-

Rolling Stone: His second album features dramatic, breathtakingly stark production by Emile and Plain Pat (“Wild’n Cuz I’m Young,” riddled with sonar-style beeps, kills), but where Cudi fancies himself a deep downer, too often he’s kind of a bore. 2.5 out of 5

The New York Times: The album makes for uneasy listening, though Kid Cudi is not entirely oblivious to commercial imperatives. In its utter self-absorption, the album teeters between fascinating and numbing; fast-forwarding helps at times.

SPIN: Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager is a revelation, boldly reshaping Cudi’s sound. “Mr. Rager,” a would-be arena anthem with a teasing guitar riff that never ascends, is the ingenious anticlimax. 8 out of 10

Chicago Tribune: The music is as consuming and intoxicating as the lifestyle Cudi describes. On two albums, the stoned-and-alone rapper has created a world built for one. 3.5 out of 4

Rap-Up’s Favorite Tracks: “Scott Mescudi vs. The World,” “Erase Me,” “Wild’n Cuz I’m Young,” “Mr. Rager”