Feature: Five Reasons Why Kid Cudi's "Satellite Flight" Rules

Last night, Kid Cudi astounded the internet by dropping his hinted-at new collection, KiD CuDi presents SATELLITE FLIGHT: The journey to Mother Moon, at all digital retailers [iTunes link; AmazonMP3]. Now, you need to get it. It's his most expansive, enigmatic, and entrancing piece of work yet, and it evinces his true genius.

ARTISTdirect.com editor in chief Rick Florino compiles 5 Reasons Why Kid Cudi's Satellite Flight Rules in this exclusive feature.

Here they are...

5 Reasons Why Kid Cudi's Satellite Flight Rules

1. It's trippy. No, like it's literally trippy. You will go to another planet altogether with Cudi this time around. Think of it more like a 21st century ride like The Dark Side of the Moon and less in traditional hip-hop terms. There's nothing traditional about it. Our hero rewrites the rule book again.

2. The live instrumentation remains fascinating. Whether it's the guitars on "Going to the Ceremony" or the big synths on "Internal Bleeding", Cudi's usage of real instruments evokes classic sixties and seventies soundscapes, while forging a new path through the intergalactic.

3. He teams up with Raphael Saadiq for "Balmain Jeans". It's the ultimate "space sex" song. 'Nuff said...

4. "Return of the Moon Man" (Original Score) doesn't even need vocals to captivate. Cudi enters into the most cinematic territory yet with this sprawling orchestrally-minded epic within an epic. It definitely nods to John Williams in the best way possible, but the artist's own musical sensibility shines through brilliantly. This is proof the man should be doing film scores soon as well as acting in them!

5. The songs slay. "Too Bad I Have To Destroy You Now" might be his most emotionally palpable exorcism yet over six minutes of raw catharsis, while "Troubled Boy" is a galactic lullaby that's as soaring as it is soothing.

Kid Cudi - Going To the Ceremony

—Rick Florino
02.25.14

What's your favorite song from Satellite Flight?