Man on the Moon: The End of Day is the debut studio album by the American rapper Kid Cudi. It was released on September 15, 2009, through Dream On, GOOD Music, and Universal Motown Records. A concept album narrated by fellow rapper and GOOD Music labelmate Common, it follows the release of his first full-length project A Kid Named Cudi (2008), and is the first installment of the Man on the Moon trilogy. Production was handled by several high-profile record producers, including Kanye West, Emile Haynie, Plain Pat, and Jeff Bhasker, as well as contributions from Dot da Genius, Free School and the Kickdrums, among others.
Man on the Moon: The End of Day spawned three singles—"Day 'n' Nite", "Make Her Say" and "Pursuit of Happiness"—that attained chart success and multiplatinum to diamond-certifications by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). To further promote the album, he toured with Asher Roth and Lady Gaga, respectively. The album received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its composition and unique approach to the hip-hop genre. Along with being included on several lists for best albums of that year, Man on the Moon: The End of Day received three Grammy Awards nominations.
The album debuted at number four on the Billboard 200, selling 104,000 copies in its first week of release in the United States. It received quadruple platinum certification by the RIAA. Outside of the US, the album was less commercially successful, generally peaking outside of the top 50 positions of album charts. In 2020, Rolling Stone ranked it number 459 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time".
Background According to AllMusic, soon after it was announced that Kid Cudi would release this album it became "deep in the category of 'much anticipated'". Prior to the album being picked up by the likes of Universal Motown and GOOD Music, he had previously worked with mentor and fellow rapper Kanye West on his 2008 record 808s & Heartbreak, co-writing four hits for it. He said that without those song successes Man on the Moon: The End of Day would not have been picked up by any major labels. Cudi, who became West's protege and collaborator, hoped Man on the Moon: The End of Day would show people that he had his own voice and set him apart. The record was originally titled Man on the Moon: The Guardians, but its subtitle was later changed to The End of Day. Performance artist Andy Kaufman partly inspired the new title. He planned for this record to be the first in a trilogy, with the next edition being entitled The Ghost and the Machine.
Before the success of "Day 'n' Nite", the rapper had said that he would never try to mix politics or jocular things in with his lyrical content. After realizing the power of his voice he then decided to make important and unique songs, focusing on the message, rather than just creating inane music. He said his mode of operation at that time "was just, 'Hey, I'm making these cool sounding songs and I have little messages in them'", but still had himself in it. Although Cudi had a message in every track, he chose to avoid using dense lyrics, explaining that he did not want to write material that he would not actually say or use in real life, adding that being true to yourself entirely was meaningful to him. "I don't speak like a fucking nerdy guy; I speak like a regular dude", he remarked.
He wrote "Day 'n' Nite" after the death of his uncle. The two were not on speaking terms after his uncle forced him out of his home before Cudi could find another living situation. A bitter Cudi never apologized to him before his death, which he now regrets. Other songs on the album expand upon themes discussed in that single. Back in 2007, Drake, who was one of Cudi's first supporters, had shown interest in doing an official remix of the song with him. However, Cudi chose against it since he was not interested in working with people who are in the "same creative realm" as him and because he was in the midst of creating his own works. Beginning in the fourth grade, and getting more tense after his father's death when he was 11, Cudi began dreaming of his own death (which usually was an automobile accident). He channeled these things into his material. Speaking to BlackBook in May 2009, Cudi said of the album and its content:
Recording and production Cudi recorded the album from 2007 to 2009. Man on the Moon: The End of Day was recorded in sessions at Avex Recording Studio in Honolulu, Hawaii, with additional recording at The Broski Room, Chung King in New York City, and the Jim Henson and Record Plant in Hollywood, California. On January 13, 2009, American R&B producer Ryan Leslie posted on his blog that he was in the studio with Cudi and posted a 2-minute video of them working on a song. Later, Cudi spoke to Pitchfork about the production of the album; producers he mentioned that were working on the album include Ratatat, Ryan Leslie, 88-Keys, and The Alchemist. Rap-Up confirmed that he was in the studio with American musicians Travis Barker and will.i.am. Months later, American rapper Pusha T spoke of how he and his brother Malice (of Clipse) had recorded an unreleased song together called "Angels & Demons". On Cudi's official blog, he announced three features for the album, the artists were Kanye West, Common, and Snoop Dogg. News also broke out that MGMT was also set to appear on the album, with Common set to narrate throughout.
In an interview with Joe La Puma from Complex, executive producer Emile Haynie explained the album process and the relationship he had with Cudi prior to the album:
Later he said:
On the final tracklisting, the guest appearances contained Kanye West, Common, Billy Cravens, Ratatat, MGMT, and Chip tha Ripper. Cudi commented on his Twitter about Cravens that "the world will never know…he wants to keep his identity private…", also gave news that the Clipse and Snoop Dogg records won't be on the album, but will still be made available to fans in some capacity.
Music and lyrics
Man on the Moon: The End of Day has an outer space, futuristic aesthetic akin to 808s & Heartbreak. Primarily a genre-bending album, it has a spacey, atmospheric production that fuses psychedelic, indie pop, rhythm and blues, electronica, and rock styles. The music is typified by synthetic textures, infectious melodies, sparse arrangements, experimental structures, and lush beats. The album's elements contain shuddering keyboards, brooding synths, syncopated drums, sinister strings, and light pianos.
The album received positive comparisons in production to West's 2008 album. Jeff Giles of Pop Dose stated "It's basically a slightly more sonically expansive cousin, only Cudi doesn't have to rely on Auto-Tune shenanigans to get his point across." Aaron Williams of Uproxx said that "The ideas that Kanye gave him the early space to explore on that project ultimately culminated in similar, more fully fleshed-out concepts." HotNewHipHop writer Luke Hinz commented "The abstract nature of his music isn't condescending or isolating; instead, it is deeply personal and genuine in its focus. It is the embodiment of everything that makes him so unique." Cudi's vocals on the album features soulful crooning, off-key singing, humming, baritone vocals, poetic cadence, and an unhurried nasal flow.
Lyrically, Man on the Moon has dark, introspective themes of depression, anxiety, and loneliness. It also touches on family issues, alcoholism, sex, paranoia, and fame. A concept album, Man on the Moon: The End of Day is an autobiographical track series of moody dark material that is separated into five acts that all surround "Day 'n' Nite" with an arcane account. One reviewer summed up the story to be: "[a] lonely guy sits in his room and dreams of success. He uses drugs to calm his fears and fend off night terrors. He eventually gets recognized as the star he always knew he was, and lives the superstar life… or maybe he's still dreaming about that stage of his life, and we're just witnessing what his dreams sound like." According to Cudi, more lively songs had to be added so that listeners did not feel like they were listening to a "slit-your-wrists album". It was observed by a reviewer that on Man on the Moon: The End of Day, Cudi neither raps nor sings, instead he goes "puzzling through some third way: a sort of loose, hazily melodic talking." Musical collaborators included Kanye West, Ratatat and MGMT, among others, and the record is narrated by Common.
The album's first two songs are a one-two introduction to the rapper and what he is up to. There is a gloomy interior monologue about success, the lack of it, and Cudi's inner conflicts, where he welcomes listeners by saying they are in his dreams. "Soundtrack 2 My Life" is the vibrant opening to Cudi's dreamland, as he raps about the work ethic of his mother, the death of his father, and the subsequent depression that came to consume him. It's a prelude of what's to come: the pain, the loss, the feelings of insignificance, and the boundless introspection. His lyrics on the track contain various musical and popular culture references, including those to the song "99 Problems", rapper Jay-Z, mentor Kanye West, the 80s sitcom Charles in Charge, the Pink Floyd album The Dark Side of the Moon, and the movie The Sixth Sense. The third track "Simple As", which is part of the second half of the introduction, has an outer-space style, which is due in part to the Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark group sample, and showcases the rapper's readiness to experiment.
Following the opening three-track introduction, there is another three-song section of Man on the Moon: The End of Day where Cudi is confined in his solitary world. Like his current state, the music is appropriately obscure. This chapter of the album is the marijuana section, while in next part the rapper is on psychedelics. References to both drugs are abundant throughout the record, but the latter's part carry "the blind-to-the-world quality of the former." They are internal tracks, where Cudi's mind's state of being is the subject at hand. "Solo Dolo" incorporates a sample of the Menahan Street Band's "The Traitor". Its lyrics are a look into Cudi's darkest nightmares: being alone and unable to escape due to poor decisions. Characterized by eerie strings, it's a vivid, horror-esque examination of a particularly bleak chapter of his life. "My World" features a sample of "All What I Have" by Le Système Crapoutchik, the lyrics deals with his insecurity being overcome by his success and drive to be the man.