Ok. Ok. Everyone cool your jets. As I’m sure your best bud already told you, KiD CuDi is doing drugs again. Praise the music gods!

The aftermath of his previous venture, WZRD, can still be felt to this day. Elevated swagger and bending guttural tweaks make Indicud one of Cudi’s most innovative and mechanically self-produced projects to date.

Without any warning, you dive through the wormhole that is “The Resurrection Of Scott Mescudi,” the intro track. It’s a fitting instrumental that feels fleeting and predatory.

Coming back down a little closer to Earth, Indicud makes a seamless transition to one of my favorite tracks, “Unfuckwittable.” It’s a casual walk through an industrialized percussion section of Mescudi’s mind, and I totally dig it.

Kendrick Lamar skids on the grungy sequel, “Solo Dolo Part II,” which sounds more like a cryptic ride through a haunted house than it does a power-duo track. There’s only one way to flow over this beat, and their voices melt together in a way that makes them sound eerily similar.

I’ll be honest, when I first heard “Just What I Am,” I put it on repeat for days. Cudi’s reverberations throughout pair quite pleasantly with the recklessness of a coke-fueled bender. Chip’s spirited “wakin, bakin, drankin, contemplatin” marathon is stimulating and sets up an absolutely ear-numbing chorus.

An abhorrent amount of weed and blow was ingested in the making of Indicud. I’m talking a full on blizzard of the stuff. To fully get where Cudi’s mind was at while he was recording this, you’ve got to be ripped out of your mind on something illegal.

It’s an audio trip for those who’ve never touched anything hallucinogenic, because Cudi himself is doing all the drugs for you!

With that, I’ll leave you with some final thoughts:

The top-heavy album has its moments, but ultimately, as a longtime fan, I’m not too close to saying this is Cudi’s best. His inner turmoil feels mechanized, and a little demonic. But I think his ability to take risks is what sets him apart from all the other do-rappers putting material out today. I highly recommend this project to any Cudi fans and anyone who is down with alternative rap.

But don’t try to like this album just because of his past. Some of this isn’t great, and we might just have to be okay with that for now.

3.5/5