In September 2022, during an interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music, Cudi implied that he's looking to pursue other ventures at least for the time being, "The Kid Cudi stuff, I think I want to put it on the back burner and chill out with that. I think, I want to be done with it. I think, closing the chapter on Kid Cudi."[4] His desire to move on from releasing albums and touring was something that led to Entergalactic (2022), which he wanted to take a different approach with because he was "bored" of putting out more traditional releases.[4] Cudi continued to tell Zane, "I've said a lot and I have other desires, I have other things I want to do. And I do not see me never making music, I'll always fuck around in the studio, or make something here and there. But, as far as getting in the studio and working on an album, and then going and touring it, I just don't have it in me."[4]
In October 2022, during an episode of Hot Ones, Kid Cudi continued to hint at retiring from music when he revealed that he didn't know how much longer he would continue making albums. He continued to say he was "kinda nearing the end on all things Kid Cudi." He quoted other rappers, including Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z, Eminem and more, saying he didn't think he would have the same longevity as these artists.[5] When mentioning alternate career paths Cudi said "I was thinking about this [...] wacky idea I had years ago. It would be cool to one day be a kindergartenteacher. Just do that for a couple years."[6] On November 6, Cudi announced on Twitter he only has one more album left on his recording contract with Republic, revealing that he does not know what he will continue to do following the release.[7][8]
On March 8, 2023, Cudi took to Instagram Live to continue to give updates regarding the album: "I've never made a project this powerful before in my life. And you know, sitting and listening to these mixes, I just know that this shit is going to move you. Y'all are going to fuck with this shit in such a major way, and I'm so fuckin' excited. I just want to get on here and let y'all know that I'm not gonna let y'all down. This is gonna be the album of the year right now. I'm not playing, this is not a fuckin' joke. Tell everybody you fuckin' know."[9][10]
Kid Cudi
@KidCudi
If you need something to motivate u, to lift u up, Insano got u. Pure superhero music to soundtrack your life. Guaranteed.
On May 7, 2023, during an Instagram Live stream, Cudi revealed despite previous statements, he would not be retiring from music yet, and confirmed this would not be his last album. In the same stream, Cudi noted this album is "probably the first album I've ever made where I've been truly 100% happy".[12]
On August 14, Cudi posted a video on Instagram to give an update on the album, where he said "I feel very very fucking confident that y'all gonna love this shit. I need y'all to understand that for years I've been kind of making my music and staying to myself and just being my creative weird self. Now I'm competing. Now I'm entering the race. 15 years, I've been doing this shit a long time."[13][14]
Recording and production
In an interview with Apple Music's Zane Lowe, Kid Cudi explained how watching fellow American rapper Kendrick Lamar perform in Paris on The Big Steppers Tour helped him realize what type of sonic direction he wanted to take for the follow-up to Entergalactic (2022).[15] He told Lowe, "I took that inspiration, got to the studio and said, 'Let's fucking get to work. We need to make something with some energy. I'm happy, I'm in a better place in my life. I've never made an album in this type of mode before. Let's see what comes out of that.'" He went on to add, "So the album was truly designed for arenas, for the live show."[16]
On May 20, 2021, Cudi previewed a song from an album he was working on via his Instagram story, unveiling a snippet of a song tentatively titled "Wow".[17][18] During his 2021 headlining performance at the Rolling Loud music festival, Cudi revealed intentions on releasing two full-length projects in 2022, with plans of releasing an album prior to Entergalactic "I have Entergalactic coming in the summer, and I wanna drop another album before that. I got some tasty surprises and I'm really excited about all this new shit, this new music, to give to you guys," he said before playing a recording of a song that has since been dubbed "Freshie", concluding with "That's why I'm teasing this shit now because it's coming out soon."[19][20] The songs "Wow" and "Freshie" were seemingly set to appear on the unreleased album before Entergalactic.[21]
In November 2022, during one of his To the Moon World Tour stops in Europe, Cudi debuted "Solo Dolo Pt. IV". The song contains a sample of the original "Solo Dolo (Nightmare)" track, featured on his 2009 debut album, Man on the Moon: The End of Day, which in turn contains a sample of "The Traitor", performed by the Menahan Street Band. The production features enormous amounts of bass, something that the featured artist, fellow American rapper Playboi Carti, is known for.[22] "Solo Dolo Pt. II" appeared on Cudi's 2013 album Indicud, and "Solo Dolo, Pt. III" on his 2020 album Man on the Moon III: The Chosen. Cudi said that he currently has "one more" album in the process but that the fourth installment of his "Solo Dolo" series would be a single before that project comes out.[22] However, on May 15, 2023, Cudi revealed the song would not make the album due to Carti not clearing his feature.[23][24]
Kid Cudi
@KidCudi
There were multiple blocks of time I was recordin. I started beginning of Jan 2021, recorded about 30 songs through out the year, scrapped them, then in the fall of 2022 made another 30. So I ended up being in a fuckin zone that second run and thats most of this album. Some songs made it from first round. Top of this year and last few months made another 10. Im finally finished. U will be happy. Made sure to only use the HEAT
On December 2, 2022, Cudi posted on Twitter that he's recorded more than enough material to release another project.[26] "11 songs in [five] days. My goal was to do a whole new album worth of songs this week. 12 was my goal. Might get 14," he tweeted.[27]
On May 15, 2023, Cudi confirmed fellow American rappers Travis Scott and Young Thug, as guest appearances on the album.[28][24][29] In May 2023, American record producers BNYX and Keyon Christ respectively revealed they had worked on the album with Cudi.[30][31] The release of the song "Porsche Topless" as the first single, revealed the song was produced by BNYX, Jean Baptiste and Cudi himself.[32][33][34] In June 2023, Cudi previewed a song tentatively titled "Superboy", which was also produced by BNYX.[35][36][37]
The listening party Cudi held in June, previewed several songs and revealed American rapper Wiz Khalifa was set to appear on the album.[38] On June 19, Cudi revealed he recorded songs with his longtime friend and collaborator, fellow American rapper Chip tha Ripper; together they are collectively known as the Almighty GloryUs.[39][40]
On July 29, 2023, Cudi made an appearance during American electro house DJ Steve Aoki's set at Tomorrowland, to preview a new collaboration of theirs, "ElectroWaveBaby 2.0," which was also co-produced by BNYX and Jean Stockton.[41] Cudi and Aoki previously collaborated in 2010 on the remix of Cudi's diamond certified single, "Pursuit of Happiness", on "Cudi the Kid" from Aoki's debut album Wonderland (2012), and on "Burrow" from Cudi's ninth album Entergalactic (2022).
In July 2023, Cudi revealed the album would have multiple deluxe editions.[42] In an August 15 tweet, Cudi revealed there would be more featured guests throughout the different deluxe versions of the album.[14] Cudi would later nix the idea for multiple deluxe editions with different bonus tracks, in favor of releasing all the added tracks on one record, Insano (Nitro Mega). Nitro Mega would go on to include the aforementioned "Superboy" and "ElectroWaveBaby 2.0," as well as the Wiz Khalifa and Chip tha Ripper features.
Music and lyrics
Reviewing the album's lead single "Porsche Topless", The Fader proclaimed, "Cudi celebrates the good times on his latest effort," while Complex applauded its "bouncy production and a carefree hook." Hypebeast christened it "a fun and upbeat summer anthem," and Consequence of Sound dubbed it "a top-down, tunes-up party track."[43]
Billboard called "Most Ain't Dennis" a "braggadocios track in which the artist flexes his accolades and how his counterparts pale in comparison."[44]HipHopDX wrote "Most Ain't Dennis" evokes "Indicud tracks like "Burn Baby Burn" and "Lord of the Sad and Lonely" as it finds Cudder spitting menacing bars over distorted, speaker-rattling production."[45]
Release and promotion
On February 27, 2023, Cudi announced on Twitter his last contractual album with Republic Records would be released in autumn; adding that the rollout for the album will begin in the summer, with singles to be released.[46][47] A fan replied to his tweet and asked whether a concert tour is in his plans, to which Cudi confirmed he would be embarking on a world tour in 2024.[48] He would later say he planned on touring for at least five months.[49]
On March 8, Cudi took to Instagram Live to reveal the album's first single would be released on June 1.[50][51] He later revealed on Twitter he would be directing the music video for the album's first single.[52][53] On April 26, 2023, Cudi announced he would reveal the title of the album and release the lead single on June 2.[54] After unveiling behind the scenes photos of the music video for the first single,[55][56] on May 9, Cudi made the single available for pre-save on all streaming platforms.[57]
On May 19, through a post on TikTok, Cudi revealed the first single would be titled "Flex", while previewing the song.[58] However, Cudi would later pivot and instead release "Porsche Topless" as the lead single on June 2.[59][60] The cover art for the single was designed by Cudi and American visual artist Glassface, who also helped produce the music video for "Flex" which was ultimately shelved.[61][62]
On June 2, after premiering the lead single and hosting a listening session with fans in Los Angeles, Cudi revealed the album would be titled Insano.[63][64] In June, Cudi announced he would be holding the second annual Moon Man's Landing festival; later unveiling the line-up to include $uicideboy$, Bashfortheworld, Chelsea Pastel, Coi Leray, Siena Bella and Lil Uzi Vert.[65] Cudi also revealed the location, confirming it would again take place in his hometown of Cleveland, on August 19, at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.[66]
In July 2023, Cudi announced he would be embarking on a worldwide tour from April 2024 to November 2025.[67] He also revealed the album would have multiple deluxe editions.[42] During his headlining set for the HARD Summer music festival, after previewing five new songs from the album, Cudi revealed the album would be issued on September 15, the same date his 2009 debut album was released.[68][69]
On August 17, 2023, Cudi made the album available for pre-order and pre-save on streaming platforms; additionally he released merchandise in support of the album, consisting of short- and long-sleeve T-shirts and pullover hoodies—all of which feature graphics that reference the album. Cudi also unveiled four cover art variations that feature artwork by American designers KAWS and Glassface, respectively.[70][71]
On August 18, the Cleveland Guardians and Cudi announced their partnership for Kid Cudi Day on September 22, 2023. The event would be held at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio as the Guardians play host to the Baltimore Orioles. The event will be to celebrate the release of the album and honor the work Cudi has done for the Cleveland community.[72]
On September 4, Cudi announced he was pushing back the album's release date to January 2024.[73][74] He claimed the delay was due to being a perfectionist and wanting to give the best version of the album.[75] Due to the delay, Cudi decided to release two promotional singles in support of the album, "Most Ain't Dennis" and "Ill What I Bleed" that day.[76] On November 3, 2023, he released the album's second single, "At the Party", which features fellow American musicians Travis Scott and Pharrell Williams, the latter of whom produced the song.
The album's finalized tracklist was unveiled on January 8, 2024.[77] In January 2024, massive statues sculptured in Kid Cudi's likeness began appearing in cities across the globe, namely Paris, Los Angeles and New York City. The statues of Cudi stood at approximately 33 feet tall, with red-purple lights blaring out of his eyes and a small spotlight out of his mouth. The sculpture situated in Paris played tracks from Insano and Insano (Nitro Mega).[78][79][80]
On March 6, 2024, Kid Cudi announced Insano: Engage the Rage World Tour. The tour was set to feature fellow American rappers EarthGang, Jaden Smith and Pusha T as opening acts, with Cudi set to embark on the tour on June 28, 2024.[81] However, in April 2024, the tour was postponed, later canceled after Cudi broke his foot while performing at Coachella.[82]
Insano was met with generally favorable reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 64, based on 7 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[83]HipHopDX's Sam Moore wrote that Kid Cudi "floats into a new space in what feels like an attempt to tap into the enormous market of close collaborator Travis Scott" and that the album "grasps the scattershot creative mind of Cudi as accurately as any of his other projects".[87] Reviewing the album for PopMatters, Igor Bannikov stated that Cudi "does his usual cosmic, moonish, entergalactic stuff in a relaxed, low-key manner, not aiming to make something iconic".[89] Robin Murray of Clash called the album a "lavish return" but felt that it "isn't perfect" and is "at times disjointed" with "a few tracks here that could have been excised without disrupting Kid Cudi's central narrative. 'Electrowavebaby' is fun but doesn't seem to add to his sound, while 'Mr Coola' feels a little dated".[85]Pitchfork's Dylan Green opined, "To its credit, Insano is trying to do something different—that different thing, however, is just having DJ Drama provide thin narrative window dressing to a spate of uninspired Kid Cudi songs".[88]
Commercial performance
Insano debuted at number 13 on the US Billboard 200 chart, became Cudi's seventh US top-20 debut on the chart.[90] The album marking the third highest debut of the week and the fifth best-selling album of the week, with 8,500 sold. Of that sum, physical sales comprise 7,000 (about 5,500 on vinyl and 1,500 on CD) and digital downloads comprise 1,500. The album's sales were enhanced by its availability across four vinyl variants and four CD editions.[91]
