Tag Archives: Dot Da Genius

Album releases: Kid Cudi & Dot Da Genius’ WZRD & Jason Mraz’s live EP out today

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Today is a big day for music fans ’round the world spanning two very different genres. First there’s the long-anticipated release of Kid Cudi’s concept album WZRD, featuring beats by producer Dot Da Genius and guitar riffs by the Rager. The self-titled album can be downloaded digitally at iTunes, or a physical copy can be purchased over at Amazon. Celebrate the release by heading over to Complex and checking out their online cover story that delves deep into the perfect collaboration.

Next up is a taste of what’s to come for fans of the one and only Mr. A-Z. Before dropping his third studio album on April 17, Jason Mraz is releasing a four-track live EP titled Live Is A Four Letter Word and it can be yours today: the digital-only EP is now available on iTunes. The songs were recorded from his performance at Spreckels Theater in San Diego.

Oh happy day.

Singles: WZRD – “Teleport 2 Me, Jamie” & “Brake”

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As promised, Kid Cudi and Dot Da Genius released final versions of “Teleport 2 Me” and “Brake” on iTunes on Cudi’s birthday January 30. In it’s final, full release, “Teleport 2 Me” has been renamed to include Cudder’s girlfriend’s name Jamie and “Brake” remains pretty much unaltered. Here are handy links that’ll direct you to iTunes: “Teleport 2 Me, Jamie (Featuring Desire)” / “Brake” (The songs will go international (UK, Germany, France, Japan, Australia and New Zealand) on February 13.)

After the break you’ll find larger, individual album art squares that correspond to each song. According to Mr. Mescudi, the collabo album WZRD drops February 28. And don’t forget “Dose of Dopeness” is on its way.

[Via DatNewCudi] Continue reading Singles: WZRD — “Teleport 2 Me, Jamie” & “Brake” →

Kid Cudi & Dot Da Genius collab album delayed, tracklist revealed

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Kid Cudi simply could not live up to his promise of delivering his next album (tentatively titled WZRD) on his birthday, January 30. His collaborator and producer Dot Da Genius broke the unfortunate news of delay on Twitter. “We are in the final stages of mastering but we really had to take time and pay attention to the sonics as this is new territory for us,” explained Dot. He continued, “I know it’s late notice, we were trying to keep the date but got wrapped up making this album perfect for y’all.” He dropped the date February 28 as a “rough” estimated time of release. To make up for the delay, Dot did share some good news: full, mastered versions of “Brake” and “Teleport 2 Me” will show up in iTunes on the 30th of this month, along with a track Cudi fans have been waiting to hear for a long time now called “Dose of Dopeness.”

Cudi then took to his Tumblr to share the full tracklisting for the upcoming album. There is only a single featured artist on the renamed track “Teleport 2 Me, Jamie.” See below:

1. The Arrival
2. High Off Life
3. The Dream Time Machine
4. Love Hard
5. Live & Learn
6. Brake
7. Teleport 2 Me, Jamie (Feat. Desire)
8. Where Did You Sleep Last Night
9. Efflictim
10. The Upper Room

When the singles hit iTunes, you’ll know it.

Kid Cudi reveals WZRD album cover

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Kid Cudi can’t keep out of the news. After releasing two tracks from his upcoming collabo album with producer Dot Da Genius, Cudder jumped back onto Twitter to share with his followers the “official logo” for his band WZRD. He confirmed that the image embedded above will in fact serve as the album cover when the still yet-to-be-titled album drops January 30. Though now all signs point to it being self titled as WZRD. Cudi went on to describe the album art as “simple, classic, iconic.”

Bonus! The same day he posted the WZRD image to Twitter, he also shared a link to Dia Frampton’s YouTube channel. Embedded after the break you’ll find an amazing cover of Cudi’s “Pursuit of Happiness” by The Voice runner-up. The two recently collaborated on Frampton’s new single “Don’t Kick the Chair.”

[Via @wizardcud] Continue reading Kid Cudi reveals WZRD album cover →

Single: W Z R D – “Teleport 2 Me” (Snippet)

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There really isn’t anything more to say than this… Kid Cudi is back and quite possibly better than ever. His Man on the Moon cuts are great, sure. But the kid named Cudi is preparing to take his fans on an entirely different kind of journey in his Wizard suit. We got a taste of what’s to come with his previous full-length release “Brake” late last month and today he’s dropped only a snippet of “Teleport 2 Me”, the first official single off his still yet-to-be-titled collabo album with producer Dot Da Genius. Plug in your Beats, turn the volume up to full blast, and teleport into Cudder’s latest magnificent, dream-like track. I dare you not to grin from ear to ear upon first listen.

Download: W Z R D – “Teleport 2 Me”

[audio: Teleport2Me.mp3]

Single: W Z R D – “Brake”

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The former lonely stoner just couldn’t wait any longer. After teasing the album’s January 30, 2012 release date on Saturday, Kid Cudi jumped back on Twitter to share with the world the first official cut off his upcoming third, yet-to-be-titled studio album. The track is called “Brake” and it’s produced by Wizard-in-crime Dot Da Genius and features guitar strings flicked by Cudder himself. Much like his previous release “Perfect Is The Word,” this song doesn’t find Cudi rapping but instead crooning over a punk rock-ish beat. Prior to dropping the single Cudi tweeted, “Tonight, you will all witness the new chapter, the new journey. Music will never be the same…” Listen to “Brake” below, follow along by reading the simple lyrics provided by Cudi, and click the download link for keeps. Are you entranced by Kid Cudi’s new sound? Anticipating his collabo release with Dot? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Download: W Z R D – “Brake”

[audio: Brake.mp3]

Kid Cudi announces W Z R D album release date

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This week rapper Kid Cudi took to Twitter to make a major announcement: his next album is coming out January 30, 2012 to coincide with his 28th birthday. He also made a change to his group’s name. He and producer Dot da Genius are now collectively known as W Z R D (short for WIZARD) and 2 Be Continuum is no more. Cudi was not ready to spill the beans on the album’s title yet. However he did go on to say that the album “does not contain any profanity or the usage of the word “nigga”.” The former lonely stoner calls it “a universal album for everyone.” Also, he says “WZRD is bringin Punk Rock back with a whole new energy and sound.” Not really sure what he means by that? We’ll have a taste of what’s in store soon as Cudi promises that a snippet of the first single is on its way. “Ladies, your gonna have something to shake those booties to,” he teases.

Short film: Kid Cudi in ‘Maniac’ (NSFW violence)

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Last November Kid Cudi hinted that a short film based on one of his songs was coming and yesterday on Halloween he released it on the ‘Net. The short film, directed by Transfomers star Shia LaBeouf, is titled Maniac and it is “inspired by” the song with the same name featured on Cudder’s sophomore album Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager. The extremely dark, gritty, and violent clip does not play the “Maniac” track behind it, nor does it refer to the lyrics in the song as it plays out like a short film and not a music video. The score that plays in the background is original music produced by Cudi and Wizard collaborator Dot Da Genius. In the nearly ten-minute short, a film crew follows two serial killers (played by Cudi and Chris Palko) documenting their exploits. As made explicit in the post title, this video is NSFW due to graphic violence and gore and in fact it is rated NC-17.

You have been warned. Mash play at your own risk. Happy Halloween!

Update: Cudder sat down with Complex and shared some insight into the making of the Maniac video. In it he talks about working with Shia LaBeouf, the character he played in the video, funding the film, and he explains why the characters speak in French. Read the choice quotes over at Complex.

Music video: Kid Cudi – “No One Believes Me”

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Cudder fans, here’s a nice treat.

On June 1 Kid Cudi dropped the debut single from his Dot Da Genius-assisted rock band 2 Be Continuum, “Perfect Is The Word.” Since then, Cudder’s been spending his summer on the Cud Life Tour and shooting episodes for the HBO series How To Make It In America. Somewhere in between all this he was able to finalize the track “No One Believes Me,” a song featured on the soundtrack for the upcoming vampire flick Fright Night. Instead of just releasing the song to fans, Cud went the extra mile and teamed with Fright Night helmer Craig Gillespie to make a spook-tacular music video that perfectly embodies the ominous track. Witness a paranoiac and fanged Kid Cudi haunt a quaint suburban town in the clip embedded above; I bet you won’t see the surprise ending coming.

Fright Night, starring Colin Farrell, Anton Yelchin, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse, hits theatres August 19; “No One Believes Me” will play during the end credits. The soundtrack releases days before on August 16.

Update: Kid Cudi talks to MTV about his inspiration behind the video after the break.

Update 2: The song is now available on iTunes.

Continue reading Music video: Kid Cudi — “No One Believes Me” →

Single: 2 Be Continuum – “Perfect Is The Word”

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The debut single from Kid Cudi’s rock band 2 Be Continuum is here! Cudder has been teasing the track since yesterday on Twitter. First he warned his fans, “Tomorrow, be ready.” Next he hinted, “10pm, the debut.” And after a minor delay (“Delay delay!!! Workin on some last minute fixes, sorry to leave you guys in suspense all day but i gotta make sure everything is right first. Gimme a few. Update soon!!!”), he dropped a MediaFire link into his feed and “Perfect Is The Word” was let out into the wild. The lonely stoner introduced it like this: “KiD CuDi & Dot Da Genius “Perfect Is The Word”.” Formally known as Wizard, 2 Be Continuum is the spin-off band Cudi and friend/producer Dot Da Genius formed earlier this year. The track definitely sounds like it came from the same mind that created the Man on the Moon records, but you’ll notice more guitar and less rapping. Sample the first slice of wizardry below.

Download: 2 Be Continuum – “Perfect Is The Word”

[audio: Perfect Is The Word.mp3]

Update: Cudder hopped on Twitter to announce a second new track is on the way. It’s called “No One Believes Me” and it will be featured in the upcoming vampire flick Fright Night. Cudi says, “Look out for the soundtrack and video soon.”

[Via Twitter]

Kid Cudi joins Twitter (again), says new mixtape coming this summer

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In December 2009, shortly after Kid Cudi dropped his debut album Man on the Moon: The End of Day, he stated, “I will never get back on Twitter or Facebook. I’m getting my blog back together and that will be the only way to stay connected with me.”  So much for that.  Today Cudder joined Twitter again, and you can follow him @wizardcud. Why the change of heart?  “i really only got back on twitter becuz i heard will smith tweeted about a fresh prince reunion and i wanted to post my response to that…” he joked.  Only hours after reintroducing himself (“yes, its true. its me, the real wizard”), Cudi dropped an explosion of headlines.

First he announced that his upcoming rock-themed album Wizard is expected to release this summer.  Cudi will serve as producer and he says every track will feature his guitar talents, while collaborator Dot Da Genius is currently learning the bass.  He also spilled that the long lost “Dose of Dopeness” will be a bonus track on the album. He describes Wizard in a tweet: “Wizard is a rock album, no raps, just singing. brand new thing. flavor.”

What else, what else.  He mentions the “Maniac” music video/short film is still under construction; Cudder, Cage, and video director Shia LaBeouf are holding back on dropping it until “everything [is] just right…i need the proper time for scoring…the edit must be epic.”

Last, Cudi drops this exciting bombshell: he’s releasing a brand new mixtape this summer called A Man Named Scott, the followup to 2008’s A Kid Named Cudi.  Of the mixtape he says, “for all those who fucks with my raps, this is for u since ima be all rocked out with the wizard shit. also its free! yes!”  In other words, since Wizard is going to be all about Cudder crooning, he wants to hold over his rap fans with the mixtape until the true successor of Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager releases presumably later this year.

He concluded all these hot tweets with this: “man im really happy to FINALLY get all that good news out there. more to come, not even close.”  And the man’s not lying; in between all this news he revealed that he’s been working with Kanye West and Jay-Z, almost definitely on their collab album Watch the Throne so you can expect a Cudi feature there.  He also shared that HBO’s How To Make It In America starts filming its second season in March and he’s excited to reprise his true-to-life character Domingo Dean.

[Via @wizardcud]

Cudder roundup: Short film “Maniac” short film, LNWJF perfomance, ‘Wizard’ collab w/ Dot Da Genius, Bape t-shirt

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Bunch of Kid Cudi news, so it’s roundup time.  First up is news that actor Shia LaBeouf (Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, Transformers) is set to direct a short film based on Cudi’s Man on the Moon II track “Maniac.”  Cage and St. Vincent are featured on the joint, and according to Rap-Up.com Cage is friends with LaBeouf and asked for his assistence to helm the video.  LaBeouf had previously directed Cage’s music video “I Never Knew You” back in 2008.  While you’re waiting for this video to drop, jump after the break to watch Cudi perform “Maniac” with The Roots on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.  There you’ll also find photographic proof that the Cudi/LaBeuf collab is actually going down.

Speaking of collabs, Cudi has publically announced that he is forming a rock band with close friend and producer Dot Da Genius.  They are calling themselves ‘Wizard.’  When Cudi picked up the guitar for the very first time he became fascinated with the instrument and surprised himself by how quickly he picked up on playing chords.  He says that three songs for the album have been completed, and he’ll continue to record more songs on the tour bus as he and Dot make “college runs.”

Last, but certainly not least.. To celebrate the release of his sophomore album Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager, Cudi has teamed up with Bape again to sell a BAPE x Kid Cudi Rager t-shirt.  The tee will sell in black and white variants and like always will be limited in quantity.  If you want one plan on camping outside the Soho Bape store in NYC on November 9, the same day the album hits stores.  And who knows, maybe Cudi will swing by and make an appearence.

[Via Rap-Up, here & here; DatNewCudi] Continue reading Cudder roundup: Short film “Maniac” short film, LNWJF perfomance, ‘Wizard’ collab w/ Dot Da Genius, Bape t-shirt →