Photos By: Markus Eliance

Kid Cudi Brings His Balancing Act to the Stage – This week Cleveland rapper Kid Cudi brought his eclectic brand of rap to Club Nokia in downtown LA. Cudi is an interesting young new talent in the world of rap and hip-hop. He has amassed an impressive underground following thanks to the mixtape scene and the internet. His debut disc, Man on the Moon: End of the Day is quite a balancing act between braggadocio and introspective thought. On some tunes, the “Kid” is sort of a hip-hop Morrissey or Robert Smith. On other songs he lets you know he can brag and boast with the best of them. The later persona may have emerged at an earlier tour stop where it was alleged Kid Cudi punched an audience member during his set. Ironically this incident happened after GQ named the rapper “gangsta killer of the year” for not getting bogged down into silly hip-hop stereotypes (oops!!) At Club Nokia both the partying and pensive side of the mc was on display this past Tuesday night.

Cudi hit the stage with a mic and one hand a bottle of Greygoose in the other. He immediately took control of the crowd which seemed to be a cross section of b-boys, b-girls, hip-hop heads and young indie rock fans, with enough multicolored shoelaces to decorate a thousand Christmas trees. Cudi kept telling his young faithfuls that they were going to celebrate good music. He downed swigs of Vodka and talked about the “party” that was about to happen and then he rapped eloquently about being a geek back when he was in high school in Cleveland Ohio. The “Kid” hit the crowd with a mix of tunes from his debut disc and his most familiar mixtape cuts while his fans spit every rhyme and every verse along with the young mc. Throughout the night Cudi worked the stage and the crowd like a pro and he brought the party to a fever pitch when friend/mentor Kanye West hit the stage to trade rhymes on the Lady Gaga inspired “Make Her Say”.

By the time Cudi slid into his most well known tune “Day and Nite” it was apparent that rap music has a young new up start to deal with. If Kid Cudi can keep his balancing act going and his hands to himself he stands a good chance of being more than just an internet fad or one hit wonder. Kid Cudi has the talent and skills that can take him far beyond just being a man on the moon.