Kid Cudi Believes His 'Man On The Moon' Album 'Changed Hip Hop Forever'

Kid Cudi thinks his debut album Man on the Moon: The End of Day changed the course of Hip Hop forever. With Pitchfork making changes to some of its album ratings on Tuesday (October 5), the Cleveland rapper responded to a fan who insisted his first LP should have a higher rating than the 4.1 out of 10 score it received upon release in 2009.

“Pitchfork has never givin me good ratings, and here we are, years later and im still here,” Kid Cudi wrote on Twitter. “Its ok man. They dont need to change it. The entire world knows, even my haters, that this album was the one that changed Hip Hop forever.”

He continued, “I think when I was younger I thought it would hurt my career. Like the fans would listen to the reviews and not give the music a chance. Then, I realized over the years after I survived each era and made album after album, that nothing anyone could ever say would stop my light.”

Pitchfork has never givin me good ratings, and here we are, years later and im still here. Its ok man. They dont need to change it. The entire world knows, even my haters, that this album was the one that changed hip hop forever. https://t.co/NBbSg0uMoY

— The Chosen One : I ? YOU FRESHIE 4EVER (@KidCudi) October 5, 2021

I think when I was younger I thought it would hurt my career. Like the fans would listen to the reviews and not give the music a chance. Then, I realized over the years after I survived each era and made album after album, that nothing anyone could ever say would stop my light ☺️ https://t.co/kzgDqzyKph

— The Chosen One : I ? YOU FRESHIE 4EVER (@KidCudi) October 5, 2021

While none of Kid Cudi’s albums received any changes, Pitchfork increased Chief Keef’s 2012 mixtape Back from the Dead from 7.9 to 9.1, while decreasing Big Boi’s 2010 album Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty from 9.2 to 7.7.

Cudi also acknowledged Peppa Pig’s Peppa’s Adventures: The Album having a higher rating than Man on the Moon: The End of Day.

??‍♂️ https://t.co/xj9XrvPP1N

— The Chosen One : I ? YOU FRESHIE 4EVER (@KidCudi) October 5, 2021

Even on the day his debut album dropped on Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music, Kid Cudi was confident about the impact his music would have on Hip Hop.

“My main thing was to just inspire people to push the envelope [creatively] and think outside the box and really challenge themselves and really put in that type of hard work towards the creative side of things,” he told DJBooth at the time. “I did want to make something that would baffle the critics, as far as putting it in a certain genre; I wanted them to have a hard time doin’ it. I really wanted to trick the game and open up a lot of people’s eyes, and I think we’ve done it.”

Man on the Moon: The End of Day went on to influence the likes of Travis Scott, Jaden Smith, Logic and KYLE, who have all spoke highly of the project over the years.

“He opened an entire world sonically for me,” Logic told Billboard on the album’s 10-year anniversary. “It completely reshaped how I wanted to make my music. It showed me that I don’t have to stick in the bubble and don’t necessarily [have to] flow with conformity.”

KYLE added, “From a lyrical standpoint, [Man on the Moon] was just honest. It was so relatable because he was just talking about his human experience and himself in his truest form. I think for a long time before Kid Cudi, a lot of people thought in order to be a rapper, you needed to fit one experience.”