Rapper Kid Cudi seemed to be everywhere this past weekend—in both human and statue form—to help welcome his latest album, INSANO. In addition to hosting a listening party in Hollywood, CA and spending a few hours signing autographs for fans in Long Beach, CA, ominous statues of Cudi’s likeness popped up in major cities in the U.S. and abroad, prompting a mix of excitement from fans and pearl-clutching from detractors.

Various copies of the statue—a 33-foot, silver-colored depiction of the rapper with his upward palms held in front of him and eerie, red and blue lights emanating from his eyes and open mouth—turned up in Paris, France (at the Place de la Bourse), Long Beach, CA (floating on a barge up and down the Long Beach shoreline), and New York, NY (adrift on a barge in the East River). While the sculptures have excited some fans, a vocal contingent has decried them for their purportedly “satanic” imagery.

Related: Nine-Foot Audiovisual Sculpture Of The Notorious B.I.G. Installed In Brooklyn [Photos/Video]

We probably wouldn’t go as far as to call the statues “satanic” (relax), but INSANO certainly brings a dark, eerie energy to match their aesthetic. The ambitious, 21-track album is loaded with driving bass and jarring 808s, squarely occupying the head-banging, club-ready lane that Kid Cudi has often forgone in favor of more shapeless soundscapes. That’s not to say that the bars-first INSANO abandons Cudi’s unique creative proclivities: Tracks like “X & CUD” (a contemplative, industrial vamp that recasts a wistful vocal line from the late XXXTENTACION‘s “Orlando”) and “BLUE SKY” (a dreamy, synth-rock tapestry with plenty of Cudder humming and Man on the Moon spirit) evoke the off-kilter approach that has been his calling card for years. The album features a slew of notable guests including DJ Drama, Travis Scott, A$AP Rocky, Lil Yachty, Pharrell Williams, Lil Wayne, and Young Thug.

Cudi previously delayed the release of INSANO from September to January. As he said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, “I want to make sure that everything lines up and I give y’all the best version of myself. … Since I’m doing this and I know you all are fiending to get a listen of the album, I’m releasing two new jams from INSANO tonight on Soundcloud,” describing the two tracks, “MOST LIKE DENNIS” and “ILL WHAT I BLEED”, as “some of his favorites” on the album.

In addition to the media buzz surrounding INSANO, Kid Cudi’s name made headlines over the weekend for his involvement in the loaded soundtrack album for Jeymes Samuel‘s new film, The Book of Clarence, alongside a slew of notable names like Jay-Z, D’Angelo, Doja Cat, Jorja Smith, Lil Wayne, and more.

Listen to INSANO, the new album from Kid Cudi, in full below and scroll down to check out some photos and videos of the sculptures that popped up in New York, California, and France over the weekend.

Kid Cudi – INSANO – Full Album

 

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