Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin'

Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin'
Studio album by Kid Cudi
Released	December 16, 2016
Recorded	March–August 2016
Length	80:35
Label	Wicked Awesome Republic
Producer	Kid Cudi (also exec.) Dot da Genius Mike Dean Mike Will Made It Plain Pat Pharrell Williams J Gramm
Kid Cudi chronology
Speedin' Bullet 2 Heaven (2015) Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin' (2016)
Singles from Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin'
"Frequency" Released: September 30, 2016 "Surfin'" Released: September 30, 2016 "Baptized In Fire" Released: December 2, 2016

Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin' is the upcoming sixth studio album by American recording artist Kid Cudi. The album is scheduled to be released on December 16, 2016 through Republic Records and Cudi's Wicked Awesome Records imprint. It succeeds Cudi's alternative rock album Speedin' Bullet 2 Heaven (2015). The album features production from Dot da Genius, Mike Dean, Mike Will Made It and Plain Pat, along with guest appearances from André 3000, Travis Scott, Pharrell Williams and Willow Smith. The album was preceded by the lead singles, "Frequency" and "Surfin'".

Background

Following the release of his 2015 grunge rock-inspired album, Speedin' Bullet 2 Heaven, Kid Cudi embarked on The Especial Tour and subsequently began recording new music. On May 11, 2016, amidst rumors that he was planning to release Man on the Moon III, Cudi revealed the title of his sixth solo album would be Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin', through Instagram.^[1][2] On June 1, 2016, Cudi announced that he would release two albums in 2016, one for the summer and one set for fall.^[3] In September 2016, Cudi revealed Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin' would be a double disc album.^[4] On September 26, Cudi unveiled the album's track-listing, which revealed that similar to his Man on the Moon album series, the Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin' track-list is split into acts.^[5]

Recording and production

On May 1, 2016, American drummer Travis Barker of Blink-182 fame, revealed he's had recording sessions with Cudi and Atlanta-based rapper André 3000.^[6] On June 1, 2016, Cudi revealed on Twitter that Houston-based rapper Travis Scott, was the only featured artist on the album at the moment; Cudi also previewed a video of them in the studio with a new song in the background, via Snapchat.^[7] On June 2, Cudi teased a feature when he wrote on Twitter: "I may or may not have MGMT on the album".^[8] It was also confirmed on June 3, that Cudi's longtime producer Dot da Genius, would also be involved with the album, after Cudi posted a video of them in the studio on Snapchat.^[9] On June 9, Cudi released a video of child actress and singer Willow, singing in a recording booth, with the caption "Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin'".^[10][11] On June 29, Cudi teased a Pharrell Williams collaboration, when he tweeted: "Got some magic from Pharrell lastnite. New collabs, new energy, new frequency."^[12]

Release and promotion

After releasing an alternative rock solo album, where he sang and played instruments throughout the album, Kid Cudi returned to rapping on March 25, 2016, with the song "The Frequency".^[15][16] "The Frequency", which was produced by Cudi's longtime collaborators Mike Dean and Plain Pat, was called a "return to form" for Kid Cudi.^[17] On April 15, 2016, Cudi released a song titled "All In", produced by Atlanta-based multi-platinum producer, Mike Will Made It.^[18][19] On April 22, 2016, Kid Cudi announced he would be releasing a new studio album, set for a summer release.^[20] In May, a few hours following the announcement of the album's title, Cudi released a snippet of a song from the album, produced by himself and Mike Dean, which he shared via Instagram.^[21][22]

On June 24, 2016, Kid Cudi released a song, titled "Goodbye". The song, produced by Cudi and Dot da Genius (collectively known as WZRD), samples dialogue by Tupac Shakur from the 1992 film Juice, as well as vocals by English rock band Pink Floyd from their 1979 song "Goodbye Cruel World".^[23][24][25] On August 15, 2016, Cudi announced he had completed working on the album and would soon be unveiling the release date.^[26][27] In August 2016, while performing at the Trillectro Music Festival, Cudi debuted a new song produced by Pharrell Williams.^[28][29] In September 2016, Cudi revealed the album would be a double disc album and that he had plans to release the album that month.^[4]

On September 26, 2016, Cudi revealed the album's track-listing via his Twitter account.^[5][30] Later that day, Cudi announced the album's release date and unveiled the cover art.^[31][32] Hours before the album's release, Cudi revealed the album had been postponed "due to some minor sample clearance issues still being finalized" and announced he would be officially releasing two singles, "Frequency" and "Surfin'", due to the delay.^[33][34] On December 1, 2016, the album was made available for pre-order on the iTunes Store, with "Baptized in Fire", featuring Travis Scott, as the "instant gratification track".^[35][36]

Singles

On September 30, 2016, Kid Cudi released "Frequency" and "Surfin'" as dual singles via digital distribution.^[37][38] The music video for "Frequency", which was directed by Kid Cudi himself, was released on October 13, 2016.^[39][40] The music video for "Surfin'", also directed by Cudi, later followed on October 31, 2016, featuring cameo appearances from Jaden Smith, Willow Smith, King Chip, A$AP Nast and A$AP Rocky, among others.^[41][42][43]

Track listing

References

External links

• Official website