By Talia Charlton
Staff Writer
Following the release of his album “Satellite Flight: Journey to Mother Moon” on Feb. 25, hip-hop artist Kid Cudi put on a concert at the Barclays Center Saturday, March 22. A galaxy-themed stage set-up was put together for the rapper’s performance, donned with bright lights of various colors, and mountainous rocks formed to look somewhat like fans had just landed on a completely different planet. 
Along with Cudi came rapper King Chip, formerly known as Chip Tha Ripper. This artist, although new to some, has been featured on many of Kid Cudi’s previous albums on popular songs such as “Hyyer” off of 2009’s “Man on the Moon: The End of Day,” and “The End” from 2010’s “Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager.” King Chip opened the show for Cudi, performing songs of his own: some new, some old, and even one that has not yet been released.
As Kid Cudi prepared to perform, the stage illuminated in bright white lights as the intro to his album “Destination: Mother Moon” began to play. Cudi appeared from a gaping hole in center stage, dressed in an all white and dark grey space suit. He immediately began his performance, first performing a song off of his new album “Satellite Flight.” Though the concert was in promotion of his newly released album, this did not stop Cudi from performing hits from his former albums. Cudi encouraged crowd participation as he performed songs such as “Mr. Rager,” “Man on the Moon,” “Memories,” and The Crookers remix of his smash hit “Day n’ Nite.”
Many songs from his new album were also performed during the duration of the concert. Songs such as “Balmain Jeans,” “Troubled Boy,” and “Satellite Flight” were just a few of the new songs performed. “Satellite Flight” continues Cudi’s themes from previous albums — of his personal struggle and perseverance through rough patches in his life.
In his first few albums, fans witnessed a darker side of the artist as he touched on topics of drugs, depression, and feeling alone. His journey slowly changed over the years as he began to overcome many of these things. During the show, Cudi explained the trials and tribulations he faced when writing the song “Mr. Rager,” wanting to use the song for his new album, he was worried he would not be able to hit some of the high notes within the song due to his heavy use of drugs at that time. He explained to the crowd that the first way he overcame this struggle was to completely stop doing drugs, and began practicing the song.
The mood throughout Cudi’s “Satellite Flight” concert fluctuated throughout the night, as the rapper performed both slow ballads followed by more upbeat songs. The crowd was constantly encouraged to engage with the artist, as he kept up a personal rapport with them. When talking about difficult times in his life, he would sit and speak to the audience, addressed them when he wanted them to sing along, and at one point during a performance, stopped to sign a picture a fan drew of him. Energy was high throughout most of the show, and the excitement could be felt throughout the entirety of the show.
Cudi has upcoming show dates at festivals such as Lollapalooza in Chile, Argentina, and Brazil. In addition, the artist has dates at
the Coachella Festival in California, and the Sasquatch Festival in Washington.
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