Kid Cudi w/ Chip Tha Ripper

Buoyed by the support of Kanye West, who signed the Cleveland rapper to his GOOD Music label, Kid Cudi emerged as one of 2009’s breakthrough stars when his Internet hit “Day ’n’ Nite” became a genuine hit this spring. Cudi’s debut album, Man on the Moon: The End of Day, wasn’t the precious sung/rap album some might have expected from Cudi’s earlier singles. Instead it was an epic, hyper-conceptual, experimental mood piece that found time for lengthy instrumental tangents and featured inspired guest spots from MGMT and Ratatat. It divided critics, with some admiring its ambition and others finding it muddled, but it seems destined to become a cult classic in large part because of its weird messiness. Cudi is already working on a follow-up, eyeing a 2010 release for a potentially collaboration-heavy effort called Cudder.