Song Review: Kid Cudi’s “Surfin” Is Triumphantly Bright

Kid Cudi’s music video for Surfin was released this Halloween, and it was an excellent release date for a song that feels like a giant bag of candy. The video spotlights Cudi happily singing, laughing, and dancing in the middle of a party. The irony of the video may immediately strike people, whom know Cudi’s recent struggles with depression, yet I am not surprised. We write for both what we feel and wish to feel, and Surfin is a love letter happiness.

The song, itself, highlights Cudi’s master ability to take several musical ingredients and create whole new dish of delicious sounds. Surfin is a combination of funk and Hip Hop with a splash of Reggae/ Caribbean rhythms. Lets us just say, that if this song was a drink, it would be the juiciest cocktail you would ever drink again and again in your life. The brightness of the song’s sound sexplains why the video needed to be so colorful and simple; nothing like a good party with good friends to make you feel like the world is yours again.
While Cudi is known for his outer space themes, the video, itself, feels like a psychedelic trip to earth. It features some of Cudi’s friends/ collaborators like A$AP Rocky, A$AP Nast, Jaden Smith, Willow Smith, Chip the Ripper, and Hit-Boy. Each bounces to the infectiously moving beat while Cudi sings the poignant line, “I ain’t ridin no waves/ Too busy makin my own waves”, something that is powerfully true to his artistry. There is no one like Kid Cudi, and I hope that, in his current time of spiritual recuperation, he sees and loves how empowering that is!
For more information on Kid Cudi, and to buy Surfin Click Here