Everything We Know About Kid Cudi's New Album 'Man on the Moon III: The Chosen'

Kid Cudi's new album 'Man on the Moon III' will arrive on December 11. From guest feature details to hints about what it will sound like, here's what we know.

Kid Cudi 'Man on the Moon 3'
YouTube

Image via Kid Cudi/YouTube

Kid Cudi 'Man on the Moon 3'

It’s official: Kid Cudi’s Man On the Moon III is landing this week. After hinting at a possible revival of his Man on the Moon series throughout the year, Cudi confirmed on social media Monday that he will be releasing the third and final installment on December 11. Man on the Moon III: The Chosen will arrive ten years after he released the second edition, Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager, in 2010. The first album, Man on the Moon: The End of Day, dropped on September 15, 2009.

As we near the release date, we looked through the breadcrumbs for all the information we could find and rounded up the most important details you need to know. From the project’s themes to collaborations and visuals, here’s what you need to know about Kid Cudi’s Man on the Moon III: The Chosen.

It’s the third and final installment of the 'Man on the Moon' trilogy series

View this video on YouTube

youtu.be

Man on the Moon III will mark the end of an era for Cudi. The back of the album cover confirms this will be “the final installment in the Man on the Moon trilogy.” To commemorate the moment, Kid Cudi shared a nostalgic trailer (seen above) with the caption, “the trilogy continues.” In the brief video, Cudi revisits old footage from music videos like “Day ‘n’ Nite” and concert reels. After walking down memory lane, the video ends with an image capturing Cudi smoking while gazing at a red moon.

Mr. Rager returns

Kid Cudi's 'Man on the Moon' By the Numbers

Cudi wasn’t in a rush to make a third ‘Man on the Moon’ album

kid cudi

He's reuniting with his original production team

Dot Da Genius and Kid Cudi

There are visual previews of the album's energy (and a music video is on the way)

View this video on YouTube

youtu.be

Ahead of the album’s release, Kid Cudi has shared two visuals. The first was a one-minute trailer, but the second is a more detailed look into the rapper’s dark universe. The video, directed by Nabil, opens with a series of close-up shots of Cudi’s face and a wide shot of a massive hillside mansion. It then cuts to thrilling images of Cudi crawling across the granite floor of the mansion and speeding down a winding road in a black sports car. The clip suggests the album will be dark, mysterious, and theatrical. After taking a break from music videos, Cudi also revealed that this album will have visuals. “Video for ‘Show Knows This’ directed by the genius Nabil droppin Thursday,” he tweeted on Monday. Then he added, “First music video in 4 years. Ready for yall to see this madness.”

The album cover was painted by Sam Spratt

Kid Cudi

The album cover is very striking and definitely falls in line with Kid Cudi’s aesthetic. The artwork, which was painted by Sam Spratt, is an abstract portrait of Kid Cudi. While half of his face is an accurate depiction of what the rapper looks like in real life, the other half appears to be melting away into a galaxy. His eye has also been replaced with a full moon, and there is a male figure falling by his cheek. This year, Spratt also made album covers for Logic and 070 Shake.

'MOTM3' has a handful of exciting guest features

Pop Smoke

There are still other albums in the works

Kid Cudi

Latest in Music