Tag Archives: Maniac short film

Short film: Kid Cudi in ‘Maniac’ (NSFW violence)

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Last November Kid Cudi hinted that a short film based on one of his songs was coming and yesterday on Halloween he released it on the ‘Net. The short film, directed by Transfomers star Shia LaBeouf, is titled Maniac and it is “inspired by” the song with the same name featured on Cudder’s sophomore album Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager. The extremely dark, gritty, and violent clip does not play the “Maniac” track behind it, nor does it refer to the lyrics in the song as it plays out like a short film and not a music video. The score that plays in the background is original music produced by Cudi and Wizard collaborator Dot Da Genius. In the nearly ten-minute short, a film crew follows two serial killers (played by Cudi and Chris Palko) documenting their exploits. As made explicit in the post title, this video is NSFW due to graphic violence and gore and in fact it is rated NC-17.

You have been warned. Mash play at your own risk. Happy Halloween!

Update: Cudder sat down with Complex and shared some insight into the making of the Maniac video. In it he talks about working with Shia LaBeouf, the character he played in the video, funding the film, and he explains why the characters speak in French. Read the choice quotes over at Complex.

Kid Cudi joins Twitter (again), says new mixtape coming this summer

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In December 2009, shortly after Kid Cudi dropped his debut album Man on the Moon: The End of Day, he stated, “I will never get back on Twitter or Facebook. I’m getting my blog back together and that will be the only way to stay connected with me.”  So much for that.  Today Cudder joined Twitter again, and you can follow him @wizardcud. Why the change of heart?  “i really only got back on twitter becuz i heard will smith tweeted about a fresh prince reunion and i wanted to post my response to that…” he joked.  Only hours after reintroducing himself (“yes, its true. its me, the real wizard”), Cudi dropped an explosion of headlines.

First he announced that his upcoming rock-themed album Wizard is expected to release this summer.  Cudi will serve as producer and he says every track will feature his guitar talents, while collaborator Dot Da Genius is currently learning the bass.  He also spilled that the long lost “Dose of Dopeness” will be a bonus track on the album. He describes Wizard in a tweet: “Wizard is a rock album, no raps, just singing. brand new thing. flavor.”

What else, what else.  He mentions the “Maniac” music video/short film is still under construction; Cudder, Cage, and video director Shia LaBeouf are holding back on dropping it until “everything [is] just right…i need the proper time for scoring…the edit must be epic.”

Last, Cudi drops this exciting bombshell: he’s releasing a brand new mixtape this summer called A Man Named Scott, the followup to 2008’s A Kid Named Cudi.  Of the mixtape he says, “for all those who fucks with my raps, this is for u since ima be all rocked out with the wizard shit. also its free! yes!”  In other words, since Wizard is going to be all about Cudder crooning, he wants to hold over his rap fans with the mixtape until the true successor of Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager releases presumably later this year.

He concluded all these hot tweets with this: “man im really happy to FINALLY get all that good news out there. more to come, not even close.”  And the man’s not lying; in between all this news he revealed that he’s been working with Kanye West and Jay-Z, almost definitely on their collab album Watch the Throne so you can expect a Cudi feature there.  He also shared that HBO’s How To Make It In America starts filming its second season in March and he’s excited to reprise his true-to-life character Domingo Dean.

[Via @wizardcud]

Cudder roundup: Short film “Maniac” short film, LNWJF perfomance, ‘Wizard’ collab w/ Dot Da Genius, Bape t-shirt

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Bunch of Kid Cudi news, so it’s roundup time.  First up is news that actor Shia LaBeouf (Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, Transformers) is set to direct a short film based on Cudi’s Man on the Moon II track “Maniac.”  Cage and St. Vincent are featured on the joint, and according to Rap-Up.com Cage is friends with LaBeouf and asked for his assistence to helm the video.  LaBeouf had previously directed Cage’s music video “I Never Knew You” back in 2008.  While you’re waiting for this video to drop, jump after the break to watch Cudi perform “Maniac” with The Roots on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.  There you’ll also find photographic proof that the Cudi/LaBeuf collab is actually going down.

Speaking of collabs, Cudi has publically announced that he is forming a rock band with close friend and producer Dot Da Genius.  They are calling themselves ‘Wizard.’  When Cudi picked up the guitar for the very first time he became fascinated with the instrument and surprised himself by how quickly he picked up on playing chords.  He says that three songs for the album have been completed, and he’ll continue to record more songs on the tour bus as he and Dot make “college runs.”

Last, but certainly not least.. To celebrate the release of his sophomore album Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager, Cudi has teamed up with Bape again to sell a BAPE x Kid Cudi Rager t-shirt.  The tee will sell in black and white variants and like always will be limited in quantity.  If you want one plan on camping outside the Soho Bape store in NYC on November 9, the same day the album hits stores.  And who knows, maybe Cudi will swing by and make an appearence.

[Via Rap-Up, here & here; DatNewCudi] Continue reading Cudder roundup: Short film “Maniac” short film, LNWJF perfomance, ‘Wizard’ collab w/ Dot Da Genius, Bape t-shirt →