Since the early 70s, artists have been finding new and creative ways to drop their visuals. I mean, a traditional music video with crazy choreo just doesn’t make a Video Vanguard winner anymore.
Enter the artists who go beyond the standard music video and instead create short feature films that support their entire album. Like Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’, the fun and adventurous ‘Spice World’ and more recently, Machine Gun Kelly’s dark teen romance ‘Downfalls High.’
Then comes Kid Cudi, the man on the moon who always seems to be doing things a little differently. While a traditional music video would be too short to tell the story of his latest album, a movie would be too. Instead, Cudi is giving us an entire limited-series to define the narrative of his album Entergalactic.
Released on Netflix, Entergalatic is an animated series that follows the main character Jabari (voiced by Cudi) as he manurers through life and especially, love. With an ex girlfriend that’s begun paging his phone again, a new neighbour he has eyes for and a couple of friends to guide him along the way, Jabari’s life comes alive with awkward moments, chance encounters at unusual parties, on-the-spot bike tricks and, of course, romance.
It opens on a tedious moving day for our main character, who has recently landed a new job and a dream apartment in Manhattan. However, in a city of millions, he still happens to run into his ex. Anything good rarely comes from running into an old fling, and things only go from bad to worse when Jabari meets and falls for his charming neighbor, who puts him onto vegan burgers and puts love back onto his mind. The 90 minutes that follow, show how Jabari handles and sometimes mishandles, new success and new love.
The lively storytelling is enhanced by his 15 track album of spacey beats, heartfelt lyrics, and that signature Kid Cudi hum. Throughout the first episode, you’ll hear a cast of Cudi’s in real life and equally famous friends like Timothée Chalamet, who voice’s Jabari’s weed dealing bestie, and Ty Doll $ign who plays another friend of Jabari’s. Other guest voices include Jessica Williams, Vanessa Hudgens, and even the iconic Keith David.
Entergalaic touches on themes of new beginnings, letting go to let love in, and the beauty that can come from chasing after the girl you want on a bike during NYC rush hour. It’s the kind of meet-cute series we could all use right now to remind us that romance isn’t dead. It’s just easier to attain when you’re a cute cartoon.
Kidding! In all seriousness, Entergalactic is a treat for the eyes and ears. An engaging story with a side of a beautiful soundtrack, all told through an animation style that’ll remind you of the revolutionary ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse.’ What more could you ask of Mr. Rager?
Stay tuned for the second episode in the Entergalatic series. We know we will be!