Wake Up

Up Up and Away (The Wake and Bake Song) - KiD CuDi

I once had a friend who told me he "didn't like rap". Now, I can appreciate this, people have different tastes. I asked him why, though, and he told me he didn't like how dark and serious it was. "It's all about beefs and hos and money, it's just not fun". So I showed him CuDi.

"Listen to that guitar strumming," I said. "Listen to it bounce."

"He still sounds serious, though. I want something fun," he retorted.

"But the song's about getting high when you wake up, how is that serious?" I asked.

"It just is. It doesn't have that melody."

But then the chorus hit, and his head started moving, he started bopping along with it. The carefree free-form, the full kit beat hopping with the song.

And that synth. Oh lord, that synth. That fun little melody waltzing along, buried in the chorus. That sound of a summer day, of a day spent skateboarding, or surfing, or doing something fun outside. The sound of waking and baking, I suppose. A smile creaked across his face, he couldn't help it.

"Okay, this is fun, I'll give you that" he finally conceded.

"But I still don't like rap.

That's fine.

[Photo by Marla (I need to find more photographers to use). The song is from KiD CuDi's debut full length, Man on the Moon: The End of the Day. You can buy it pretty much anywhere.]