We’re getting a couple of would-be blockbuster rap albums this morning. There’s 21 Savage’s american dream, announced just a few days ahead of time. And there’s also Kid Cudi’s INSANO, which has been teased for months. At this point, Cudi is a veteran with more than a decade in the game. He shows up in movies constantly. But he’s still out here trying to make statements in the fickle rap world, and he’s definitely working hard to position INSANO as a major record.

INSANO is Kid Cudi’s follow-up to 2022’s Entergalactic, and when he announced it back in September, he made it clear that “Solo Dolo Pt 4,” a Playboi Carti collab that he’d been performing live, would not be on the record: “He wont clear it which is very weak. So yea it wont be on there.” Cudi might not be collaborating with Playboi Carti anymore, but INSANO is definitely a post-Carti record, full of the blurry synth textures that Carti and his aesthetic descendants love so much. While 21 Savage is basically making the same kind of music that he’s always made, Cudi is definitely trying to push things further.

Still, INSANO isn’t exactly an experimental record. Cudi is still pulling big-deal rap moves, and the album features Travis Scott and the currently-incarcerated Young Thug, both of whom are also on Savage’s album. (Scott and Pharrell Williams are both on “At The Party,” the only advance single that made the cut for the album.) INSANO also has guest shots from A$AP Rocky and Lil Yachty, as well as a posthumous XXXTentacion appearance. Lil Wayne appears on “Seven,” a track that Clams Casino co-produced with Take A Daytrip. DJ Drama shows up to talk shit throughout — back in mixtape-hosting mode, just as he was on Tyler, The Creator’s Call Me If You Get Lost. I really like the Ace Of Base “All That She Wants” sample on “Electrowavebaby.” Stream the album below.

INSANO is out now on Republic.