WZRD (band)
| WZRD | |
|---|---|
 Dot da Genius (left) and Kid Cudi (right) |
|
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Wizard, 2 Be Continuum |
| Origin | Cleveland, Ohio, United States |
| Genres | Experimental Rock, Alternative Rock |
| Years active | 2010–present |
| Labels | Wicked Awesome, HeadBanga Muzik, Universal Republic |
| Members | |
| Kid Cudi Dot da Genius |
|
WZRD is an American alternative rock duo, formed in New York City in 2010. It consists of American recording artist Kid Cudi and American record producer Dot da Genius.[1] Originally named Wizard, Cudi renamed the band on two occasions, the first being in April 2011 to 2 Be Continuum, explaining: "I needed something more original, something different, but it’s still wizardry at its finest". The second time being on November 18th, 2011 to the current incarnation WZRD.[2][3] On December 6th, 2011 Kid Cudi revealed "The Wizard", as performed by Black Sabbath, inspired him to use the term "Wizard".[4] Their self-titled debut studio album WZRD was released on February 28, 2012.[5]
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] 2006–2010: Early years and formation
In addition to being very good friends, Dot da Genius has produced some of Kid Cudi's earliest work from his demos[6], to songs on his critically acclaimed mixtape, A Kid Named Cudi (2008) which was the first project to feature their hit single, "Day 'n' Nite". Since then they have worked together on Cudi's first album Man on the Moon: The End of Day (2009) as well as his sophomore album, Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager (2010).[7][8] It wasn't until they were recording "Trapped in My Mind" for Cudi's second album, that ideas of a rock album surfaced. In an interview with Complex magazine, Dot da Genius recounted the recording session: "It was pretty much the same time that we built a studio in Cudi's crib. We did "Trapped In My Mind" and we were dwelling on it like, "This is crazy, we need to put some guitar riffs on this." So I had my homie B-rent, come through Cudi's crib with his guitar, and Cudi did the guitar riff with his mouth cause Cudi couldn't play the guitar. So Brent replayed it. Then Cudi picked up [Brent's] guitar and started fiddling around with it, and I swear to you within like five minutes, he had a legitimate guitar riff. He never played a guitar a day in his life, but had a ill riff that we could make a song with."[9]
[edit] 2011-present: Debut album
Kid Cudi first unveiled the project in January 2011 after returning to Twitter announcing a new album he was hoping to have out by the summer: "pushing for a summer release of the wizard album… wizard is a rock album, no raps, just singing. brand new thing… workin on some Jay and 'Ye shit… new mixtape A Man Named Scott thats this summah 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… oh and new york catch me if u can, i start filmin “how to make it” in march."[10][11] On May 31st, 2011 Cudi released the first offering from his rock project, a song titled "Perfect is the Word". It was the first song Kid Cudi and Dot da Genius worked on for the album.[12] During a Ustream broadcast they revealed a song titled "Rocket" and announced it as the second single.[13]
Kid Cudi and Dot da Genius recorded a song planned for the 2011 film Fright Night. The song, titled "No One Believes Me" was first announced June 7th, 2011 through Kid Cudi's tumblr, when he announced he will be shooting the music video for it on June 11th with Fright Night director Craig Gillespie. The video was released on August 12th, 2011 and the song itself was officially released August 23rd, 2011.[14][15][16][17] Through his tumblr Kid Cudi also unveiled the production credits for "No One Believes Me" and revealed that he was on guitar and accompanied Dot da Genius on drums, while Dot da Genius also handled bass and piano.[18]
On November 10, 2011, Kid Cudi revealed that the only guest appearance on the album is Australian indie-rock band Empire of the Sun.[19][20] On November 18th, 2011, Kid Cudi renamed the band once again to 'WZRD' and announced that the album, will be released on his 28th birthday, January 30th, 2012.[21][22][23] On November 20th Kid Cudi announced via Twitter that his upcoming album will not contain any profanity including the use of the word nigga.[24] Kid Cudi released "Brake", the second offering from the WZRD project on November 21st, 2011. On December 5th, 2011, Kid Cudi released a snippet of "Teleport 2 Me", the lead single off the album.
On January 4, 2012, Cudi confirmed on Twitter that there will be a tour for the band in 2012, beginning in Europe.[25] On January 12th, Dot da Genius took to Twitter to announce that he and Cudi decided to push WZRD back to a February 28th release date: "Hey guys, WZRD update. Me and Cudi have been working on our debut album and it’s almost near completion. We are in the final stages of mastering but we really had to take time and pay attention to the sonics as this is new territory for us. With that being said, we have decided to change the release date. We are looking roughly at Feb 28th. Y’all know how Cudi is’ and I’m the same way. Everything has to be in place and now it is. I know it’s late notice, we were trying to keep the date but got wrapped up making this album perfect for y’all. However for making you guys wait a little longer we will release ‘Brake‘ & ‘Teleport 2 Me‘ on iTunes on the previously said date. AS WELL AS ‘DOSE OF DOPENESS‘. Hopefully that will hold you guys over until the album drops!"[26][27][28][29][30][31] [32][33]
On February 13, 2012, WZRD hosted a private listening session for the album at an intimate venue in Los Angeles for a select few. Christopher Mintz-Plasse and fellow How to Make It in America co-stars Bryan Greenberg and Eddie Kaye Thomas were also at attendance to show support. Following the albums playback, which ran close to 50 minutes in length, Complex Magazine’s Joe La Puma hosted a Q&A for media attending the event. According to Kid Cudi, bands that inspired the album include Electric Light Orchestra, Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana, Pixies and Pink Floyd.[34] When asked about a follow up to WZRD, Cudi confirmed that they are already recording new music with the hopes of releasing it in the coming months. “I made a new record the other day that’s really phenomenal” said Cudi as Dot added “Expect greatness”.[35] On February 23rd, the entirety of the album was leaked. It was released on February 28, 2012.
[edit] Band members
- Current members
- Kid Cudi – lead vocals, guitars, drums (2010–present)
- Dot da Genius – drums, bass guitar, keyboards, piano, percussion (2010–present)
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Sales | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B | AUS | CAN | FRA | GER | IRE | NL | NZ | SWI | UK | ||||
| WZRD |
|
TBR | TBR | TBR | TBR | TBR | TBR | TBR | TBR | TBR | TBR | TBR | ||
| "—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released. | ||||||||||||||
[edit] Singles
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Teleport 2 Me, Jamie" (featuring Desire) |
2012 | WZRD |
| "Brake" |
[edit] References
- ^ http://twitter.com/wizardcud/status/137538406992449536
- ^ Kid Cudi Announces New Label & Band Name
- ^ http://twitter.com/wizardcud/status/137538406992449536
- ^ http://fanity.com/KidCudi/posts
- ^ http://twitter.com/wizardcud/status/137539161665183744
- ^ Kid Cudi - Highs 'n' Lows Headbangamuzik.com
- ^ Dot Da Genius Interview: Kid Cudi, Music School, Preferred Equipment
- ^ Interview with Dot Da Genius – Part 1
- ^ [http://www.complex.com/music/2010/11/dot-da-genius-talks-wizard-his-rock-band-with-kid-cudi Dot Da Genius Talks Wizard, His Rock Band With Kid Cudi]
- ^ Kid Cudi Announces New Rock LP Wizard: Fans React
- ^ Kid Cudi Re-Joins Twitter as @Wizardcud
- ^ 2 Be Continuum Perfect is the World Song Sample
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnnEdeC4PMA
- ^ http://twitter.com/#!/wizardcud/status/78154357035638784
- ^ http://datnewcudi.com/2011/06/02/kid-cudi-dot-da-genius-no-one-believes-me-featured-in-fright-night/
- ^ Cud Life
- ^ No One Believes Me Amazon
- ^ http://cudlife.tumblr.com/post/8951994123/no-one-believes-me-production-credits-produced
- ^ http://twitter.com/wizardcud/status/134711119662157824
- ^ http://twitter.com/wizardcud/status/134711264113983488
- ^ http://twitter.com/wizardcud/status/137538636668346368
- ^ http://twitter.com/wizardcud/status/137538406992449536
- ^ http://twitter.com/wizardcud/status/137539161665183744
- ^ Jason Weintraub (2011-10-20). "Kid Cudi's New Album Will Contain No Curse Words, No N-Words". HipHopWired.com. http://hiphopwired.com/2011/11/20/kid-cudis-new-album-contains-no-curse-words-and-no-n-words/. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
- ^ http://twitter.com/#!/wizardcud/status/154734102891868160
- ^ https://twitter.com/#!/DotDaGenius/status/159047493844340736
- ^ https://twitter.com/#!/DotDaGenius/status/159047648509308928
- ^ https://twitter.com/#!/DotDaGenius/status/159047818764496896
- ^ https://twitter.com/#!/DotDaGenius/status/159048247455924224
- ^ https://twitter.com/#!/DotDaGenius/status/159048347578155009
- ^ https://twitter.com/#!/DotDaGenius/status/159048913435893762
- ^ https://twitter.com/#!/DotDaGenius/status/159049165735854080
- ^ https://twitter.com/#!/DotDaGenius/status/159049520553005056
- ^ Chris Payne (February 24, 2012). "Kid Cudi, Dot Da Genius Preview 'WZRD' Album in NYC". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/events/kid-cudi-dot-da-genius-preview-wzrd-album-1006276952.story#/events/kid-cudi-dot-da-genius-preview-wzrd-album-1006276952.story. Retrieved February 26, 2012.
- ^ DP (February 14, 2012). "Kid Cudi & Dot Da Genius Host “WZRD” Listening Session in LA". DatNewCudi. http://datnewcudi.com/2012/02/14/kid-cudi-dot-da-genius-host-wzrd-listening-session-in-la/. Retrieved February 20, 2012.
- ^ http://twitter.com/wizardcud/status/137538636668346368
- ^ http://www.rap-up.com/2011/11/21/new-music-w-z-r-d-kid-cudi-x-dot-da-genius-brake/
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