WZRD

WZRD (band)

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WZRD (band)

WZRD (pronounced one letter at a time, W-Z-R-D) is an American alternative rock band and record production team, composed of recording artist Scott "Kid Cudi" Mescudi and record producer Oladipo "Dot da Genius" Omishore.[1] Formed in New York City in 2010, inspired by the Black Sabbath song "The Wizard", Cudi originally named the band Wizard. Cudi however, renamed the band on two separate occasions, the first being in April 2011 to 2 Be Continuum, explaining: "I needed something more original, something different, but its still wizardry at its finest". The second time occurred in November 2011, to the band's current namesake WZRD.[1][2]

Their eponymous debut studio album WZRD, was released on February 28, 2012, peaking at #3 on the US Billboard 200.[3] The album was supported by the lead singles "Brake" and "Teleport 2 Me, Jamie".

History

2006-2010: Early years and formation

Scott "Kid Cudi" Mescudi and Oladipo "Dot da Genius" Omishore met through a mutual friend, with whom Cudi once worked with at Abercrombie & Fitch: "He was a good friend of Dots friend named Riliwan. Riliwans just such a real motherfucker, to this day, that we play him records and get his opinionbecause hes not going to cut us any slack. But, being that our records have been so awesome he barely says anything. We would rap at work, and he would spit, and he was like, 'Yo, I know a producer. I want you to meet him.' I was like, 'OK,' and he had him come up. We met up, and Dot played me some beats. I remember being like, 'OK.' I wasnt like, blown away". Dot da Genius had just started producing but Cudi claims he saw "potential in the artistry".[4]

After working together for about seven months, Cudi was being evicted from his apartment. With plans to move back to Cleveland, Ohio, Dot da Genius' parents allowed Cudi to stay with them and their family, so the two could continue working together and pursue their music careers: "I remember being like, 'Shitwhat am I going to do? Im going to have to go back to Cleveland, go back to my old job, stack some money and then come back.' I was talking to O-Dot about this, and they were saying that I had to be out by January 31stthe day after my fucking birthday.[4] So I was like, 'I dont know what Im going to do, but if I have to go back home, you can still send me beats, and we can still work. I brought it up, not for a guilt trip, but like, Yo fam, how are we still going to work?' Because I knew if I wasnt proactive, I wasnt going to get anything accomplished. So I was like, 'If I go back to Cleveland, its temporary, literally until I can get my paper back up.' I was like, 'Man, Im just about to pass out here. Is it cool if I stay here?' and he was like, 'Yeah, yeah.' So I slept on the couch. I woke up in the morning, and Dot came downstairs, like, Yo, my parents want to talk to you. I was like, What the fuck? What happened? Whatd I do? I thought I was in trouble. So I went up to his parents room, and his dad was like, 'O-Dot told us about your situation, and weve seen that you come to the house, working with Dipo. You guys have been productive, staying out of trouble, and you guys are working towards something.' And he was like, 'I think about it like this, if it was my son, what would I want another family to do for my son?' Long story short, he said, 'You can stay here as long as you like, until you get on your feet. And you can still work with Dipo. You guys can still work on your music. So its a win-win.' I remember being like, 'Holy shit. Like, really?' Because I was really about to go back home, and I ended up staying there, and the rest is history. It was really, really an amazing thing. It was a blessing just to have them in my life and for them to want to do that for me. Like I said, me and Dot only knew each other for seven months."[4]

In addition to being very good friends, Dot da Genius has produced some of Kid Cudi's earliest work from his demos,[5] to songs on his critically acclaimed mixtape A Kid Named Cudi (2008), which was Cudi's breakout project and the first to feature their hit single "Day 'n' Nite". Since then they have worked together on Cudi's debut album Man on the Moon: The End of Day (2009) as well as his second album, Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager (2010).[6][7] 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 an ill riff that we could make a song with."[8]

2011present: Debut album

Kid Cudi first unveiled the project in January 2011, after returning to Twitter and 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."[9][10] On May 31, 2011 Cudi released a promotional single titled "Perfect is the Word". It was the first song Kid Cudi and Dot da Genius worked on for the album.[11] During a Ustream broadcast they revealed a song titled "Rocket" and announced it as the second single.[12]

Kid Cudi and Dot da Genius also recorded a song planned for the 2011 film Fright Night. The song, titled "No One Believes Me", was first announced June 7, 2011 through Kid Cudi's tumblr, when he announced he will be shooting the music video for it on June 11, with Fright Night director Craig Gillespie. The video was released on August 12, 2011 and the song itself was officially released August 23.[13][14][15][16] 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 solely handled bass and piano.[17]

On November 10, 2011, Kid Cudi revealed that the only guest appearance on the album would be Australian indie-rock band Empire of the Sun.[18][19] On November 18, 2011, Kid Cudi renamed the band once again to WZRD (pronounced one letter at a time W-Z-R-D), and announced that the album would be released on his 28th birthday, January 30, 2012.[1][3][20] In December 2011, Cudi revealed "The Wizard", as performed by Black Sabbath, inspired his use of the term "Wizard".[21][22] On November 20, Cudi announced via Twitter that the album would not contain any profanity, including the use of the word "nigga".[23] Kid Cudi released "Brake", a song from the album on November 21, 2011.[24] The next month, on December 5, Cudi released a snippet of "Teleport 2 Me, Jamie", the album's lead single.

On January 4, 2012, Cudi confirmed on Twitter that there would be a tour for the eponymously titled album, WZRD, beginning in Europe.[25] On January 12, Dot da Genius took to Twitter to announce that he and Cudi decided to push WZRD back to a February 28, release date: "Hey guys, WZRD update. Me and Cudi have been working on our debut album and its 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. Yall know how Cudi is and Im the same way. Everything has to be in place and now it is. I know its late notice, we were trying to keep the date but got wrapped up making this album perfect for yall. 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 album's playback, which ran close to 50 minutes in length, Complex Magazines 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 were already recording new music with the hopes of releasing it in the coming months. I made a new record the other day thats really phenomenal said Cudi, as Dot added Expect greatness.[35]

On February 23, 2012, the entirety of the album was leaked online. Following the WZRD's release on February 28, the album debuted at #3 on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 66,000 physical and digital copies in the United States.[36] The album also debuted on both the Top Rock Albums and Top Alternative Albums at number one, and at #9 on the Canadian Albums Chart, respectively. WZRD made their U.S. national television debut performing their debut single "Teleport 2 Me, Jamie", on March 6, 2012, on the late-night talk show Conan.[37][38]

In February, shortly before the album was released, Cudi announced they would follow up with an extended play (EP).[39][40] Nearly a year after the single was released, on November 19, 2012 the music video for "Teleport 2 Me, Jamie" leaked online. However Cudi wasn't disgruntled, stating on Twitter: "thanx for all the love on the Teleport 2 Me video y'all. It leaked but I'm glad u guys got to see it." On July 2, 2013 Cudi liberated a new song titled "Going to the Ceremony", via his SoundCloud account. The song was released with the tag, "produced by WZRD", which confirms the guitars and drums in this track are most likely played by Cudi and Dot.[41] Cudi later revealed the track is for his EP Satellite Flight: The Journey to Mother Moon, which would feature more production from WZRD.[42][43] On September 4, 2013, King Chip released his 44108 mixtape, which included the song "Vortex", featuring Kid Cudi and Pusha T; WZRD were credited as the song's producers.[44]

Band members

Current members
  • Kid Cudi lead vocals, guitars, drums (2010present)
  • Dot da Genius drums, bass guitar, keyboards, piano, percussion (2010present)

Discography

See also: Kid Cudi discography and Dot da Genius production discography

Studio albums

List of albums, with selected chart positions, sales figures and certifications
Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales
US CAN
WZRD
  • Released: February 28, 2012[20][45]
  • Label: Wicked Awesome, Universal Republic
  • Format: CD, digital download
3 9
"" denotes items that did not chart or were not released.

Singles

List of singles, showing year released and album name
Title Year Album
"Teleport 2 Me, Jamie"
(featuring Desire)
2012 WZRD
"Brake"

Production discography

WZRD WZRD (2012)

  • All tracks

King Chip 44108 (2013)

  • 09. "Vortex" (featuring Pusha T & Kid Cudi)

Kid Cudi Satellite Flight: The Journey to Mother Moon (2014)

  • 02. "Going to the Ceremony"
  • 03. "Satellite Flight"

Various artists Need for Speed soundtrack (2014)

  • 04. "Hero" (Kid Cudi featuring Skylar Grey)

Music videos

List of music videos, showing year released and director
Title Year Director(s)
"Teleport 2 Me, Jamie" 2012 Walter Robot

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}
  2. Kid Cudi Announces New Label & Band Name
  3. 3.0 3.1 {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}
  5. Kid Cudi - Highs 'n' Lows Headbangamuzik.com
  6. Dot Da Genius Interview: Kid Cudi, Music School, Preferred Equipment
  7. Interview with Dot Da Genius Part 1
  8. Dot Da Genius Talks Wizard, His Rock Band With Kid Cudi
  9. Kid Cudi Announces New Rock LP Wizard: Fans React
  10. Kid Cudi Re-Joins Twitter as @Wizardcud
  11. 2 Be Continuum Perfect is the World Song Sample
  12. [1]
  13. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}
  14. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}
  15. Cud Life
  16. No One Believes Me Amazon
  17. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}
  18. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}
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  20. 20.0 20.1 {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}
  21. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}
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  23. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}
  24. http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-juice/465006/kid-cudis-alt-rock-band-wzrd-debuts-first-song-listen
  25. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}
  26. https://twitter.com/#!/DotDaGenius/status/159047493844340736
  27. https://twitter.com/#!/DotDaGenius/status/159047648509308928
  28. https://twitter.com/#!/DotDaGenius/status/159047818764496896
  29. https://twitter.com/#!/DotDaGenius/status/159048247455924224
  30. https://twitter.com/#!/DotDaGenius/status/159048347578155009
  31. https://twitter.com/#!/DotDaGenius/status/159048913435893762
  32. https://twitter.com/#!/DotDaGenius/status/159049165735854080
  33. https://twitter.com/#!/DotDaGenius/status/159049520553005056
  34. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}
  35. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}
  36. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}
  37. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}
  38. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}
  39. http://hypetrak.com/2012/02/wzrd-announce-tour-and-new-ep/
  40. http://www.prefixmag.com/news/kid-cudi-dot-da-genius-announce-new-wzrd-ep-tour-p/61904/
  41. https://soundcloud.com/cudderland/kid-cudi-going-to-the-ceremony
  42. http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2013/10/kid-cudi-makes-big-announcement/
  43. https://twitter.com/ducidni/status/391738472685-248512
  44. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}
  45. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}
  46. {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}

External links

  • WZRD at All Music Guide
  • WZRD at Discogs.com
This page was last modified 13.05.2014 18:46:45

This article uses material from the article WZRD (band) from the free encyclopedia Wikipedia and it is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.