Frequency (song)
{{notability|Music|date=January 2024}}
{{short description|2016 promotional single by Kid Cudi}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Frequency
| artist = Kid Cudi
| type = single
| album = Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin'
| released = {{Start date|2016|9|30}}
| recorded = 2016
| genre = {{hlist|Hip hop|progressive rap}}
| length = {{duration|m=4|s=58}}
| label =
- Republic
- Wicked Awesome
| writer =
| producer =
- Mike Dean
- Plain Pat
- Kid Cudi
| prev_title = Confused!
| prev_year = 2015
| next_title = Surfin{{'-}}
| next_year = 2016
}}
"Frequency" (previously titled "The Frequency") is a song recorded by American rapper Kid Cudi. It was released on September 30, 2016, as the first single from his sixth studio album, Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin' (2016). The song was written and produced by Mike Dean, Plain Pat and Kid Cudi.{{cite news|url=http://pitchfork.com/news/64391-kid-cudi-shares-new-song-the-frequency-with-plain-pat-mike-dean/|title=Kid Cudi Shares New Song "The Frequency" With Plain Pat, Mike Dean|work=Pitchfork|date=March 26, 2016|accessdate=November 7, 2016}}
Release and composition
"Frequency" originally premiered on Cudi's SoundCloud account on March 25, 2016,{{cite web|url=http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/kid-cudi-the-frequency-new-song.1969104.html|title=Kid Cudi - The Frequency|work=HotNewHipHop|date=March 25, 2016|accessdate=November 7, 2016}} but was released for digital download on September 30, 2016.{{cite web|url=https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/frequency-single/id1160979922|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161108052242/https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/frequency-single/id1160979922|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 8, 2016|title=Frequency - Single by Kid Cudi|work=iTunes|accessdate=November 7, 2016}} It is the first offering from his sixth studio album, Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin', which was released on December 16, 2016.{{cite web|url=http://hiphopdx.com/news/id.40291/title.kid-cudi-announces-double-disc-album|title=Kid Cudi Announces New "Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin'" Album Release Date|work=HipHopDX|date=December 1, 2016|accessdate=December 2, 2016}} "Frequency" runs for a duration of four minutes and fifty-eight seconds. It was described as "a low-key hip-hop ballad" by Rolling Stone reviewer Elias Leight.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/see-kid-cudis-dark-frequency-video-w444729|title=See Kid Cudi's Dark 'Frequency' Video|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=October 13, 2016|accessdate=November 7, 2016}}
Critical reception
Ryan Middleton of Music Times gave the song a positive review, saying "it has the spacey, stoner sound that fans loved from the Cudi on his first couple of albums".{{cite web|url=http://www.musictimes.com/articles/68710/20160328/kid-cudi-the-frequency-man-on-the-moon.htm|title=Kid Cudi Shares 'The Frequency,' Bringing Back 'Man On The Moon' Vibes|work=Music Times|date=March 28, 2016|accessdate=December 5, 2016}} Fuse's Tyler Lauletta wrote that "the song is a return to form for Cudi, with shout-outs to women and psychedelic drugs in his signature sultry tone".{{cite web|url=http://www.fuse.tv/2016/03/kid-cudi-new-track-the-frequency|title=Kid Cudi Shares New Track 'The Frequency'|work=Fuse|date=March 27, 2016|accessdate=December 5, 2016}} Chico from Respect. wrote that Cudi "hums, sings and even lyrically dances all over this one, like we always knew he could".{{cite web|url=http://respect-mag.com/2016/03/kid-cudi-returns-vintage-form-frequency/|title=KiD CuDi Returns To Vintage Form With "The Frequency"|work=Respect.|date=March 25, 2016|accessdate=December 5, 2016}} C. Vernon Coleman II of XXL wrote; "The dreamy production is highlighted by odd sound effects and spaced out chords".{{cite web|url=http://www.xxlmag.com/rap-music/new-music/2016/03/kid-cudi-the-frequency/|title=Kid Cudi Transmits "The Frequency" on New Song|work=XXL|date=March 26, 2016|accessdate=December 5, 2016}}
Music video
The music video for the song, directed by Cudi himself, premiered on October 12, 2016, via his Vevo channel. The five-minute video features Cudi performing the song shirtless in a dark jungle.{{cite web|url=http://exclaim.ca/music/article/kid_cudi-frequency_video|title=Kid Cudi "Frequency" (video)|work=Exclaim!|date=October 13, 2016|accessdate=November 7, 2016}} It also shows him having a threesome in a mushroom cave. Peter A. Berry of XXL wrote that the video is "simultaneously dark and colorful, much like the music Cudi’s provided for fans over the last eight years".{{cite web|url=http://www.xxlmag.com/video/2016/10/watch-kid-cudi-new-video-frequency/|title=Watch Kid Cudi's New Video for "Frequency"|work=XXL|date=October 13, 2016|accessdate=November 7, 2016}} The Boombox's Jacinta Howard called the video "dark and artistic", while Rap-Up called it "dark and smoky".{{cite web|url=http://theboombox.com/kid-cudi-drops-dark-artistic-frequency-video-watch/|title=Kid Cudi Drops Dark, Artistic 'Frequency' Video [WATCH]|work=The Boombox|date=October 13, 2016|accessdate=November 7, 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://www.rap-up.com/2016/10/13/video-kid-cudi-frequency/|title=Video: Kid Cudi – 'Frequency'|work=Rap-Up|date=October 13, 2016|accessdate=November 7, 2016}} Elisabeth Brier from Uproxx wrote; "It’s a sort of R-rated Wonderland. That’s perhaps the best way to describe the world depicted in Kid Cudi‘s new music video for "Frequency"."{{cite web|url=http://uproxx.com/realtalk/kid-cudi-frequency-music-video/|title=Kid Cudi's 'Frequency' Video Is An R-Rated Wonderland|work=Uproxx|date=October 13, 2016|accessdate=November 7, 2016}} Pigeons & Planes named it as one of the best music videos released in October 2016.{{cite web|url=http://pigeonsandplanes.com/in-depth/2016/10/best-music-videos-october-2016/|title=Best Music Videos of the Month|work=Pigeons & Planes|date=October 31, 2016|accessdate=December 2, 2016}}
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{YouTube|KzvywmVRWAo|Music video}}
{{Kid Cudi songs}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Songs written by Kid Cudi
Category:Songs written by Mike Dean (record producer)
Category:Songs written by Plain Pat
Category:Republic Records singles