Kid Cudi Just Dropped A Star Trek Song & Fans On Reddit Hate It
It's not a bop, Scotty.
Scott Mescudi, known by his stage name Kid Cudi, is being flamed online for his "Star Trek-inspired song "Heaven's Galaxy." The Grammy-winning talent has always shared his love for science fiction in his music, so it's a collaboration that made sense — at least when it was first announced back in September 2023. The creative's joint effort with the "Star Trek" franchise is part of a larger multimedia effort titled "Boldly Be," which includes an appearance in the popular video game "Fortnite." There's even an entire line-up of clothing, fusing Cudi's fashion sensibilities with the "Star Trek" franchise's futuristic aesthetic. Attendees at New York Comic-Con 2023 can even check out the "'Star Trek' x Kid Cudi booth," which highlights the collaboration.
The real crown jewel of the team-up, however, is a track that Cudi cooked up. Titled "Heaven's Galaxy," the song debuted alongside the "Boldy Be" campaign, and ... it's not being received well. The track, just over six minutes long, doesn't even see Cudi rap over a trap, synthy beat. Instead, it's a sonic slog that attempts to capture the "epic" feeling of space, without any sort of effort. Yes, there are Cudi's signature hums, but it's not enough to make this track feel elevated or exciting, especially considering Cudi has captured that spacy sci-fi aesthetic early on in his career. Or, at least, that's what fans on Reddit think.
"cudi really losing his touch, nobody needs a 2 minute intro," says Reddit user u/lastomniverse on the r/HipHopHeads subreddit. Most fans seem to agree with this sentiment, discussing how the "Star Trek" song just doesn't have much structure to it.
Fans might be hating on Kid Cudi's Star Trek song a bit too much
Most fans on the r/HipHopHeads subreddit are taking issue with how "Heaven's Galaxy" doesn't have much going on, criticizing Kid Cudi's lack of creativity. "Is Kid Cudi having a mid life crisis or something," asked Reddit user u/deqembes. "This s*** is not even pure trash, its just so weird and belongs in a movie soundtrack." In that case, Cudi clearly understood the assignment and largely succeeded. The track feels almost perfect as an interlude in a "Star Trek" instrumental album. While some may find the track boring, the song's aesthetic does match up with the direction "Star Trek" has been going in.
Some fans of the artist also want to make it clear that Cudi's collaboration is more a professional decision rather than one rooted in creativity. "It's a song to promote his Star Trek clothing collab. Everyone can calm the f*** down," user u/gurknowitzki wrote, reminding listeners that Cudi also "made a track for the 'Sonic' soundtrack." Over on the r/KidCudi fan subreddit, the sentiment is radically different, with user u/Shoo7ingStar777 calling the song "absolutely brilliant" and saying they're "for sure going to have this song in [their] rotation." Looks like Cudi is once again proving himself as a divisive figure in Hip-Hop!
If you're not a fan of Kid Cudi's "Star Trek" track, consider listening to Rihanna's totally forgotten (but really good) song "Sledgehammer," which she sang for 2016's "Star Trek Beyond."