Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin’ by Kid Cudi

Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin', Kid Cudi's sixth studio album, arrived on December 16, 2016, through his own Wicked Awesome imprint and Republic Records. It followed Speedin' Bullet 2 Heaven, the 2015 alternative rock detour that, like the experimental Satellite Flight before it, had left critics lukewarm, and this one sounds like a man pulling himself back into focus. Cudi produced much of it himself, with longtime allies Plain Pat and Dot da Genius in the room alongside Mike Dean, Anthony Kilhoffer, Mike Will Made It and Pharrell Williams.

The guest list reads like a statement of intent: André 3000, credited under his real name André Benjamin, plus Pharrell, Travis Scott and Willow Smith. "Frequency" and the Pharrell-assisted "Surfin'" went out as singles, and the reviews came back warmer than they had for his last two records. Next up was Kids See Ghosts, his 2018 duo album with Kanye West.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.