INSANO

Insano (stylized in all caps) is the ninth studio album by American rapper Kid Cudi. It was released on January 12, 2024, via Wicked Awesome Records and Republic Records. Kid Cudi had announced this would be his last contractual album with Republic, the major-label he had been with since his commercial debut album, Man on the Moon: The End of Day (2009). The album follows his 2022 effort Entergalactic, which was accompanied by a visual component, an award-winning TV special of the same name.
The album, which features guest appearances from fellow American rappers Travis Scott, ASAP Rocky, Lil Yachty, Young Thug, Lil Wayne, XXXTentacion and Pharrell Williams, also features American hip hop artist DJ Drama presenting songs much like Drama's famed Gangsta Grillz series. Additionally the album includes production from Plain Pat, Dot da Genius, Bnyx, Keyon Christ, Mike Zombie and Cudi himself, among others.
The album was preceded by two singles, "Porsche Topless" and "At the Party" featuring Pharell Williams and Travis Scott. It was also supported by two promotional singles, "Most Ain't Dennis" and "Ill What I Bleed". The latter's music video was released on October 24, 2023.
Background
In September 2022, during an interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music, Cudi implied that he's looking to pursue other ventures at least for the time being, "The Kid Cudi stuff, I think I want to put it on the back burner and chill out with that. I think, I want to be done with it. I think, closing the chapter on Kid Cudi." His desire to move on from releasing albums and touring was something that led to Entergalactic (2022), which he wanted to take a different approach with because he was "bored" of putting out more traditional releases. Cudi continued to tell Zane, "I've said a lot and I have other desires, I have other things I want to do. And I do not see me never making music, I'll always fuck around in the studio, or make something here and there. But, as far as getting in the studio and working on an album, and then going and touring it, I just don't have it in me."
In October 2022, during an episode of Hot Ones, Kid Cudi continued to hint at retiring from music when he revealed that he didn't know how much longer he would continue making albums. He continued to say he was "kinda nearing the end on all things Kid Cudi." He quoted other rappers, including Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z, Eminem and more, saying he didn't think he would have the same longevity as these artists. When mentioning alternate career paths Cudi said "I was thinking about this  wacky idea I had years ago. It would be cool to one day be a kindergarten teacher. Just do that for a couple years." On November 6, Cudi announced on Twitter he only has one more album left on his recording contract with Republic, revealing that he does not know what he will continue to do following the release.
On March 8, 2023, Cudi took to Instagram Live to continue to give updates regarding the album: "I've never made a project this powerful before in my life. And you know, sitting and listening to these mixes, I just know that this shit is going to move you. Y'all are going to fuck with this shit in such a major way, and I'm so fuckin' excited. I just want to get on here and let y'all know that I'm not gonna let y'all down. This is gonna be the album of the year right now. I'm not playing, this is not a fuckin' joke. Tell everybody you fuckin' know."
Kid Cudi	Twitter
@KidCudi
If you need something to motivate u, to lift u up, INSANO got u. Pure superhero music to soundtrack your life. Guaranteed.
May 7, 2023
On May 7, 2023, during an Instagram Live stream, Cudi revealed despite previous statements, he would not be retiring from music yet, and confirmed this would not be his last album. In the same stream, Cudi noted this album is "probably the first album I've ever made where I've been truly 100% happy".
On August 14, Cudi posted a video on Instagram to give an update on the album, where he said "I feel very very fucking confident that y'all gonna love this shit. I need y'all to understand that for years I've been kind of making my music and staying to myself and just being my creative weird self. Now I'm competing. Now I'm entering the race. 15 years, I've been doing this shit a long time."