Moon

Album: Donda (2021)
Charted: 17
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Songfacts®:

  • This song originated as a mellow interlude where Don Toliver croons about reaching for the moon to find peace. Kanye West premiered the short track at his July 22, 2021 Donda Party at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
  • West initially planned on releasing Donda the following day, but decided it needed more work. He had a studio space and living quarters built in the stadium and set out to revise, fine tune, and finish the recording.

    West gave his close friend Kid Cudi a call to have him fly into Atlanta and contribute to various tracks on the album. Cudi contributed a brand new verse to this song along with ad-libs for a revised, second chorus. That is the version found on Donda.
  • The song's subject matter fits Kid Cudi like a glove. The self-proclaimed "Man On The Moon" named his first two albums Man On The Moon: The End Of Day (2009) and Man On The Moon II: The Legend Of Mr. Rager (2010). Asked by HipHopDX.com in 2009 what the "moon" in the album title represents, Cudi explained: "The moon is pretty much my place of peace, whether it's a room or my mind. It's really your own personal space. It could be interpreted any different way. I didn't wanna have it so literal. I want kids to interpret it and find their own moon in their world."
  • Kanye West's only vocal contribution to the track is some lines on the second chorus. Yeezy likely interprets getting through to the moon as going to Heaven through Jesus, tying in with the Christian message he raps throughout Donda.
  • While this is Kanye's first time working with Don Tolliver, he and Kid Cudi are frequent collaborators. The pair's relationship dates back to 2008 when West signed Cudi to his GOOD Music imprint and started mentoring him. The two formed a hip-hop duo called Kids See Ghosts and released an eponymous EP in 2018.
  • West co-produced the song with E*vax, who is one-half of the New York-based electronic rock band Ratatat. E*vax's other contributions to West songs include Jesus Is King's "Selah," Donda's "God Breathed," and three Kids See Ghosts tracks. BoogzDaBeast and DJ Khalil also helped with the production.

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