Pursuit of Happiness
by Kid Cudi (featuring MGMT)

Album: Man On The Moon: The End Of Day (2009)
Charted: 64 59
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This is the third single from American rapper Kid Cudi's debut album Man on the Moon: The End of the Day.
  • The song features the New York based dance punk act MGMT and was produced and co-written by New York electro duo Ratatat. AOL asked Cudi what he was listening to whilst making the record. He replied: "The stuff that I listened to the most was probably MGMT and Ratatat. I was a super big fan of both groups even before I thought of attempting to reach out to them for the album. With MGMT, I was inspired by their lyrics. They really taught me to think outside the box when writing."
  • The song was premiered on DJ Semtex's BBC Radio 1Xtra show on September 4, 2009. Its American debut was on David Letterman's Late Show on September 11, 2009.
  • Djbooth.net asked Kid Cudi what was it like to work with artists such as Ratatat and MGMT who, up to this point, have never really collaborated within a hip-hop landscape. He replied: "It was a dream come true, and I was excited to be that artist to bring them together and really do it in the proper way." He added that this song, "is the epitome of what you would imagine a Ratatat-engineered Kid Cudi song would sound like. And these songs came about fairly quickly – we went in the studio for hours and hours and hours trying to just do this one song and figure out a first verse, I wrote it down really quickly, and that was the whole method behind the entire album, just movin' off of that creative spark right away."
  • The song's music video was produced by Josh Hartnett and directed by Brody Baker. Cudi explained to MTV News how he hooked up with them: "I was actually telling Josh that I wanted to shoot the video. We were hanging out one day, and he [Hartnett] was like, 'Aw, I know this one guy, he's done great work. He's really dope and refreshing.' I was familiar with his stuff. He [Baker] did the music video for Animal Collective's 'My Girls,' and I was a fan of that video."
    Cudi added that he gave Baker a rough concept for the clip and the director embellished it. "I just saw the first rough cut the other day. Drake is in it. He has a cameo... a bunch of my homies that I knew coming up," Cudi said. "We were just kicking it. When you see the video, it just makes me feel good, because I'm seeing all my friends and people that matter in my life. We were all celebrating. It's like a New Year's Eve-type thing. Everybody's just getting wasted."
  • American singer-songwriter Lissie recorded a cover version for her 2012 EP, Covered Up with Flowers, which has also become a regular feature in her live shows. Lissie told UK newspaper The Daily Telegraph: "I love the defiance in it and I just love performing it because it helps towards getting out my aggression and makes me feel strong overall."
  • Ratatat's keyboard-and-guitar-driven production was done at the last minute. "This was my first time really playing beats for a real rapper that was going to have a record out, so I was like, 'I gotta do something quick,'" Ratatat's Evan Mast told Genius. "He's literally in a car on his way over and I'm feeling around the keyboard and just like, I had a sound that I had created on that keyboard and I was like, 'Maybe I can do something with this.' And just basically as fast as possible… Just laid that down and then, the doorbell rings."

Comments: 1

  • Doug from Ontario, OnGet drunk. Smoke weed. Drive. Listen to this song. Even if I crash and get decapitated, at least I had a good time.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Keith Reid of Procol Harum

Keith Reid of Procol HarumSongwriter Interviews

As Procol Harum's lyricist, Keith wrote the words to "A Whiter Shade Of Pale." We delve into that song and find out how you can form a band when you don't sing or play an instrument.

Yacht Rock Quiz

Yacht Rock QuizFact or Fiction

Christopher Cross with Deep Purple? Kenny Loggins in Caddyshack? A Fact or Fiction all about yacht rock and those who made it.

Dave Edmunds

Dave EdmundsSongwriter Interviews

A renowned guitarist and rock revivalist, Dave took "I Hear You Knocking" to the top of the UK charts and was the first to record Elvis Costello's "Girls Talk."

Victoria Williams

Victoria WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

Despite appearances on Carson, Leno and a Pennebaker film, Williams remains a hidden treasure.

David Gray

David GraySongwriter Interviews

David Gray explains the significance of the word "Babylon," and talks about how songs are a form of active imagination, with lyrics that reveal what's inside us.

Andrew Farriss of INXS

Andrew Farriss of INXSSongwriter Interviews

Andrew Farriss on writing with Michael Hutchence, the stories behind "Mystify" and other INXS hits, and his country-flavored debut solo album.