Moon (Kanye West song)

West and Kid Cudi have appeared on various tracks together, beginning with "Welcome to Heartbreak" from the former's 2008 album 808s & Heartbreak. The rapper contributed to Kid Cudi's Man on the Moon: The End of Day the following year and even though he left West's label GOOD Music in 2013, the two remained collaborators. In 2018, they formed their duo Kids See Ghosts and released an eponymous studio album. By the time the second listening party for Donda was held at the stadium on August 5, the song had been updated to include an appearance from Kid Cudi alongside Toliver. The rapper tweeted that the final version was new to him since he had not heard it before the event and clarifying that although he knew of his presence on the album, he did not "hear final mixes". The version of the track that was included on the album three days later restored Kid Cudi's appearance alongside Toliver. Speaking on In the Morning for Hot 97 in October 2021, Toliver recalled that he and West worked heavily on songs a couple of months before the album's final recording sessions. He once arrived at a session where West had made tracks prior and he then left with some of them, working on numerous different records including "Moon". ==Composition and lyrics==

The song was produced by West and E.Vax, while it was co-produced by BoogzDaBeast and DJ Khalil; the producers served as songwriters with Toliver and Kid Cudi. It prominently features electric guitar riffs, alongside synth lines. Kid Cudi and Toliver harmonize together on the song, contributing more vocals than West. Toliver also croons, while Kid Cudi utilizes his signature smooth vocals. The latter sings about reflection, thinking about being "a better me". He also performs a falsetto, singing "Here we go, strap in, we up/Never forget all the memories". ==Release and reception==

On August 29, 2021, West's 10th studio album Donda was released by West's labels GOOD Music and Def Jam, including "Moon" as the 13th track. On October 31, 2021, the Sunday Service Choir performed a gospel rendition of the song with Canadian singer Justin Bieber for their Halloween concert at an anonymous rooftop location. The group wore white linens for the performance, as did West as an onlooker. At the time of the album's deluxe release on November 14, 2021, the Sunday Service Choir performed the song during a concert. 's appearance, highlighting the smoothness of his vocals.|alt=Kid Cudi performs in front of a moon in 2009. "Moon" was met with generally positive reviews from music critics. Writing for HipHopDX, Andy Bustard declared that the "tender, spiritual interlude" relies on "the potent combination of Cudi's signature soothing vocals" with Toliver's "high-pitched crooning". At Slate, Carl Wilson saw "Moon" as one of the album's tracks that reaches its potential through West's guests outperforming him. Similarly, Ryan Bell from DIY expressed that the strength of Kid Cudi's feature pushes West "awkwardly into the background on his own album". In GQ, Rindner Grant wrote that "the sweet, falsetto-heavy ballad" helps set the scene on Donda and also described it as "sultry". Certain reviewers were less appreciative of the song's inclusion on Donda. David Aaron Brake from HipHopDX said that the song is among the album's highlights, but felt that even the best tracks on the album are diminished by its "hefty but mostly tepid 27-song tracklist". The New York Times journalist Jon Caramanica felt that the song seems drowsy and "purely decorative" on the album. In a highly negative review for Rolling Stone, Paul Thompson labeled "the embarrassingly soupy" song as the lowest moment of Donda. ==Lawsuit==

On July 17, 2024, Artist Revenue Advocates (ARA) filed a lawsuit against West on behalf of Khalil Abdul-Rahman Hazzard, Sam Barsh, Dan Seeff, and Josh Mease in a Los Angeles Court for copyright infringement. The lawsuit cited usage of elements from "MSD PT2" on "Moon" and fellow Donda track "Hurricane"; the work was recorded by the four musicians for a composer pack and offered for purchase in 2018. West requested permission for usage and ARA refused to give him a license, accusing him of "blatant brazenness" for crediting Hazzard under his stage name of DJ Khalil on the tracks regardless. ==Commercial performance==

Upon the release of Donda, "Moon" debuted at number 17 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song simultaneously entered at number six on both the US Christian Songs and Gospel Songs charts. It further reached number seven on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, placing among West's seven simultaneous top-10 hits that led to him tying Drake's record on the chart. On July 11, 2022, "Moon" was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for pushing 1,000,000 certified units in the United States. This came eight months after it was certified gold and marked one of West's two album tracks to achieve a new RIAA certification that week, alongside "Ghost Town" (2018). In Canada, the song charted at number 21 on the Canadian Hot 100. On November 23, 2021, it received a gold certification from Music Canada for pushing 40,000 units in Canada. In Australia, it entered the ARIA Singles Chart at number 15. The song performed similarly in Iceland, debuting at number 12 on the Icelandic Singles Chart. Top-40 positions were also attained by the song in Lithuania, Ireland, and Portugal, ==Credits and personnel==

Credits adapted from Tidal. • Kanye West producer, songwriter • E.Vax producer, songwriter • BoogzDaBeast co-producer, songwriter • DJ Khalil co-producer, songwriter • Caleb Zackery Toliver songwriter • Scott Mescudi songwriter • Irko mastering engineer, mix engineer • Alejandro Rodriguez-Dawsøn recording engineer • Drrique Rendeer recording engineer • James Kelso recording engineer • Josh Berg recording engineer • Mikalai Skrobat recording engineer • Roark Bailey recording engineer • Will Chason assistant recording engineer • Louis Bell vocal editing • Patrick Hundley vocal editing ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts ==Certifications==