Cudi Fans Love the ‘Scott Pilgrim vs. the World’ Sample in “She Knows This”
Written by SOURCE on December 11, 2020
Man on the Moon III: The Chosen has arrived and we are all moon-bound.
And while there’s plenty across Kid Cudi‘s new album worthy of a deep-dive in the coming days, an early discussion point has been a certain sample used at the beginning of the fourth track “She Knows This.”
The track—featuring production by Dot da Genius, J Gramm, and FnZ—opens with a moment of dialogue from director Edgar Wright’s 2010 film adaption of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.
The intro sample is taken from a key Chaos Theatre moment later in the film when Stephen Stills (played by Mark Webber) urges the title character (played by Michael Era) to reconsider his immediate actions.
“Scott, let it go,” Stills says. “Don’t give him the satisfaction.” As anyone with deep Scott Pilgrim knowledge recalls, however, the character rejects this request.
“What if I want the satisfaction?” Pilgrim asks.
Peep a revisited version of the moment in question below from this July’s cast reunion table read via EW. The lines come in around the 73-minute mark.
Of course, this isn’t the first time Cudi has included a nod to Scott Pilgrim vs. the World in his work. The previous Man on the Moon entry, The Legend of Mr. Rager, featured a track titled “Scott Mescudi vs. the World.”
Naturally, the Pilgrim dialogue inclusion on “She Knows This” has been met with rapturous celebration:
Late Thursday night, “She Knows This” received the video treatment by way of prolific auteur Nabil. The Pilgrim sample isn’t included in the video version. However, Will Smith’s 2006 drama The Pursuit of Happyness is well-represented:
