American Apparel T-shirt; vintage Vans sneakers from Buffalo Exchange in New York City.

The artist is deeply self-aware, which is reflected through his music and his ink. “I drew all my tattoos,” he says, looking at the pinup on his left forearm and then at the script of his two middle names, “Ramon” and “Seguro.” “My songs are also all about my life,” he continues. “It’s my story. My life really inspires all of it, and then I throw in whatever other artsy idea I have for the project.”

The underlying concept for Moon II comes from the world of the macabre. “The new twist, the new chapter in the album, is that I added elements from horror movies,” Cudi says, selecting an Army camo shirt. “I put in all those fun things that people look for in a good cinematic horror movie—fun, excitement, unexpected shit—that’s in this album. Horror is something I’ve always been drawn to. I like being scared.”

He has no temerity about how his new masterpiece will be received by the public when the album drops late September, in the same month that his pal and collaborator Kanye West is set to release his next album. “I really pushed the envelope and put myself to the test,” he says. “I wanted to make this better than the last album. There are songs in there that you’ll be like, Damn, I didn’t know he had it in him to create something like this.”

But it is what is on him that dazzles at present: a cream and blue Western-inspired shirt that looks like a scratchy, short-sleeved hockey jersey and reads “Million Dollar Cowboy Bar.” He pulls it over his head and surveys how the relic fits into his look.

“I think that’s a mustard stain,” he says. “I hope that’s mustard.”

Cudi—who grew up in Cleveland, not exactly the Paris of the Midwest—makes do with the shirt, dubious stain and all, taking it with him outside to the electric avenue of New York. “Where are you going to shop in Cleveland?” he chuckles. “It was either Old Navy or T.J. Maxx. The shit they had in T.J. Maxx was all irregular, but it was as close to fresh as possible.” Both he and his new shirt have come a long way.