I had the pleasure of giving Kid Cudi his first print interview.
Kid Cudi - MASS APPEAL MAGAZINE #50
The Fool’s Gold rapper rides outta this world.
Twenty-three-year-old Kid Cudi made quite a splash in late 2007 with his stoner anthem “Day and Night,” but Cudder (real name Scott Mescudi) wasn’t always riding so high. The current Brooklyn resident found it especially hard to get a buzz in his native Cleveland, and determined not to let his hometown blow his high, he grabbed his heartland pride and high-tailed it to New York. To make ends meet, Cudi began modeling, but when his agent saw his passion for music, he set up a meeting with G.O.O.D. Music A&R, Plain Pat, who later went on to manage him. But it wasn’t until a chance meeting with DJ A-Trak that things really started to take off. Impressed with his spaced-out, sing-song flow, A-trak signed Cudi to his burgeoning Fool’s Gold label, releasing “Day ‘N’ Night” as the premiere single. Currently working on his debut album, Man OnThe Moon, the 10.Deep diplomat sat down with Mass Appeal in his SoHo studio and put something in the air.
What was it like growing up in Cleveland?
It was dope. I was exposed to a lot of different things. It was like a suburb and the hood was a couple blocks away. There was a bar at the end of my street my dad used to take me to. He would talk to his buddies and have a beer and I would sit there and eat jellybeans. I was like 5 or 6.
Why did you decide to move to New York?
I came to New York solely to do music. The response was never what I wanted [in Cleveland] because the Cleveland audience only wanted to hear that street shit. People weren’t really receptive to what I was bringing. I realized my style doesn’t fit this demographic. Let me go somewhere else and make it happen. How do you describe your style? My records are mellow, that’s the Cleveland in me. That’s that Ohio, Midwest shit. I love that laid back shit.
On your single, “Day ‘N’ Night” you get pretty personal…
I was extremely high when I made “Day ‘N’ Night”! I went in trying to express some feelings and it ended up being one of my biggest records. My music is like a diary and I get personal with my shit for real. I feel like I’m in my own world and alone, even if I’m in a crowd of people. That’s why I call myself “Mr. Solo Dolo.” It’s got that real simple beat, but it works. It’s one of those less-is-more records.
But you also seem pretty heavy on the party scene…
It’s cool because I got to build a lot of relationships. I go to a lot of spots and get the songs played and see peoples’ reactions. Being out in the scene and networking, people see you around a lot and be like, “Oh yea, I know that kid, he goes out and he kicks it.”
You just got back from touring with Fool’s Gold, how was that experience?
The tour was bananas! It was a dope experience since I’ve never been on tour before. I got a way bigger response in the west coast then out here in the east coast. I went crowd surfing in LA…this one white kid was telling me, “Yeah, c’mon!” When you do it you gotta barrel roll, you can’t just jump out into the crowd.