10 Times Kid Cudi “Saved” A Generation Of Lost Souls
Kid Cudi (Real name; Scott Mescudi) is my 2nd favourite artist (behind ‘Ye of course), so this write-up might be a little bias, but hear me out, “Cudi Saves” — as they say. On the eve of the long-awaited drop of Man On The Moon III, the third and final installment of The Man On The Moon Trilogy of Cudi albums, I thought it was appropriate to reflect back on ten instances of where Kid Cudi helped“save” a generation, including myself, of lost teens — particularly those individuals battling feelings of loneliness, depression, anxiety and feelings of self-hatred, in a world where we are told it’s not okay to be that way.
In no particular order at all, let’s kick this off…
1. When his mission statement was to help people
In 2014, Scott called out Mainstream hip-hop for not addressing issues such as depression, loneliness, and self-love. In a public and incredibly open/vulnerable appearance, he attacks the mainstream of hip-hop (“money, cash, and hoes” as he says) and speaks on what hip-hop really needs. You can watch it below.
“My mission statement since day one — and I’m getting so worked up talking about this. All I wanted to do was to help kids not feel alone, and stop kids from committing suicide.
“I’ve dealt with suicide for the past five years; there wasn’t a week or day that didn’t go by where I wasn’t like, ‘You know, I wanna check out.’ I know what that feels like. And I know it comes from loneliness. I know it comes from not having self-worth, not loving yourself.
“Loneliness is a terrible, terrible thing, man. And if you don’t know how to conquer it, it can eat you alive.” — Kid Cudi, The Arsenio Hall Show (2014)
2. “All Along,” “Ghost!” and “Trapped In My Mind” reflecting on loneliness
These three tracks are the final three songs on his critically-acclaimed album “Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager”, which listen as an arrangement of music that captures the feeling of emptiness and loneliness that so many young people feel. Such misery had never been heard before in hip-hop (and not really a lot in music in general either).
The idea of making himself vulnerable and sensitive showed the world that Cudi isn’t afraid to speak how he feels. So many young people including myself relate to the lyrics and meanings behind these songs. For example, in “All Along” he hums “All along, All along, I guess I’m meant to be alone, Out there on my own”. Cudi realizes that he will forever be alone in some way and that he has to fight on his own the battles life throws at him. It’s a sad song, but it’s consoling at the same time. Personally, I’ve come to such realisations myself, and whilst it’s a confronting topic, the fact that an artist can come out and make songs that relate to people is beautiful and impactful.
3. When he made “Kids See Ghosts” with Kanye to reshape society’s views on mental health
2018 — Kid Cudi and Kanye West collaborate on their 7 song album, Kids See Ghosts. Next thing, Anthony Fantano gives the album a rare 10/10 and you can see why.
In Kids See Ghosts, Kanye West and Kid Cudi look to redefine mental illness in general, but specifically look to redefine the societal perception of mental illness. In this album, Cudi and Kanye detail their pain and relay what was learned from it. Kanye and Cudi draw from the spiritual realm to discuss their mental illnesses as a metaphor for ghosts.
Kanye opens up about his bipolar and mental struggles, whilst Kid Cudi opens up on his long road with depression. What made this album so impactful is that this hadn’t happened before. Mainstream artists had never come out with such an album where every lyric was either directly related to or a metaphor for mental health struggles.
Normally it’s not spoken about due to its stigma, but so many of us can relate our own stories to those of Kanye and Cudi. Crippled by one’s own “ghosts”, lacking understanding of their nature and the power to rise above them. This is the case for the millions who suffer from various mental illnesses — the same millions whose pain is discredited daily. The utter lack of concern for the endless internal struggle that many children trudge through has cost the lives of so many young people. A kid becoming a ghost is nothing new when applied to this darker context. Kanye and Cudi serve like the guardian angels who can shed their light on youth— like myself — who have been just like them, with so much around them built for these children to succumb to their ghosts.
4. “Love” — a Song dedicated to feeling alone
All I can say is listen to this song if you’re ever feeling alone.
“Love” is all about feeling alone and craving the feeling of being in love, but that everything will be okay. At points in our lives, we may feel like the world is ending. As humans, we crave the feeling of love, it’s what gives our lives meaning. Cudi, through his own experiences, assures us things will get better. Love is Cudi’s assurance to everyone listening that true love will come along and to not let it pass you by feeling sorry for yourself and that loneliness doesn’t stay around forever.
“Don’t be so down, come on young homie / You’ll be ok, you’ll find real love / All of the stories, the hero gets lonely / Now is the time to show what you’re made of.
“Love” has truly helped me when I’ve needed it the most.
5. Kid Cudi publicly lays out his struggles as he checks himself into rehab.
In 2016 before his release of “ Passion, Pain and Demon Slayin’ ”, Kid Cudi openly admitted to checking himself into rehab for depression, in a Facebook post.
This single Facebook post spurred so much conversation on mental health and how celebrities aren’t immune from mental health battles too. When Cudi posted this, it struck a string with me and it wasn’t until over 12 months later when I came back to this post when I was feeling depressed and was struggling to overcome a breakup from months prior that I really connected with the openness of this post. I mean it when I say that this post actually made me become more open and more willing to expose my vulnerabilities to the world. Read the post below.
6. Other artists who have stated how Cudi has helped them
It’s not just the general population who have been helped by Kid Cudi.
An arrangement of fellow hip-hop artists such as Kanye West, Travis Scott, Kyle, Lil Yachty, Kevin Abstract, Jaden Smith and Ski Mask the Slump God have all come out and said that Cudi’s music has either helped or influenced them in some way shape or form.
Travis Scott has become one of the biggest names in hip-hop. Who does he attribute not only his success but helping him through the hardest times when he was younger to — Kid Cudi.
7. “The Prayer”
Kid Cudi’s breakout success was from his mixtape “A Kid named Cudi”, with his track “The Prayer” being a highlight.
“The Prayer” is what started it all and what encouraged a generation of kids to be open about their mental health, to be hopeful for the future, and to explore more with music. “The Prayer” began the openness and the impact of this openness on an entire generation stuggling with mental health issues. Overa sample of Band of Horses’ “The Funeral,” Cudi speaks on death, of dreaming of being free since his birth, of being “ready for a funeral.” It’s a deeply depressing, but incredibly open piece of music that would go on to kickstart Cudi’s career, and influence so many more, including influencing the creation of Kanye West’s “808’s and Heartbreaks” album, which would go on to stand next to Cudi’s music as becoming one of the most vulnerable albums of all time. Listen to “The Prayer” below.
8. Kid Cudi Talks About Changing Mainstream Hip-Hop
In another interview with Cudi, he speaks again on mainstream hip-hop, and what he wants to truly establish in hip-hop. Cudi speaks on how all he’s ever wanted to do is help people not feel alone.
Similar to the 2014 interview, Cudi is passionate about this topic and this interview has connected with myself and many others.
9. “Man On The Moon”
In 2009, Cudi dropped his debut album “Man On The Moon: The End Of Day” after the success of his mixtape. This was the defining moment in the influence and “saving nature” of Cudi’s music.
When Cudi dropped MOTM, the album told a story of someone lost in the world, battling demons, and learning how to overcome those demons. I mentioned earlier songs from MOTM II which dealt with loneliness; well with MOTM we had an album where we heard the original story about fighting demons and battling to overcome all of them.
“Man On The Moon” was the album that said “hey, it’s actually okay to not be okay”, and that was so important to learn.
The Man on the Moon can be interpreted as an astronaut, exploring uncharted territory. For Cudi, that territory is the inner self through the obstacles he encounters in his life.
10. The humming saga
Kid Cudi has hummed and hummed in his music across his career: everything from his debut mixtape to his recent features on tracks.
Whilst it’s probably not the intention of Cudi, his humming has been recognised as one of the most soothing aspects in modrrn music. In “Reborn”, a Kids See Ghosts collab with Kanye, Cudi hums throughout. This song has prompted internet memes and jokes abut how Cudi’s humming saves lifes. Whilst these memes are funny, songs like “Reborn” are really powerful and that Cudi humming adds to it’s impact.
So there we have it, 10 times/reasons why and how Kid Cudi has saved souls and helped people overcome demons. Make sure to check out }Man On The Moon III: The Chosen” when it drops tomorrow. Thanks for reading.
