Kid Cudi: The Unafraid

I’m writing this with about 10 hours to go before the release of Kid Cudi’s seventh solo studio album, 10 years after the release of Man on The Moon, Vol. II: The Legend of Mr. Rager. 11 after Man on the Moon: The End of the Day. Mescudi is about to release the follow up a decade in the making, to continue, and possibly conclude this legend.

I wasn’t planning on writing this but it just felt necessary. I’ve basically only listened to Cudi this past week after the announcement in preparation, and it brought me back to just how much his music means to me, and to being open and honest in an industry that doesn’t pull punches.

Cudi’s music has always been real, one of his first hit songs was “Day ’n’ Nite” a song in which he quite literally admits to being a lonely stoner with not much going for him in terms of a social life or really anything else.

His music has never shied away from being open and raw about his mental health and his view on his position in life. Cuts from MOTM: The End of the Day include songs besides the aforementioned “Day ’n’ Nite” such as: “Solo Dolo” “Pursuit of Happiness” and “Is There Any Love” to name a few. If there is one thing Scott Mescudi cares about in music, it’s about connecting with his fans. Entrusting in them so they entrust in him.

Being honest about how he feels in life has pushed him to a new level with his fandom, one that shares with him about how he saved their lives, and Scott has been open back that in-turn, support and love from his supporters saved his.

The theme of sharing his emotions has never stopped throughout his career, of MOTM 2 tracks include, Mr. Rager, All Along, Ghost!, Trapped in My Mind, and to an extent Erase Me, all serving as more songs that share his inner most thoughts and emotions, as well as relationships with people that he has failed in or that have failed him. Moving through the rest of his albums (not including Speedin’ Bullet, we will get to that): Solo Dolo, Pt. II, Lord of the Sad and Lonely, Too Bad I Have To Destroy You Now, Troubled Boy, Swim in the Light, and Reborn off his and Kanye West’s joint project Kids See Ghosts.

All of these tracks, and countless more that were not named, serve a purpose of him exorcising his demons into his true passion of making music. And in return a strong bond of trust and empathy has developed between him and his closest fans.

I know that this is the case for me. I found Cudi as a young teenager who went through many years between middle school and early high school struggling to fit in and find many friends. As much as other artists like Kanye became important to me, none spoke to me more than Kid Cudi.

There are so many themes to Scott’s music that young adult’s can and have connected with just as I did. Feelings of being lost and not having a place in this world, being lonely with not many people to talk to, all resonated with me, someone who didn’t find himself to be particularly angsty at the time but looking back on it must have been.

Cudi surviving and thriving based off this brand of being raw and real with his music has always meant something to me. He has never strayed from that mark, working in an industry that can most of the time be braggadocious and all about maintaining a strong image, Cudi has and is never been afraid to show the weaker side of himself.

This weak side comes through especially in the ever-hated and controversial Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven. An album that I unashamedly love. This album, while I believe to be misunderstood, is understandably disliked for its jarring and unfinished alternative sound, that was a large step away from what Cudi had started to experiment with on Satellite Flight.

But its message for those struggling with mental health, with feeling happy, with feeling human, is something that has, once again, resonated with me and many of his fans throughout the years. Opening track Edge of the Earth / Post Mortem Boredom as well as Handle With Care present soft and delicate ballads about feeling fragile and not whole or complete. While tracks such as Wedding Tux and Judgmental C**t are raw and at times obnoxious songs that show his emotional and mental instability.

This album means a lot to me for what it represents in the story of Scott Mescudi. A year after releasing this album he would enter rehab for depression, anxiety, and suicidal urges. It was not just an album for his fans to enjoy, it was an album for his fans to hear his cries for help.

As someone who has been very lucky to have never experienced chronic or debilitating depression, as well as someone who has grown up with people with very unstable mental states or disorders such as bi-polar, this album has always been, if anything, a small eye or window into the mind of someone who has something going on inside them that I have not and may never truly understand.

As we approach the release of Man On the Moon III: The Chosen, I become even more excited as well as emotional. Kid Cudi has been an outlet for me, as I grew up with confusing and disjointed feelings, feeling at times lonely and rejected, as well as given me a lens into someone who I idolize and their struggles with mental health and feeling whole.

I don’t know any of your opinions on Kid Cudi, but with all due respect I don’t really care. He has done a lot for my emotional and mental development, showing me that it is ok to be ok with who you are, and to take the hits life throws at you and keep moving, to not be afraid to accept yourself, as cliché as that sounds, and for that I am grateful to him, and I hope at the very least you can see that he has done that.

Thank you, Scott.