A Rapper’s Origin

Scott Mescudi, better known as Kid Cudi, is an American singer and rapper born in Cleveland, Ohio. In his TEDx talk at his former high school, Mescudi recounts “that [his] upbringing in this town, the school, district, is what made [him] the man [he is] today.” As the youngest of four children, family was an integral part of Mescudi’s life, so when his father died of cancer when Mescudi was only 11 years old, it had a profound effect on his personality as he had night terrors every night for a year following his death. He gave his TEDx talk at Shaker Heights High School, which he was expelled from for threatening to punch the principal. His recent mental health advocacy and good reputation earned him the right to give a TEDx talk at his former high school. He eventually earned his GED and went to the University of Toledo and chose to be a film studies major. After the realization that Ohio was not the place for an aspiring rapper, Mescudi embarked on a journey to Brooklyn, New York. This journey was very difficult to embark on because he had to leave his mother, but she knew it was necessary for his rap career.

He left for Brooklyn in 2004 and moved in with his father’s older brother who was 80 years old at the time, but he wanted to make a connection with someone who knew his father well. He began working at a BAPE store where he would later meet a customer by the name of Kanye West and hand him his mixtape as he was completing his purchase. His uncle died in 2006 and his death inspired the song “Day ‘N’ Nite” along with many other stressful events in Mescudi’s life at the time. “Day ‘N’ Nite” follows a stressed-out adolescent who attempts to escape his loneliness and sorrow through the use of marijuana. Mescudi reflects in the third person to cast a more critical tone at his actions and the alternate name for this song “Nightmare” mirrors the night terrors he had when his father died. The song reached number 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and caught the attention of Kanye West, who signed him to his label; the birth of Kid Cudi.

An Analysis of Kid Cudi

Kid Cudi is the word “Kid” followed by a part of his last name “Mescudi”. “Kid” invokes a sense of youthfulness and relatability. When Kid Cudi began music, he realized he could be the mouthpiece for all of the children who had no one to talk to about their depression or loneliness. He was the youthful leader of a new generation that would not be ashamed to talk about their mental health. His father’s death also plays into the creation of his name because he is honoring his father by using his last name and creating this public image of a mental health activist and charity beneficiary. To Mescudi, he is desperately trying to be the little kid he was before his father passed away, and before he had to deal with the stresses that no child should have to face. But that was in 2008, when he was still 25, he doesn’t still invoke the sense of youthfulness as he once did, right? Wrong.

In 2018, Mescudi and Kanye West formed a genre-bending music duo, KIDS SEE GHOSTS. After they both sought hospitalization for depression and other mental health issues, they formed KIDS SEE GHOSTS. After fellow rapper, Drake, mocked Mescudi for his depression and mental health issues, Mescudi became the face of mental health awareness and once again the youthful face of a generation. A breakout hit from the group’s debut album is “Reborn” where Mescudi praises the mental health professionals who helped him and how he is “reborn, movin’ forward” and no longer has stress. He shows that if you seek help for yourself, you are strong and that is the first step in being reborn.