The Kids Who Fell To Earth

Kid Cudi Has Been Plenty Outspoken About His Struggles. He’s Variously Battled Critics, Depression, And, At Times, Kanye West. But Now, As He Re-emerges With A New Creative Optimism, The 34-year-old Is Blissfully Focused On Something Much More Dynamic: His Future

- Mark Anthony Green

KID CUDI IS hip-hop’s Peter Pan. As a founding father of alternative hip-hop, Cudi was the sad-boy antihero to André 3000’s Rapunzel wig and kilt. Hip-hop’s Cobain, so to speak. These days the 34-year-old Lost Boy’s demeanor straddles the line between cool kid and loner stoner. Thirty-four might not sound too seasoned to you, but it’s important to note that Cudi has been one of the most beloved acts in hip-hop for a decade. In rapper years, that’s practically a lifetime. Need proof? Back in 2009, he shared the cover of XXL’s Freshmen issue with Asher Roth, Charles Hamilton, Blu, Mickey Factz, Ace Hood, B.o.B, Cory Gunz, and Wale. (Let us know when you’re done Googling those people.) Point being: He’s stood the test of time while most of his peers haven’t. And the new guard of ragers—like Travis Scott—rightfully consider him a god.

Kids See Ghosts, his joint album with Kanye released earlier this year, is a bit of a departure from the emo midwesterner that his fans had grown to love. “I chose to write the light,” Cudi tells me in his room at the Chateau Marmont. “Me and Kanye both agreed that we wanted to create a spiritual album. I know kids are used to hearing me talk about darkness, but I’m living in the light now.” The album itself seems to have met people’s very high expectations of what should happen when two hip-hop legends join forces. It’s good. Almost good enough to make you forget Kanye’s maga hat. Almost. And in a lot of ways liberating for Cudi. I don’t feel pain anymore. Guess what, babe? I am freeeeeeee, he croons. He, like, really, truly croons. And hums—a signature of his.