Kid Cudi

Kid Cudi, born Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi in Cleveland on January 30, 1984, broke through after uploading “Day ’n’ Nite” to MySpace. The song became an online hit, leading him to producers Plain Pat and Emile Haynie and to his 2008 mixtape, A Kid Named Cudi. Kanye West soon signed him to GOOD Music, setting up a run that brought Cudi’s introspective, melodic approach into mainstream rap.

His 2009 debut, Man on the Moon: The End of Day, was both a critical and commercial success, eventually earning quadruple-platinum certification from the RIAA. Alongside “Day ’n’ Nite,” it produced “Make Her Say,” featuring West and Common, and “Pursuit of Happiness,” featuring MGMT and Ratatat, which received diamond certification. The sequel, Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager (2010), went platinum and included “Erase Me,” featuring West, and “Mr. Rager.”

Cudi has moved freely between rap, rock, pop and electronic-leaning material. With producer and longtime collaborator Dot da Genius, he formed the rock band WZRD; the group’s self-titled 2012 debut reached the top of Billboard’s Top Rock Albums chart. His self-produced third album, Indicud (2013), peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 and included the platinum-certified “Just What I Am,” featuring King Chip. It was also his final GOOD Music release. The experimental albums Satellite Flight: The Journey to Mother Moon and Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven followed in 2014 and 2015, while Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin’ arrived in 2016 with the Pharrell Williams collaboration “Surfin’.”

In 2018, Cudi reunited with West as Kids See Ghosts, releasing a self-titled album that received critical acclaim. His collaboration with Travis Scott, “The Scotts,” became his first Billboard Hot 100 number-one single in 2020. Later that year, Man on the Moon III: The Chosen marked a commercial resurgence. He paired 2022’s Entergalactic with an adult animated TV special of the same name, then released Insano and Insano (Nitro Mega) in 2024, followed by the pop album Free in August 2025.

Beyond music, Cudi has acted in television and film, including How to Make It in America, Comedy Bang! Bang!, We Are Who We Are, Don’t Look Up and X. He launched Mad Solar in 2020, whose first release was the 2021 documentary A Man Named Scott. His songwriting often addresses depression, loneliness, alienation, substance use, spirituality and heartbreak, while his records draw from psychedelia, R&B, synthpop, dance music, punk and indie rock. He has sold more than 22 million units in the United States and won two Grammy Awards.