MC: But why the Big Apple? Did the fact that it’s the birthplace of hip-hop play a role?
Kid Cudi: Something told me that to start a new chapter I needed to be in New York. Call it instinct or intuition or God looking out for me, I don’t know. I was heavily influenced by New York: its cinema and its hip-hop. And I knew it was a place where I could grow and meet interesting people, because that’s what I was really yearning for. I was pursuing a career in music and going into acting; I wanted to be around people who were like me and there were no people like that in Cleveland. New York is definitely where I shed my skin. New York was like me coming into manhood. I had done road trips, but I was very sheltered and I realized that when I came to New York it was like culture shock. It was intense, but I needed that. I experienced a lot of shit early on that I never experienced in Cleveland that made me a beast in with my business and my hustle.
MC: Can you walk us through your first moves? Was there a strategy or a plan?
Kid Cudi: I didn’t have a plan at all. I didn’t know what I was doing and it was probably the craziest thing I could have ever done. I stayed with my uncle for bit, and I told myself that I would find a job, get on my feet first and maybe I would get enough money where I could afford some studio time. That was the extent of my plan. I was walking up and down Broadway dropping off applications everyplace you can imagine from McDonald’s to Foot Locker, and thank God I found a job because it was enough to get me a Metro card and some studio time.
It’s crazy when I think about it, because there are certain events that lead to these things to happen, and I never went out of my way to make them happen; it’s like the stars lined up. Meeting [then manager and still producer] Plain Pat and forming that alliance was probably when the shit started to become real; because I aligned myself with someone who had the information that I needed to be able to create music, to create an album. And there was his professionalism. And he knew not only what people wanted to hear, he knew that I was a true artist and he guided me, and I think that was a turning point.
From there I would say signing the deal with A-Trak and Fool’s Gold is when the music came out officially, and that’s when he suggested the Cookers remix; and that’s when things really started to happen, you know what I’m saying?
MC: Can you give any advice on taking that first step?
Kid Cudi: I’m not big on giving advice, because I feel like a lot of kids right now get it twisted, like they have to be some kind of opportunist to get what they want. I don’t like throwing out lines about how to get into the business, because there is no real way to know, especially nowadays with the Internet.
I feel like the best advice I can give anyone is to just create and put it out there and have faith in your art and keep perfecting it and pray to God that someone hears it and likes it and you get a deal. I can’t say to run to a label, or to stand outside in front of Hot 97, or to align yourself with people in the business, because that’s creepy, that’s not how you do it. That’s not how I did it. I ran into people. I stumbled into muthafucker’s laps and they stumbled into mine.
I met Kanye several times before, but he didn’t sign me until he heard my mixtape and learned about my body of work. It was always based on my work, my art and my product, not getting in someone’s face or chasing someone down or kissing someone’s ass. So I would say to kids just focus on your craft and if you build it they will fucking come. And that is the truth.
MC: So it’s fair to say that the mixtape is still a great calling card?
Kid Cudi: Oh yeah, definitely and I love doing those songs at the shows because kids get so excited. I start the show off with “Down and Out” (sings intro which kicks off his debut mixtape, A Kid Named Cudi). Think about it: that was the first time people heard my voice. I was a shot in the dark, I wasn’t very confident with that mix tape, I knew it was the music I wanted to make but did I know that people would like it? I had no fucking clue. But people really liked it. Thank God. I’m very blessed that I had ears in the world that were ready to hear some mature music. You know, some shit with some substance, some authentic energy. That was real and from the heart.
MC: What did you learn from Kanye West and Jay Z? Any key conversation you may have had?
Kid Cudi: I can’t pinpoint one conversation, because there were many of them, but there are things that I see in Kanye and Jay Z: people who stay true to their art, people who stay true to themselves, you know, do things their own way. There’s beauty in that, especially for a young black man who came from an environment where niggas were doing nothing but getting in trouble, getting killed and thrown in jail.
Jay Z and Kanye are once in a lifetime artists. Like Michael Jackson, you’ll never see another Jay Z and you’ll never see another Kanye, and the reason why is because they are who they are. They’re not emulating anyone. And it’s not that they told me; I was just paying attention. I think that’s why they have me around, because they know I’m watching and I’m learning.
MC: What have you learned from them about actually making music?
Kid Cudi: I learned how to make beats from watching Dot [Dot da Genius], Emile, Plain Pat and Kanye. I’ve combined everything I learned from those four dudes and fused it and created my own shit. So if I’m gonna sample some shit, I’m like “Oh yeah, I remember Kanye sampled it this way.” If I’m laying down drums, I’m like, “I saw Dot lay down drums this way.” Or if I’m gonna chop something up, I’m like, “I remember how Plain Pat chopped this up,” because Pat is the illest sample chopper, I don’t give a fuck what anyone says. Between him and Emile they got the craziest collection of records, it’s ridiculous. And I understand why Kanye was like “Oh yeah, Plain Pat? Let’s go!” Because he’s a fucking genius, and he’s such a humble dude so I’m gonna toot his horn because he would never say these things. But he’s a genius and someone I really look up to.
