Complex Magazine: Kid Cudi Cover Story 2009 August/September Issue

HYPEBEAST alumni and all-around good-guy Joe La Puma of Complex Magazine recent sat down with one of Hip-Hop’s rising stars in Kid Cudi. Discussing a plethora of issues ranging from his involvement with Kanye West to how he views himself alongside another huge up and coming artist in Drake, Cudi reveals some interesting thoughts and approaches. Within these music-related insights comes some deeper looks into Kid Cudi on a personal level including his move from Ohio to New York City. The Kid Cudi Complex cover features the artwork of graffiti artist AUGOR. Snippets of the interview can be seen below while the whole interview can be seen at Complex.com.

Has the girl situation really been that crazy?
Kid Cudi: Man, I was always the ugly duckling; I never got attention from girls like that. So now that it’s happening, I’m kind of hip to it. I know half of these bitches wouldn’t be talking to me if I wasn’t Kid Cudi, and I’m not no fool, you know what I’m saying? I wasn’t born yesterday.

Do you consider yourself a weirdo?
Kid Cudi: “Weird” itself, even in the dictionary, is just something that is different and unexplainable. A weirdo is someone who follows their heart. I’m definitely weird, ain’t nothing wrong with that.

Is that a product of having your dad pass away?
Kid Cudi: My dad was Superman to me. He was the coolest. When he died of cancer, it was like my world was destroyed—I just went from seeing my dad normal to seeing my dad sick and then seeing my dad where he couldn’t even recognize me. My heart crumbled. I cried, but it wasn’t because I was sad, it was because I was pissed, like, “What the fuck?! Why?” But that’s when I started to want to express myself through words and rhymes.

People love to point out similarities between you and Drake—do you view him as competition?
Kid Cudi: I think it’s just that Drake and me are the most creative out of the new up-and-coming MCs. Me and Drake are here not because of anything other than two niggas that have their own flavor. I’m doing my shit, nobody else can do my shit. Nobody else can do Wale’s shit or Charles Hamilton’s shit. It’s like a bunch of Kool-Aid stands. It just matters whose flavor you like the most.