Kid Cudi

Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi (born January 30, 1984), also known by his stage name Kid Cudi, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and fashion designer. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Cudi moved to New York City in pursuit of a musical career, where he first gained major recognition following the release of his debut single "Day 'n' Nite", which he initially self-published on his MySpace page. The song became a worldwide hit and served as a catalyst for Cudi to team with record producers Plain Pat and Emile Haynie to record his first full-length project, a mixtape titled A Kid Named Cudi (2008). The mixtape helped Cudi rise to prominence and establish a fan base, soon catching the attention of high-profile rapper Kanye West—who subsequently signed Cudi to his GOOD Music label imprint by late 2008. With "Day 'n' Nite" issued as its lead single, he released his debut studio album, Man on the Moon: The End of Day (2009) to critical and commercial success, eventually receiving quadruple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album also included the singles "Make Her Say" (featuring Kanye West and Common) and "Pursuit of Happiness" (featuring MGMT and Ratatat), the latter of which achieved diamond certification (10x platinum) by the RIAA. In 2010, Cudi released his second album, Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager, which also received platinum certification and spawned the singles "Erase Me" (featuring Kanye West) and "Mr. Rager". Later that year, he formed the rock band WZRD with long-time collaborator and producer Dot da Genius; their eponymous debut album (2012) debuted at number one on the Billboard Top Rock Albums chart. Cudi then released his self-produced third album Indicud (2013), which was certified gold by the RIAA and spawned the platinum-selling single "Just What I Am" (featuring King Chip). He would depart from GOOD Music after it's release, following up with the experimental and tepidly-received avant-garde albums Satellite Flight: The Journey to Mother Moon (2014) and Speedin' Bullet 2 Heaven (2015), the latter of which was led by the grunge-inspired single "Confused!". His sixth album, Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin' (2016) saw an improvement in critical reception and was supported by the lead single "Surfin'" (featuring Pharrell Williams).