Kid Cudi Biography

news-detailsKid Cudi was born on January 30, 1984 in Cleveland, Ohio by the name Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi. Having a huge passion in music, he dropped out of college and moved to Brooklyn to pursue a career as a rapper. He then became affiliated with Fool's Gold, the label of DJs A-Trak and Nick Catchdubs.

In 2008, Cudi released a mixtape called "A Kid Named Kudi" as a free download. Blending various genres from more conventional Hip-Hop and alternative rock to jazz and soul, the mixtape caught the attention of Kanye West who signed him to his label, GOOD Music, later that year.

The hit single from the mixtape was "Day 'N' Nite". The song peaked at number 3 on Billboard Hot 100 and ruled U.K. Dance Tracks chart. A bunch of remix versions from this single were outed. Pitbull, Jermaine Dupri and Trey Songz were some of the rappers who re-recorded the track.

Following the success of "Day 'N' Nite", Cudi was recruited to lend his vocal on West's 2008 studio album "808's & Heartbreak". He was also credited for writing West's two songs, "Paranoid" and "Heartless". His first TV appearances was at 2008 MTV Video Music Awards alongside Travis Barker and DJ AM.

In February 2009, Cudi performed "Day 'N' Nite" on Snoop Dogg's talk show "Dogg After Dark". He also sang at mtvU's Spring Break special. Cudi was officially signed to Universal Motown in April 2009, becoming Akon, Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes' labelmate. Already having heavy fans base, he teamed up with fellow new rapper Asher Roth for their own headlining roadshow dubbed "The Great Hangover Tour".

A month before he inked a deal with Universal Motown, Cudi wrote a message on his blog, telling fans that he had no intention to make a second album. At that time, he reasoned, "The drama that comes with it is more overwhelming than I was dealing with when I was piss-poor broke." Days after that, he clarified his announcement. During a live concert at 2009 SXSW Music Festival, he pulled out his retirement vow.

His debut album "Man on the Moon: The End of Day" was dropped on September 15, 2009. Initially titled "Man on the Moon: The Guardians", it featured collaborations from Kanye West, Common, Clipse, MGMT and Snoop Dogg.