Tag Archives: cover story

Kid Cudi explores dark depths and paves a positive future in latest Complex spread

Scott Mescudi, better known by his stage name Kid Cudi, graces the cover of Complex Magazine for the sixth time in the zine’s February/March issue. His cover story conducted by Complex’s Director of Content Strategy Joe La Puma is available to read online, as are the stills from his photoshoot. Cudder is known to open himself up and provide candid responses in his Complex interviews and this most recent conversation doesn’t deviate from the norm. He’s all over the spectrum here; he discusses the depression that took place after he broke up with his girlfriend, popping prescription pills which didn’t take the pain away and only made it worse, seeing a therapist and realizing he had to cut the meds out of the picture entirely and get his mind right. He also went into how he’s dealing with the loss of his father at a young age and he talked about the controversy that came out of his public child custody case. He explained his definition of what it means to be “cool” and his take on the current state of hip-hop, he shared his disappointment on his lack of more contribution to Kanye’s Curel Summer record, and he expressed his general excitement over producing his own beats now. His fourth studio album Indicud is on track to drop this year, and Kid Cudi couldn’t be in a better place. Watch a peaceful Scott Mescudi introduce his next phase in music in a video embedded at the end of the interview.

Read the interview in full at ComplexUpdate: The zine has released more quotes that didn’t make it into the cover story interview. Cudder opens up about quitting weed, having creative control over his content, and he addresses head-on the Illuminati symbols he threw into his latest music video.

Kid Cudi pieces together his life of fame in latest Complex cover story

Rapper Kid Cudi finds himself on the cover of Complex Magazine for the third time in so many years. In this latest cover story interview with Complex editor-in-chief Noah Callahan-Bever, Cudi opens up about his murky past consisting of drinking and smoking, how things have changed for the better managing a sober lifestyle, and the inspiration behind playing guitar and forming the Wizard album. You can read the interview in full right here; below I’ve copied a couple of standout moments.

When asked about why he spend so much time with fellow rapper Kanye West: “I was at another place, another dark place. Me and my girl had broken up. I wasn’t fully healed yet. And being around Kanye and music was my escape. He’s a sober guy, he has a drink every once in a while, but seeing how he throws himself into the studio when he’s stressing about something, I totally admire that. Being around that was therapy for me.

When asked to look two years into the future: “I’m always going to be working on something because I have too many ideas. Every day I come up with some wild fucking idea, some type of scheme. I feel like I have a purpose and if I don’t create then I’m letting myself down. I’ve been given this opportunity for people to listen to me worldwide. I’m just gonna fucking keep rocking and keep rocking and keep rocking until I’m in a wheelchair somewhere.

Browse pictures from the photoshoot below, and watch some behind-the-scenes action after the break.

[Via Complex; DatNewCudi] Continue reading Kid Cudi pieces together his life of fame in latest Complex cover story

Kanye West covers Complex, offers a peek inside Hawaii studio

Today Kanye West’s fifth studio album released.  My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy has been a long time in the making.  After being shunned by controversy (read: the Swift incident), Kanye left the public spotlight and eventually made his back into the studio to create new content.  Complex editor-in-chief Noah Callahan-Bever gained access into Avex Honolulu Studios in Oahu, Hawaii during Kanye’s peak of creativty as the master rapper and producer worked day and night on Twisted Fantasy.  ‘Ye covers the December 2010/January 2011 cover of Complex, and in it Callahan-Bever takes the reader through the life and times of Kanye working on the album.  The article has been posted and it’s an intriguing look into the way Kanye handles his business when he means business.  The first half of the article follows Kanye in the studio and sheds light on his extremely high level of dedication towards his music.  The second half features block quotes from Twisted Fantasy collaborators and guest artists such as Justin Vernon (of Bon Iver), Pusha T, Kid Cudi, Nicki Minaj, and Q-Tip.  Read the article here.  Also, be sure to look in the gallery below to browse through some stills from the story; click here to view the full Complex gallery.

[Via Complex]

Kid Cudi acknowledges his dark past and promises a brighter future in Complex cover story

In the October issue of Complex Magazine Kid Cudi opens up to his fans by journeying back to his not-so-distant dark past.  Beyond opening up about his heavy drug use, his night in jail, and the big reveal that he has a daughter, Cudder talks about his competition (or lack thereof), the meaning behind the tracks “REVOFEV”, “Wylin’ ‘Cause I’m Young”, “Erase Me”, and “Mr. Rager”, and the encompassing theme behind his upcoming second studio album Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager (11/9).

On why he opted to create another dark album, instead of making a fun collab: “When I started making records like “Erase Me.” I wanted this album to be fun, but the dark sh– was my life at that time. I was fighting not to write that sh–. It got frustrating writing a collab album—I just lost interest, and it became more of a task, rather than something I wanted to do. That’s not how it’s supposed to feel. The day it becomes work, you need to retire.”

On MOTM2: “I want my sh– to be like you’re reading a novel, not a Dr. Seuss book. I felt like the last album was too short. This one is a little bit longer, it’s 18 tracks and counting. It’s just ten times better on all levels. The story’s deeper, darker, with no holding back. It’s beautiful, man. It’s an emotional album.”

Head over to Complex to read the explicit three page interview.  Look in the gallery below for some stills from the photoshoot and after the break to find a behind-the-scenes video.

[Via DatNewCudi; Complex]

Continue reading Kid Cudi acknowledges his dark past and promises a brighter future in Complex cover story

Kanye West covers XXL magazine, sheds light on Swift incident

Kanye West is featured in the October issue of XXL magazine.  In addition to gracing the cover wearing his signature heavy chain, Kanye penned his very first article for the magazine and was the creative director of a 40 page section of the special collector’s issue.  In his article “The Exclusive Story by the Man Himself” Kanye sheds light on the publicisized and highly critisized Taylor Swift incident from last year’s MTV VMAs.  Popeater managed to pluck out some choice quotes from the article.

“I stress that the incident wasn’t about Taylor personally. And it definitely wasn’t about race. Where I messed up is, at the end of the day, it’s your show, Taylor. It’s your show, MTV.”

“The relationship with the public and with your fans is like the relationship with your girlfriend. How could I not, at a certain point, be like, ‘I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been at the awards show. I’m sorry.’ Not that I don’t deserve to get beat up or change who I am inside, to make sure that that doesn’t happen again.”

“I knew I wasn’t in a great spot publicly after the incident, but I would just block it out and work as hard as possible and let my work be my saving grace. In a way, I had thrown a Molotov cocktail at my own career, and it gave me an opportunity, for the first time, to go away and find out who I was. Because I felt very alone.”

Ohh, dark stuff huh?  You can pick up the October issue of XXL on September 28.  The zine also includes stoires on Kid Cudi, Kanye’s G.O.O.D. Music label, and the top 10 producers-turned-rappers of all time.

[Via Popeater; XXL]