Kid Cudi was born in Cleveland, Ohio and lived in the diverse upper class suburb of Shaker Heights. Just prior to receiving his GED he attended Shaker Heights High School in Shaker Heights, Ohio and also Solon High School in Solon, Ohio. Cudi first began rapping towards the end of high school, inspired by alternative hip hop groups such as The Pharcyde and A Tribe Called Quest. He moved to Brooklyn, New York to pursue a music career. In July 2008, Kid Cudi released his first mixtape, A Kid Named Cudi, in collaboration with New York street wear brand 10. Deep as a free download in 2008. The mixtape has had so much continued success that on May 18, 2009 10.Deep announced they were going to be doing a re-release of the "Up There" t-shirt and hard copies A Kid Named Cudi mixtape in their webstore on May 20, 2009 at 12:00 PM EST. Shortly after the shirt went up for sale the server crashed due to heavy traffic of fans wanting to buy the t-shirt and the mixtape.
Kid Cudi has a guest feature on Kanye West's 2008 album, 808s & Heartbreak, singing with him on the track Welcome to Heartbreak, providing additional vocals on Paranoid with Mr Hudson and helped with songwriting on the second single Heartless. A music video has been made and released for Welcome to Heartbreak with him in it. He also featured on the song Welcome 2 the World with Kevin Rudolf from his album In The City, and on 88-Keys debut album The Death of Adam on the track Ho' is Short for Honey.
He has been featured in many medias such as XXL and BBC News's Sound of 2009 poll of up-and-coming acts. He has also been featured in Vibe, Complex, The Source, Rolling Stone, URB and Interview magazine.
Kid Cudi first appeared on shows in 2008, when he performed at the 2008 VMA's alongside Travis Barker and DJ AM. On February 17, 2009, Kid Cudi made his TV debut on Snoop Dogg's new MTV talk show Dogg After Dark, performing Day 'n' Nite at the end of the show. Two days later on February 19, 2009, Cudi appeared on BET's 106 & Park with Kanye West to debut the video of Day 'n' Nite . On March 16, 2009 Kid Cudi performed on mtvU's 2009 Spring Break special. On March 17, 2009 Cudi appeared on Last Call with Carson Daly where he performed three songs. Kid Cudi has also made cameo appearances in Solange's video for her song T.O.N.Y. and in the Black Eyed Peas video for I Gotta Feeling.
Kid Cudi, along with Emile, produced an exclusive single called "Switchin Lanes" for the video game Midnight Club: Los Angeles, part of its "South Central Premium Upgrade" Downloadable Content (DLC) which came out March 19, 2009 for the PlayStation 3 and March 27, 2009 for the Xbox 360. He contributed to the soundtrack for Capcom's Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition. The game was released on June 24 2010.
Higher Up
KiD CuDi Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Without a damn clue what was in store
And further more, even if I did brah
I'd do it all again, real shit brah
Advocate rapping and doing me
I Ended up rapping and renewing me
Ended up being better then the last
A whole new cudder for the new class
Made me realize the prince was made for the throne
Defeated peace, sword from stone
Smokin' so much weed I'm better off alone
In my own zone, in my own zone
Im so gone never the less
I can't disappear the stress
My lifes way beyond, yo mama knows best
You cant forget that im blessed
I feel so cursed, cause I cant stop a curse from spittin'
Without feelin' like a phony
Cause I speak my thoughts every time I think them up
I guarantee you I will win
If I was ever wrong, this moment aint it
So I'm psychic in the end
I think my thoughts and reality lets them end
End. End. End.
Tell me whos already to go, whos already to go
Higher up, higher up I said higher up [x2]
The lyrics to Kid Cudi's song, "Higher Up," reflect on his journey in life and in the music industry. He starts the song by stating that he was born in 1984, without knowing what was in store for him. Regardless of not knowing what the future holds, he would do it all again. Kid Cudi is an advocate for being true to oneself and doing what makes them happy. He ended up rapping and renewing himself, becoming even better than before. Kid Cudi acknowledges the first step he ever took alone, which made him realize that he was destined for greatness. He defeated peace with his sword from stone, which can be interpreted as him overcoming difficult obstacles in his life.
Kid Cudi's vulnerability is evident in the lyrics, which show that he feels blessed yet cursed. He has immense gratitude for his talents and opportunities but is plagued with a sense of not being able to control his negative thoughts. Despite the struggles he faces, Kid Cudi remains authentic and speaks his mind every time he thinks something up. He guarantees that he will succeed and acknowledges that he may have been wrong in the past, but this moment is not it. Kid Cudi ends "Higher Up" by asking who's already to go higher and repeating the phrase "higher up," emphasizing the message that one should strive for more and reach their full potential.
Line by Line Meaning
See I was born back in '84
I came to this world in 1984
Without a damn clue what was in store
I had no idea what my life would be like
And further more, even if I did brah
Even if I did know, dude
I'd do it all again, real shit brah
I would still live my life all over again, bro
Advocate rapping and doing me
I promote rapping and being myself
I Ended up rapping and renewing me
I started rapping and it helped me find myself again
Ended up being better then the last
I improved and became better than before
A whole new cudder for the new class
I'm a whole new version of myself for the newer generation
Every time I think about the first step I ever took alone
Whenever I reflect on taking my first step by myself
Made me realize the prince was made for the throne
I understood that I was destined for greatness
Defeated peace, sword from stone
I conquered peace, like a king pulling out a sword from a stone
Smokin' so much weed I'm better off alone
I'm smoking so much weed that it's better for me to be alone
In my own zone, in my own zone
I'm focused on myself and in my own world
Im so gone never the less
I'm really high but still going
I can't disappear the stress
I can't get rid of my stress
My lifes way beyond, yo mama knows best
My life is beyond expectations, as your mother would say
You cant forget that im blessed
You can't ignore the fact that I'm blessed
I feel so cursed, cause I cant stop a curse from spittin'
I feel cursed because I can't control what others say about me
Without feelin' like a phony
And I don't want to feel fake
Cause I speak my thoughts every time I think them up
Because I always speak my mind
I guarantee you I will win
I'm confident I'll succeed
If I was ever wrong, this moment aint it
If I made a mistake, it's not in this moment
So I'm psychic in the end
So in the end, I predict what I want to happen
I think my thoughts and reality lets them end
I think my thoughts and the universe makes them come true
Tell me whos already to go, whos already to go
Tell me who's ready to go
Higher up, higher up I said higher up [x2]
Let's go higher and higher
Contributed by Adam S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Nicky Ochoa
See I was born back in '84
Without a damn clue what was in store
And furthermore even if I could bra
I do it all again real shit bra
Advocate rappin' and doing me
I ended up rapping renewing me
Ended up being better then the last
Whole new Cudder for the new class
Every time I think about the first step I ever took alone made me realize this prince was made for the throne
Defeated the beast, Sword from the stone, smoking so much weed I'm better off alone
In my own zone, in my own zone, I'm so gone never the less
I can't disappear stress, my life is way beyond your momma knows best
You can't forget I'm blessed, the feel is so curse, I can't stop the verse from spitting
Without feeling like I'm phony cause I speak my thoughts every time I think them up
I guarantee I will win if I was ever wrong this moment ain't it
So I am psychic in the in end, I think my thoughts and reality lets them
In, in, in, in
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[Chorus]
Tell me who, is all ready to go
Tell me who... is all ready to go
Tell me who is all ready, to go higher up say higher up(x2)
Mr Rager
2022... I've been listening to Kid Cudi for over 16 years. I'm turning 30 this year and Cudi helped a lot going through high school. Now I have two kids and my daughter who is turning 5 this month, also loves Kid Cudi. When she was a baby, I'd sing her day n night as she fell asleep on my chest. So that was her first favorite song. Her mom loves Erase Me so that was her 2nd favorite. Present day besides a ton of other songs from other artist, she's hooked on Reborn. Cudi is a legend and needs to be appreciated more imo.
Joshua
The old cudi yea but not this new dude SMH.
Josh Navarro
The only artist where I can hear one of his song in the back of my head and wonder how I ever forgot about such an amazing song
SafeGerm
you really put it into words for me, just rediscovered this song going through some old shit
Josh Navarro
@SafeGerm My girl likes Cudi but she hadn't heard any of the hidden gems that you can't find on Spotify. I rubbed my hands together and told her she's in for some good shit lol
Supreme
Facts bro. Thank you cudi
Nick Kissoon
@SafeGerm Literally same man, the beat just came to my head and I had to rediscover it
WavyNvegasDJ
Only the real ones know this word for word.
Blake Crawford
Amen bro
Michael Fuentes
Word 4 word foreal always luv the cud fam