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.
Cleveland Is the Reason
Kid Cudi Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I come from Cleveland
Ya'll can really hear it now.
Hit 'em like comic books,
Kaboom powpow
Into a girl's mind spitfineawinedine,
I keep two phone, sidekick for bad dimes.
And a topical question is why I'm so chill,
They say I'm complex just like the magazine,
I wear my closet complex like a magazine.
I get in their head, They don't even see my bread.
Oh so, oh so fly cool as I wanna be, one hell of a guy.
I keep 'em short, sweet, thick and petite,
Ridin' alongside in my Cutlass Supreme.
I'm from a place where old school's are common,
gotta explain everytime I'm rhymin' I be.
Chorus:
"I be all day rollin' in my whip got my sippin' cup out on the low.
I keep two pretty woman by my side I'm cooler than a polar bears toes
And I say"
Cleveland is that, Cleveland is the, Cleveland is the reason I'm cool.
Cleveland is that, Cleveland is the, Cleveland is the reason I'm leanin'.
Cleveland is that, Cleveland is the, Cleveland is the reason I'm cool.
Cleveland is that, Cleveland is the, Cleveland is my my city
Verse 2:
Yup, yeppers smile all the time while,
I chop it up like Michael Watt's slow talk style.
So the girlies can really catch all my accent,
and the double O got her own accent.
Some niggas sell drugs to provide for they fam,
some niggas sell CD's up out they trunk man.
Some niggas they go to school for that higher learnin',
I play the O'Jays while I'm turnin' lanes.
We be on our shift, freakin' black and milds still controllin' the whip.
Aint no city like Cleveland, cruisin' wit my bad bitch in the evenin'.
You wanna know exactly why I'm this way,
Take a trip to the land, swing this way.
After the song done aint much I can say,
Cleveland is my city, city.
Chorus:
"I be all day rollin' in my whip got my sippin' cup out on the low.
I keep two pretty woman by my side I'm cooler than a polar bears toes
And I say"
Cleveland is that, Cleveland is the, Cleveland is the reason I'm cool.
Cleveland is that, Cleveland is the, Cleveland is the reason I'm leanin'.
Cleveland is that, Cleveland is the, Cleveland is the reason I'm cool.
Cleveland is that, Cleveland is the, Cleveland is my my city.
In the first verse of Kid Cudi’s “Cleveland Is the Reason,” he talks about his hometown, Cleveland. He boasts about his love for Cleveland and how it’s the reason he’s cool. He mentions that people can clearly hear where he’s from in his music. He also talks about his love life and how he keeps two phones, particularly a sidekick for bad dimes, and how he’s charismatic with the ladies. Kid Cudi speaks about how the girls don’t care if he’s not a millionaire because of his chill personality. He also mentions how the girls think he’s complex and how he wears clothes from his “Complex” magazine like he’s in a photo shoot. Kid Cudi's love for his city leads him to constantly represent Cleveland throughout this entire verse.
In the second verse of the song, Kid Cudi emphasizes that he always has a smile on, which is similar to a renowned musician, Michael Watt’s style of speaking. He talks about his way of speaking as something that attracts girls to him. He mentions how Cleveland has its own accent, and how he and the girls he talks to are always grooving to music. Kid Cudi also discusses various lifestyles that people live in the city, from selling drugs to provide for their families or selling CDs from the trunk of their cars. In the end, Kid Cudi talks about how his city has shaped him into the person he is today. He hints that the listener can only understand his personality by taking a trip to Cleveland to see where he comes from.
Line by Line Meaning
I come from Cleveland
I was raised and grew up in Cleveland
Ya'll can really hear it now.
Now you can hear the influence of Cleveland in my music
Hit 'em like comic books, Kaboom powpow
My music has a powerful impact, like a comic book explosion
Into a girl's mind spitfineawinedine, I keep two phone, sidekick for bad dimes.
I impress females with my smooth words and keep multiple phones to keep up with them
And a topical question is why I'm so chill, girls don't understand, he aint even made a mill.
People wonder why I'm so laid back, girls think I'm not successful enough
They say I'm complex just like the magazine, I wear my closet complex like a magazine.
People label me as complicated, but my style is just like a magazine
I get in their head, They don't even see my bread.
I get into people's minds and they don't care about my money
Oh so, oh so fly cool as I wanna be, one hell of a guy.
I am extremely confident and cool in my own way
I keep 'em short, sweet, thick and petite, Ridin' alongside in my Cutlass Supreme.
I prefer girls who are short, sweet, and curvy, and I ride in my classic car with them
I'm from a place where old school's are common, gotta explain everytime I'm rhymin' I be.
I come from a place where classic cars are popular, and I have to mention this in my music often
Yup, yeppers smile all the time while, I chop it up like Michael Watt's slow talk style.
I stay positive and talk slow and steady like Michael Watt
So the girlies can really catch all my accent, and the double O got her own accent.
Girls love my unique accent, and my neighborhood has its own distinct accent as well
Some niggas sell drugs to provide for they fam, some niggas sell CD's up out they trunk man.
Some people sell drugs or music to provide for their family
Some niggas they go to school for that higher learnin', I play the O'Jays while I'm turnin' lanes.
Some people go to college for education, I listen to classic music while driving
We be on our shift, freakin' black and milds still controllin' the whip.
We are on our grind, smoking cigars and still driving in control
Aint no city like Cleveland, cruisin' wit my bad bitch in the evenin'.
There is no city like Cleveland, especially cruising with my attractive female companion at night
You wanna know exactly why I'm this way, Take a trip to the land, swing this way.
If you want to understand me completely, experience the culture and environment of Cleveland firsthand
After the song done aint much I can say, Cleveland is my city, city.
I don't need to say much more after this song, Cleveland is simply my city.
Cleveland is that, Cleveland is the, Cleveland is the reason I'm cool.
Cleveland's culture and influence is the reason why I am cool
Cleveland is that, Cleveland is the, Cleveland is the reason I'm leanin'.
Cleveland's impact on my life is the reason I am successful
Cleveland is that, Cleveland is the, Cleveland is the reason I'm cool.
Cleveland's style and attitude is the reason why I am cool
Cleveland is that, Cleveland is the, Cleveland is my my city.
Cleveland is my hometown and the place I am proud to represent
Contributed by Leah Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@KeeyuhM
Damn this song just crossed my mind in 2022
@alvinjperez8007
Bro this shit came out form the deepest part of my memory
@drewtoland6003
Absolute masterpiece
@Omoiyari23
Same haha
@fred_wr153
Ommggggg same
@cbrrider4635
Same
@wattsnottaken1
These kid cudi classics are my childhood who listening in 2023 ❤?
@JSauer21
Come back it's 2024
@snappback18
Wish I can hear this for the first time again.
@misterwilde1251
take shrooms