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.
Illusions
Kid Cudi Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(I never wanna leave)
Hallucinating flying through air, all so long
To the demons in my hair
(No more misery)
Hallucinating, flying through air, all so long
Free, free
And I got it, and I got it, and I got it yea
And I got it, and I got it, and I got it
And I got it, and I got it, and I got it yea
I was about thirteen (let's go)
The darkness had me diseased
A young warrior on my own (own)
I chose to take control
They say the light keeps the evil at bay
As it goes right trough my mind
And this beauty is all I can see
Lotta shit making sense lately could it be
These illusions in my hair
(I never wanna leave)
Hallucinating flying through air, all so long
To the demons in my hair
(No more misery)
Hallucinating, flying through air, all so long
Free, free
More more more more more
Around the age of 23
Is when I finaly heard the frequency
And I've been deep in the line of grease
Livin' an electric dream
Trippin' in the warmth of the love all around me
I'm trippin' in the warmth of the sun
These illusions in my hair
(I never wanna leave)
Hallucinating flying through air, all so long
To the demons in my hair
(No more misery)
Hallucinating, flying through air, all so long
Free, free
And I got it, and I got it, and I got it
And I got it, and I got it, and I got it yea
And I got it, and I got it, and I got it
And I got it, and I got it, and I got it yea
Fly, fly, fly, fly, fly, fly, fly (up, up) fly
These illusions in my hair
(I never wanna leave)
Hallucinating flying through air, all so long
To the demons in my hair
(No more misery)
Hallucinating, flying through air, all so long, free, free
The lyrics of Kid Cudi's song ILLusions depict his strong desire to escape from his inner demons, which are causing him misery. He describes his hallucinations and illusions that he almost never wants to leave, as they help him to take control of his mind and overcome the darkness within. The song reveals that the darkness started to take hold of Kid Cudi at a young age of thirteen, and he had to become his own warrior to fight it. However, at the age of twenty-three, he found the "frequency" that helped him to break free from these chains and live an electric dream, surrounded by warmth, love, and light.
The lyrics are an intimate representation of Kid Cudi's struggles with his mental health and his journey towards healing. The line "They say the light keeps the evil at bay" indicates how Cudi has been battling the darkness within him and trying to find a way to keep it at bay. The metaphorical language of "illusions in my hair" and "demons in my hair" explores Cudi's inner experience of mental illness, where his thoughts and emotions become a tangled web that is hard to unravel.
Line by Line Meaning
These illusions in my hair
Referring to the hallucinations and vivid imagery that are affecting the artist's mind
(I never wanna leave)
Expressing how the artist is captivated by these sensations and does not want them to end
Hallucinating flying through air, all so long
Describing the surreal and ongoing experience of being lost in these illusions
To the demons in my hair
Conveying a sense that these sensations are both beautiful and haunting, laced with darker elements
(No more misery)
Suggesting that the artist has perhaps found some form of liberation or release from the negative aspects of these experiences
Free, free
Summing up the feeling of being unburdened and empowered by these illusions and the sense of freedom they bring
And I got it, and I got it, and I got it
Emphasizing the artist's confidence and ownership of this experience
Around the age of 23
Providing context for when this experience began to take shape and have a profound impact on the artist
Is when I finally heard the frequency
Describing a moment of clarity or realization that kicked off this period of intense creative exploration
And I've been deep in the line of grease
Implying that the artist has been fully invested in this creative work and has experienced significant growth as a result
Livin' an electric dream
Suggesting that these experiences have taken on a surreal and fantastical quality, like living in a vivid dream world
Trippin' in the warmth of the love all around me
Describing the overwhelming sense of positivity and connectedness that these illusions bring
I'm trippin' in the warmth of the sun
Metaphorically linking the artist's experience to the warmth and energy of the sun
And I got it, and I got it, and I got it
Reiterating the artist's sense of ownership and control over this experience
Fly, fly, fly, fly, fly, fly, fly (up, up) fly
Echoing the sense of freedom and liberation communicated earlier in the song through a repeated call to "fly"
(No more misery)
Once again emphasizing the sense of release and liberation that the artist has experienced
Free, free
Continuing to capture the theme of liberation and unburdening that runs throughout the song
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Mike Dean, Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind