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.
The Nothing
Kid Cudi Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Someone, anyone give me candy
Mary Mary quite contrary
You're are going to cut it
Scary scary growing weary
Chop chop chop it up cut it
Eerie eerie darkness nearing
Purely, purely there's no curing
Chop chop chop it up cut it
The nothing
The nothing
Chasing something, don't know what
The nothing
The nothing
Moving, moving, darkness moving
Near me sleepless running
Scary scary growing weary
Chop chop chop it up cut it
Clearly, clearly don't come near me
Don't you see what's coming
Fury, fury, there's no curing
Chop chop chop it up cut it
The nothing
The nothing
I'll cut you now
Fucking waste
The lyrics to Kid Cudi's song The Nothing are a portrayal of the artist's struggle with his own inner demons. The opening two lines, "Someone, anyone give me candy, someone, anyone give me candy" portrays his search for something to numb his pain, perhaps drugs or any external source of pleasure that can help him escape the darkness he's living in. The next lines, "Mary Mary quite contrary, You're are going to cut it" symbolize the internal battle that Cudi is fighting with himself. He is addressing himself as "Mary Mary" and warning that he is going to cut this cycle of pain and negativity.
The chorus with the words "The nothing, the nothing, chasing something, don't know what, the nothing, the nothing" represents Cudi's attempt to identify and address his problem. He is running after "something" but doesn't know what it is, and he feels like he's surrounded by "nothingness." The following two verses continue to describe the artist's pain and the darkness that is surrounding him. The repetition of the phrase "Chop chop chop it up cut it" represents a repeated attempt to cut through this darkness and find light.
The last two lines, "I'll cut you now fucking waste," could be seen as a direct attack towards himself, as if he is punishing himself for the pain he is feeling. Overall the song is a raw and painful portrayal of the artist's internal battle with his own mind.
Line by Line Meaning
Someone, anyone give me candy
I need something to make me feel better. I don't care who or what gives it to me, I just need some kind of escape.
Mary Mary quite contrary
The situation is not good, and it's only getting worse.
You're are going to cut it
Things are going to end badly, and there's no way to stop it now.
Scary scary growing weary
I'm frightened by what I see happening, and I'm getting tired of trying to fight it.
Chop chop chop it up cut it
Things may be out of control, but that won't stop me from trying to fix them.
Eerie eerie darkness nearing
I can feel the darkness closing in around me, and I don't know how much longer I can hold out.
No one hears you suffer
I'm suffering silently, and no one seems to care or understand what I'm going through.
Purely, purely there's no curing
This pain is real, and there's no way to make it go away completely. All I can do is try to manage it.
The nothing
I feel completely empty inside, like there's nothing left for me to hold onto or live for.
Chasing something, don't know what
I'm trying to find meaning and purpose in my life, but I don't know where to look or what to look for.
Moving, moving, darkness moving
I can feel the darkness creeping closer, and it's only a matter of time before it consumes me.
Near me sleepless running
I can't sleep because I'm constantly running from my problems and trying to outpace the darkness.
Clearly, clearly don't come near me
I'm scared and defensive, and I don't want anyone to get too close to me and see how vulnerable I really am.
Don't you see what's coming
I can see the darkness approaching, and I wish someone else would notice and help me fight it off.
Fury, fury, there's no curing
I'm angry and frustrated with the situation, and I know there's no easy solution to make it go away.
I'll cut you now
I'm at the end of my rope, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make the pain stop.
Fucking waste
I feel like my life has no value or meaning, and I'm just wasting away in this darkness.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Kid Cudi
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind