Wonderland.
KID CUDI COVERS WONDERLAND WINTER 2020 ISSUE
“I want people to know that I’m here
for good and that I’ve always wanted
to help people. I have problems and
I’m human, and people know I’ve
been going through it. But we
survive, and I want people to know
that I’m a survivor.”
11 years ago, the world was formally
introduced to Kid Cudi with his debut
album, Man on the Moon: The End of
Day. While there was already a buzz
building around him — both for his
first mixtape A Kid Named Cudi
and his work on Kanye West’s
808s & Heartbreak — no one
had foretold the disruptive impact
the record would have. Living up
to its grandiose title, Man on the
Moon established Scott Mescudi’s
own psychedelic space in the music
industry and, retrospectively,
reshaped the perimeters of rap.
After kickstarting the decade with
follow-up album Man on the Moon II:
The Legend of Mr. Rager, over
the past 10 years we’ve got to
know Mescudi as a multifaceted
artist outside of his output as
Kid Cudi. Musically, he’s evolved
his sound across a number of
records and joined forces with
friends and collaborators, forming
rock-leaning band WZRD with
Dot da Genius in 2010, Kids See
Ghosts with Kanye West in 2018
and THE SCOTTS with Travis
Scott this year — whose
eponymous debut track gave
the artist his first No. 1 single.
After his first on-screen
appearance in 2010’s How to
Make It in America Mescudi
has established himself as an
actor too, most recently
starring in Luca Guadagnino’s
heady coming-of-age series
We Are Who We Are. Reaping
the rewards of the respect he’s
earned in Hollywood, his current
projects include executive
producing Sam Levinson’s
highly-anticipated film Malcolm
& Marie (Zendaya, John David
Washington), a role in Adam
McKay’s Don’t Look Up (alongside
Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence,
Timothée Chalamet), and his
newly-launched production company,
MAD SOLAR.
But first, a full-circle moment to see
out 2020: the long-awaited arrival of
Man on the Moon III. Merging the
signature Kid Cudi sound with new
perspectives both musically and
lyrically, it feels like a fitting bookend
to the trilogy whilst looking firmly
to a new dimension of the Scott
Mescudi universe.
Speaking to his friend and early
album confidant John David Washington,
he speaks about his creative process
for the trilogy and why 2020 finally felt
like the right time to complete it, the
value of feedback from the likes of
Shia LaBeouf and Timothée Chalamet,
and why it ultimately represents his survival.
KID CUDI wears Who Decides Wars
Photography Juan Veloz
Styled by Toni-Blaze Ibekwe
Interview by John David Washington
Introduction by Rosie Byers
US Fashion Market Editor Gorge Villalpando
Grooming by Alexa Hernandez
Cover Design by Olivia Woodgate
Editorial Director Huw Gwyther
Fashion Assistants Bree Bañuelos and Breanna Garibay
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