Kanye West, Kid Cudi Square Off Over Ghostwriting, Drake Collab
UPDATE: Kanye West and Kid Cudi appear to have squashed their beef. “I just wanted to take time out to say Kid Cudi is my brother,” West said at a Houston show Tuesday night (via PItchfork). The rapper called Cudi “the most influential artist of the past 10 years and I hope he’s doing well.”
The relationship between longtime collaborators Kanye West and Kid Cudi appeared to sour on Wednesday after Kid Cudi tweeted that West and Drake “don’t give a fuck about me.” On his Saint Pablo tour in Tampa, Florida later that night, West issued a passionate rebuke from his floating platform: “Don’t ever mention ‘Ye[‘s] name,” he noted. Later he added, “I’m so hurt.” Kanye and Cudi have worked together frequently since the former’s landmark 808s & Heartbreak album in 2008.
Kanye recently confirmed that he was working on a long-rumored mixtape with Drake. Cudi appeared to feel left out of the project, and he took to Twitter to air his grievances. “Everyone thinks they’re soooo great,” he wrote. “Talkin top 5 and be having 30 people write songs for them.” Roughly 30 minutes later, he added, “My tweets apply to who they apply. Ye, Drake, whoever. These niggas dont give a fuck about me. And they aint fuckin with me … Ive been loyal to those who haven’t been to me and that ends now. Now im your threat.”
Everyone thinks they’re soooo great. Talkin top 5 and be having 30 people write songs for them
— The Chosen One (@KidCudi) September 14, 2016
My tweets apply to who they apply. Ye, Drake, whoever. These niggas dont give a fuck about me. And they aint fuckin with me.
— The Chosen One (@KidCudi) September 14, 2016
Kanye offered a scathing retort hours later, firing back while the wounds were still fresh. The rapper stopped a performance of his remix of Chief Keef’s “I Don’t Like” — surely not a coincidence — to declare, “Kid Cudi, don’t never mention ’Ye name. I birthed you.”
“We all dealing with that evil shit all the time,” the rapper continued. “Don’t ever mention ‘Ye name. Don’t try to say who I can do songs with. You mad ‘case I’m doing songs with Drake? Ain’t nobody tellin’ ‘Ye who to do songs with. Respect the God.”
West appeared to be stung, and repeatedly suggested that he and Cudi were on the same side. “I feel so disrespected,” he said. “Kid Cudi, we’re two black men in a racist world. I wore skinny jeans first. I got called names before you, bruh. Why y’all gotta be coming at me? This ain’t the end of the Malcolm X movie. I’m out here fighting for y’all: creatives, artists, independent thinkers. Don’t never mention my name in a bad manner.”
Drake also responded to Cudi’s remarks while onstage in Oakland, California by defending West. “I heard boys were talking down today. Shoutout to my brother Kanye West. We both got sold out shows,” the rapper said, adding, “boy you gettin’ way too high, you need to cud-it,” a reference to O.T. Genasis’ song “Cut It.”
Ye a wild dude. RT @Nigel_D: “Kid Cudi don’t ever mention Ye’s name, I birthed you.” – Kanye West pic.twitter.com/Bcr3jJCdv8
— Chilly D Williams (@BGs_finest) September 15, 2016
Kanye West’s response to Kid Cudi’s tweets at the #SaintPabloTour in Tampa, Florida cc: @TeamKanyeDaily pic.twitter.com/OcCHqbcWPK
— David Bullock (@AlaskasVeryOwn) September 15, 2016
I am the culture.
— The Chosen One (@KidCudi) September 14, 2016
I keep silent because I dont ever wanna come off like some angry hater, but today, not only do I feel fantastic, Im feelin like taking over
— The Chosen One (@KidCudi) September 14, 2016
Niggas keep you close when they see how powerful you are by yourself. When they see your greatness. Out of fear
— The Chosen One (@KidCudi) September 14, 2016
Ive been loyal to those who haven’t been to me and that ends now. Now im your threat.
— The Chosen One (@KidCudi) September 14, 2016
Anybody got a issue with my words im glad. If you feel me, dont be scared to use your voice. I was for so long out of blind loyalty.
— The Chosen One (@KidCudi) September 14, 2016