Rapper KiD CuDi has spent the last few months in the studio crafting his rock-edged album, Wizard, with producer and friend, Dot Da Genius, under the moniker 2 Be Continuum. And as CuDi prepares to present his new musical style to fans, the genre-bending emcee, who will soon grace the cover of the October/November issue of Complex, recently spoke with the magazine about the inspiration for his new rock sound and why he won’t collaborate with just any artist these days.
In the article, CuDi, who recently began playing the guitar, explains that his love for the instrument as well as the sound for his new album came after he decided to quit his infamous drug habit.
“I always wanted to play guitar. I tried it as a child and failed, tremendously. I tried to play the trumpet, the … clarinet, violin. Back then, when you tried that in school they would want you to read sheet music. It wasn’t about, ‘Can you play by ear?’ I’m not one of those musicians,” he said. “So I picked up the guitar last fall and I started fiddling with it. It came kind of natural to me. I’m not saying that the first time around I was shredding riffs. But I was able to pick it up and pick, and go up and down the neck, and find melodies. I was like, ‘S–t, I want to just make jams with this instrument.’ It was something that I took very seriously.”
CuDi also explained his decision to cut back on providing guest verses to other artists. Despite lending his sound to a slew of artists during his first years in the spotlight, CuDi explains that now, unless it’s Jay-Z or Kanye West, he’s less likely to be generous with his verses.
“I’m not interested in being someone’s look. And that’s what it is nowadays — a look. It’s hard for me to charge people, because I do my stuff for free. I do all my stuff with Jay and Kanye on the house, because it’s a brotherhood. Besides them, I can’t really hit nobody with a fee, because then that’s a dispute. What I want to charge, motherf—ers might not have a budget for!” said CuDi, who recently collaborated with Wale on a new song. “On top of that, it’s a commitment when you do a song with somebody. Like, ‘We need a single, we need the video.’ And then — like I said in the last interview … it’s tough for me to want to bend and be a part of people’s projects.”
The new issue of Complex hits shelves on Oct. 4. –nicholas robinson
