Shaker Heights native Scott Mescudi has come a long way since the debut of his 2008 mixtape, “A KiD Named CuDi” which launched him to stardom. Earlier this month his silver screen debut, “Need for Speed” pulled in just under $18 million in its premiere weekend at the Box Office after he released his fifth studio effort, “Satellite Flight: The Journey to Mother Moon.” In the midst of all the excitement, Cudi made a trip to his hometown to grace Cleveland State University’s Wolstein Center with the Cud Life experience.
This didn’t happen before his longtime friend, collaborator, and fellow Northeast Ohioan King Chiptook the stage. Chip’s performance was geared towards a crowd opposite to Cudi’s as his set was fueled by raps of growing up “near the exit your mother told you never to get off at” (talking about Eddy Rd. & I-90 on Cleveland’s east side) and shoutouts to some of his friends who later joined him on stage, and various roll calls to see how many true Clevelanders were in the audience before he went on to perform songs from the earlier stages of his career. The crowd answered the call after the DJ dropped “Catch the Beat” and “Fitted” from Chip’s 2007 mixtape titled, “MONEY“. Along with the classics, Chip performed a brand-new crowd captivating unreleased tune. Chip’s set ended with the performance of a 44108 track that Chip claimed anyone from Cleveland can relate to titled, “BLK on BLK.“
After King Chip’s set ended, everyone in the Wolstein was ready for the main attraction. Shortly after 9 p.m, the lights went out and it was time. The curtain dropped over a spaced-out set surrounded by replica moon rocks and a light spectacle fit for a 1970s Rush concert. Cudder exited his on-stage space-cave in full astronaut attire onto the stage to the intro of his latest album, an instrumental titled “Destination: Mother Moon.” After that, he went into the intro of his previously released Indicud album. During Unfuckwittable, it became apparent that we were gonna be in for a Cleveland-based celebration when he let out “IT FEELS SO GOOD TO BE HOOOME” in the middle of the chorus. Next was 2008′s “Down & Out“, after which he went on to shout-out the suburbs of the kids who were in attendance. While kids from Lorain, Solon, Cleveland Heights & Shaker Heights went crazy he then offered a few words of wisdom. “We Ohioans, have this unspoken code that we live by.” “To do right by each other.” It was during this monologue that he revealed he would retire the space suit he’s been wearing on the entire Cud Life tour, dating back to 2013. “Im retiring the space suit here tonight. Its been a good run.” He says. The spacesuit came with a jet pack which Cudi gave away to a fan before the end of the show. Once the monologue was done, he went back into more jams digging into his Man on the Moon II arsenal. Live renditions of“GHOST!” and “Mr. Rager” were then followed up by “Man on the Moon: The Anthem” from his A KiD Named CuDi mixtape. After performing “Going to the Ceremony” and “Satellite Flight” was a medley of songs from early in his career, bringing more of a party vibe. After “Memories“, and “Pursuit of Happiness“, fans demanded an encore and that’s when Kid Cudi came back out to perform “Internal Bleeding.” That’s where the show ended, but not Cudi’s night. After Cudder left stage and the lights turned on, a local anthem began to play from the Wolstein’s speakers, and subsequently I began to lose my mind. CuDi came back out to the performing area during “Cleveland is the Reason“, not to perform the area’s unofficial theme song (which I found devastating, because that’s the one song I REALLY wanted to hear) but to give fans autographed pieces of the stage props that he’d used during the Cud Life tour and to take cell phone pics with the remaining members of the crowd.
On top of the amazing feeling live music already gives most people with a pulse, I felt an overwhelming sense of hometown pride watching CuDi yesterday. “I be letting these mfs in the industry know man, I’m from CLEVELAND” Cudi exclaimed onto the audience. “I’m so proud to be from Cleveland and to be from Ohio” he reminded the audience numerous times. “I dont just wear that Cleveland hat because its a C on it. I’m representing US” Cudi said shortly after briefly wearing the Indians cap an audience member tossed his way. The fact that this was a Kid Cudi homecoming show as opposed to just a Kid Cudi concert is what made this one special for me. Going into the performance I couldn’t tell if I was more excited to see my favorite rapper since the 10th grade, or to hear one of the biggest stars on the planet talk about my hometown, his hometown, our hometown in a very positive light -something we so rarely get to see or hear.
Write-up by: Jordan Smith
Video Shot and Edited By: Connor O'Donnell