Last week's Saturday Night Live show was one for the books. For the first time, the great Kid Cudi (Scott Mescudi) was the special guest artist alongside actress Carey Mulligan. A win for many Kid Cudi fans! It was great to see the former G.O.O.D Music rapper gracing the stage and our television performing “Sad People” and “Tequila Shots” from his latest and less impactful album to complete the MOTM trilogy, Man On The Moon 3: The Chosen.
The conversation that sparked the virtual streets was not about his performance on the show or the various skits he did with his biggest fan, Pete Davidson. The sparked controversy came from our beloved Kid Cudi donning a floral OFF-White dress during the second half of his performance. The Twitter streets were buzzing! I was also buzzing with the confusion of the outfit choice since, in his first performance, he was wearing the typical Cudi uniform.
Now, this whole fashion debacle follows the scandalous and scantily video release of Lil Nas X’s “Call Me By Your Name”. Although it is a catchy tune, the video gained positive and negative attention, skyrocketing streams, and circulated think-piece worthy conversation across the masses. In the industry, it is often said that "all press is good press" which is the notion artists and influencers have subscribed to. However, when you are on the caliber of Kid Cudi, should that statement apply?
This is honestly not how I wanted to share my fandom for Cudi since most of you who's reading this know that I am probably his biggest fan. So my intention is not to bash him. Honestly, I intend to share my disappointment towards the underlying message that comes with "dress-gate". Most Cudi fans have several things in common, one of the most popular commonalities is the transparency and IDGAF attitude that Cudi confidently shared with his fans throughout his career. I sought solace in hearing his struggles through lyrics such "I've got some issues that nobody can see and, all of these emotions are pouring out of me, I bring to the light for you, it's only right, this is the soundtrack to my life" or "the lonely stoner seems to free his mind at night".
These were lyrics and the ongoing theme that made Cudi the representative for being okay with not giving a damn about what people think about you. Watching Scott thrive with that attitude empowered others, as well as myself, to walk in that very same attitude. Unfortunately, as time progressed, I felt the careless but successful attitude that Cudi projected to his fans eventually surrendered to the vapid and dense thoughts of others through the vapidest platform, social media. I understand that the dress symbolized the late Kurt Cobain -- which Cudi has openly shared to fans that Cobain is one of his biggest influences but, I'm not sure if I can truly accept that. Not taking anything away from the recognition, but let us talk about the overarching scope of the dress.
As mentioned, I view Kid Cudis' career on the level of Kanye, Big Sean, even Jay-Z. Cudi came out during the initial time of the famous blog era and even outlasted the many acts that arose from that pivotal time in music journalism. And to add, he was co-signed by the great Ye, Yeezy, Kanye to the. What more do you need in a career? Having that kind of leverage and continuous impact stamps as a legend in your own right. When you walk in your legendary status, you don't have to pull mindless, provocative mimics and gimmicks to get the people talking. My disappointment lies within the fact that never did I think I would see the day when Kid Cudi would subscribe to giving a f*ck, and retweet, listen and respond to the fanfare that came from wearing this dress.
Don't get me wrong, this has nothing to do with a man wearing a dress, AT ALL. I could care less about that. It's more about the fact that Kid Cudi acted as if he didn't care about the media, the blogs, and what people think about his decisions and choices while making decisions that will spark attention from said platforms. Oftentimes, we hold artists to a standard that takes away from the fact that they are subjected to human error like ourselves. I viewed Cudi as this representative of how I wanted to be, not realizing that that eventually could fade away or change. Seeing Kid Cudi surrendering to give a fuck was disappointing, to say the least. I didn't want to see him go out like this to gain the traction that he did but I guess that's what comes with not knowing where your legendary status stands in the world of less self-awareness and more social media.
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