Kid Cudi Tries Stand Up Comedy & Hip-Hop Is Watching

Kid Cudi quietly stepped into stand up comedy, and the timing, the trauma, and the untold stories make this pivot impossible to ignore.

Kid Cudi and comedy? Hip-Hop is forever allergic to staying in its lane. We have T.I. over there doing his thing. Now, the artist formerly known for emo rap, moonwalking and humming his feelings now has a mission to make people laugh. If this keeps up, T.I. might have to slide his throne over a few inches.

Cudi popping up as a stand up comic feels random until you think about it for more than five seconds. This is a guy whose entire career has been built on personal discomfort, honesty, and also saying the quiet parts out loud. He was a hero of the misfits. That makes comedy an interesting proposition. According to his own Instagram, he just wrapped his very first comedy set, called it a lot of fun, and said he did a good job. I believe him. Not because I was there, but because Cudi has been living in awkward truths for two decades and awkward truths are comedy gold.

Here’s what he had to say:

“Hearing people laughing their a#### off and enjoying my set really touched my heart I was maaaaad nervous, this was another type of nervousness I hadnt felt before. The high I felt when I got off stage, never felt that before either. I wanna say to everyone that showed love, all my friends that showed up and all the other comics on the bill that supported me and were rooting for me, THANK U SO F#CKIN MUCH!!!”

What makes this moment extra spicy is the timing. Cudi was just in the headlines after an incident involving Sean “Diddy” Combs that allegedly included a firebombed car. That alone is a five minute opener if he ever decides to go full scorched earth…comedically. Then there is the music industry trauma, the fame whiplash, and even Kanye West. That is a lot of lived experience. Imagine the punchlines? I’m thinking Ali or Mike Tyson.

Kid Cudi has been the depressed loner…but forever? EH. He’s evolved publicly. Comedy feels like another chapter to me. As for inspiration, nobody knows. My quiet suspicion points toward Dave Chappelle, but that is pure conjecture. Cudi has not said a word. For now, we just know this. Hip-Hop comedy just got a new player.

Here’s what he posted:

Related