The artist says he auditioned for a Broadway play after suffering the stroke.
Kid Cudi had quite a scare while in rehab in 2016. The 38-year-old rapper, whose real name is Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi, tells Esquire magazine that he suffered a stroke and was hospitalized just two weeks into his treatment.
In the months following, his speech and movements were slow, according to the magazine. "Everything was f**ked," he says. It wasn't until 2017 when Cudi auditioned for the Broadway play Lobby Hero and read with Michael Cera that he started to feel like himself again. While he didn't get the role, Cudi says the opportunity was enough to get him back out there.
"I proved to myself that I could do it. I needed that at the time. I was happy," he says of memorizing the lines for the audition. "Like, damn, my brain is still strong. I didn’t lose something in that s**t that happened."
In 2016, Cudi entered rehab for “depression and suicidal urges," and shared the news on social media. "It took me awhile to get to this place of commitment, but it is something I have to do for myself, my family, my best friend/daughter and all of you, my fans,” the rapper wrote in an emotional Facebook post. “I am not at peace. I haven't been since you've known me. If I didn't come here, I would've done something to myself.”
Six years later, Cudi is in a good place. "I actually can say, at 38, that I love myself. And I couldn’t have said that six years ago. I can say that with confidence now and truly believe it, and it shows," he tells Esquire.
And while it's not always easy, Cudi says it's important that he publicly acknowledge his struggles with mental health. "It’s a lot of pressure, but it keeps me alive. So I’ll take it. It doesn’t stress me out," he says. "It keeps me thinking, Nah, Scott. You gotta be here. Let old age take you out."
As for what's next for the artist, Cudi doesn't seem himself rapping past 40. "Like, my name is Kid Cudi. It’s different. I’m not Nas. I’m not Jay. These names are legendary, godly, forever young," he explains. "If I felt like I had that ability to be cool all the way to my 40s, 50s, and s**t, I would be like, ’Yeah, I’m rapping to the end, motherf**ka!’ But I just…I don’t know."
Meanwhile, his Entergalactic animated series is set to premiere Sept. 30 on Netflix. In the animated story, Cudi voices the main character, Jabari, and is joined in the voice cast by Jessica Williams, Timothée Chalamet, and more. The project has been in the works for three years and includes a new album, which will be released simultaneously.
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