Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi aka Kid Cudi, is definitely a product of being exposed to mid-west hip-hop crews such as Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. He too is from Ohio and born to two educators: a Mexican-Native American father and African-American mother.
In an video interview Kid Cudi was asked about an alter ego he created named Juan Pablo. He shares his reasons for creating this alter ego:
Cudi explained that because he is black and Mexican, Juan Pablo is a character he created to resemble his Mexican roots. Scott (as I still like to call him) demonstrated Juan Pablo's Mexican accent as he said, "My swagga on a hundred thousand trillion, you can't say anything to me."
Meanwhile, he still hadn't caught on that I was the one who had revealed his secret!
"He's got swag, but he's so silly," he told Tim. "But people just let him do his thing, because he has so much confidence in himself."
Check out the video below. It's clear that there is some examination into identity through this "alter ego" and a performance of "Latinidad"/Mexican identity. I wonder if Kid Cudi would identify as "Chicano" or "Xicano."
I read an interview with him where he stated that he thinks hip-hop has evolved to lyrics being more simplistic, which I read as more accessible. He states:
Q
. On the track "Man on the Moon,” you say there’s no point in dense lyrics. Why’s that?
A. If you make it too complicated, people sometimes don’t catch it. If you make it too deep, people don’t catch it. The only way you can win is if you simplify it. Motherfuckers that wanna actually spit the real shit and make it intriguing don’t get props for it.
Q. So the way that Jay does it isn’t worth it?
A. Jay-Z came from a time when lyrics mattered. People still care and lend an ear to what Jay-Z has to say. A new n****, people ain’t really going to be that receptive.
foto credit: http://bit.ly/cINJue and i'm very happy to have found a foto of him smiling!
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