Aug 17, 2022

Kid Cudi Graces Cover of Esquire's September Issue

Introducing Esquire’s September Issue Cover Star: Kid Cudi

In September, he’ll release his tenth album, Entergalactic, accompanied by an animated Netflix series of the same name. Cudi (born Scott Mescudi) considers the show his first significant flex as a producer and creator.

Earlier in the week, as the guest of honor at a Youth Anxiety Center dinner cohosted by Anna Wintour, he spoke about his periods of depression and rehab. His songs are snapshots of his inner turmoil, submerged in hip-hop, rage, electronic, and rock anthems that plot his flight from despair to resplendent self-love. Cudi parlayed this story into a 2021 documentary he executive-produced, A Man Named Scott. Peers (Pharrell Williams, Kanye West) and friends (Shia LaBeouf, Timothée Chalamet) paint him as a hero for young people struggling to attach language to emotions.

"You learn to own up to your madness and be a man. And I had a lot of madness inside me. I was trying to keep that shit deep down and tucked because I had to be the guy that was the savior to millions, and I was still doing shit from when I was young because that’s all I knew. I wish I showed up and had been the man I was supposed to be for Rocky. But I’m going to spend the rest of my life trying to make up for it, whether we’re together or friends, whatever it ends up being. Proving how much she means to me and how important she is in my life—that’s one of the things that I regret that I think about a lot, the fact that I let her down so many times."

— Kid Cudi

Click Here To Read The Entire Cover Story

Writer: Clover Hope

Clover Hope is a Brooklyn-based writer and creative consultant with over 16 years of experience as a journalist, editor, copywriter, and producer, with a focus on music, culture, and entertainment. Hope has written for a range of print and digital publications, including Vibe, Essence, XXL, Elle, Billboard, Wired, The New York Times, Vogue, W, ESPN The Magazine, GQ, Cosmopolitan, Nylon, and Village Voice. For writing services, her clients have included Nike, YouTube, Google, Parkwood Entertainment, Spotify, and MasterClass, among others.

Photographer: Norman Jean Roy

Norman Jean Roy was born in Canada and grew up on Montreal's South Shore. A prominent portrait photographer for the past 15 years, Roy is the winner of numerous awards for his contributions to the world of editorial photography, including honors from the Art Directors Club, Communication Arts, and Photo District News. In 2007, he signed a contract with Conde Nast to shoot exclusively for Vogue, Vanity Fair, Men's Vogue, Allure, and Glamour. Roy resides in Los Angeles.