Kid Cudi is extending himself to Lil Nas X. For Time’s 100 Most Influential People of 2021 list, published on Wednesday (Sept. 15), Cudi wrote about Lil Nas X and declared his support for the “Industry Baby” artist after the 22-year-old tweeted that Black male rappers aren’t interested in working with him.
“When I saw the tweet about Nas’ album Montero not featuring Black male artists, and he replied that ‘maybe a lot of them just don’t wanna work with me,’ that made me sad,” Cudi wrote. “There’s a homophobic cloud over hip-hop, and he’s going to break that s— down. We have to stand with him. I’m going to do whatever I have to do to let him know — you have my support. When we do our song together, however trippy the video is, let’s get sexy with it.”
After seeing Lil Nas’ tweet, Cudi replied, “N—a I’ll work w u and frolic in rose gardens w u and singin about my pain.” In a follow up tweet, Lil Nas told his followers, “u heard it here first everybody. kid cudi x lil nas for montero deluxe.”
Cudi also gave Lil Nas X props for his fearless nature, and explained that the “Sun Goes Down” rapper reminds him of himself as he was getting started with music.
“Lil Nas X is a new twist on some of the themes I was riding on when I first started out: being true to yourself and not giving a f— what anyone says. What he’s doing is what we need right now,” Cudi wrote. “To have a gay man in hip-hop doing his thing, crushing records — that is huge for us and for Black excellence. The way he’s unafraid to make people uncomfortable is so rock ’n’ roll. He’s a true rock star.”
Lil Nas X’s debut album, Montero, arrives Friday (Sept. 17).
