Kanye West & Kid Cudi’s Relationship: A Timeline

On April 2, 2013, Cudi announced on Power 106 in Los Angeles that he was no longer under the G.O.O.D. umbrella. “Man, everything is cool,” Cudi said at the time. “Everything is peace with everybody on the label. There’s never been any issues, but I am announcing that I’m no longer on G.O.O.D. Music. And this is something that no one knows, really. I’m no longer on G.O.O.D. Music.”

Cudi went on to clarify that it was a tough decision because he viewed West as a “big brother.” Cudi said that as he broke the news that he wanted to go in his own direction (with Wicked Awesome Records) to West over the phone. Ye got it because he, too, wanted to head in his own direction.

After departing from G.O.O.D. Music, Cudi was surprised to hear his voice on “Guilt Trip,” on West’s 2013 Yeezus album. In an interview with Complex‘s Joe La Puma, Cudi was asked about his subtle “Guilt Trip” outro feature.

“The vocal that I did on that song was a couple years old. I forgot which session it was, but it was just a reference,” Cudi told the publication. “I discovered that I was on the song via Twitter. I saw kids hitting me up, like, ‘Are you on ‘Guilt Trip!?’’ or saying ‘Great job!’ and I’m like, ‘What the f–k is everyone talking about?’ So I go on Twitter and then I hear the song and I’m like, ‘OK. I know the beat. I know the song.’ Then I’m like, ‘Oh man, OK.’ Part of me was flattered, like, it’s kind of cool that he thought of me.

“Then I started thinking about it more. It was like, ‘Why not call me and have me come in there and give it? Why underuse me? Why put four bars of vocals to coax my fans into thinking this is a legitimate Kid Cudi feature on this song and it isn’t?’”

In a Twitter barrage, Kid Cudi chose to hold nothing back. In a string of messages, Cudi went off about discord in the hip-hop scene. Among those he name-dropped was West.

“I need y’all to know I got so many haters within the industry and these clowns know Im bout to crush their entire existence,” Cudi wrote. “Everyone thinks they’re soooo great. Talkin top 5 and be having 30 people write songs for them. Let me tell you something. The days of f–kery are over. The fake ones won’t be lasting too much longer.

“I’m the one they worry about cause they know I don’t give a f–k about the corny shit they do. All my youngins out here reppin, Asap Rocky and the whole ASAP family, Travis Scott, SuperDuper Kyle, Audio Push, Hit Boy, etc, I see y’all. And all u jealous chicken hearted s–ts I see you too. I am the culture.

“I kept silent because I don’t ever wanna come off like some angry hater, but today, not only do I feel fantastic, I’m feelin like taking over. I already have. My tweets apply to who they apply. Ye, Drake, whoever. These n––s don’t give a f–k about me. And they ain’t f–kin’ with me. N––s keep you close when they how powerful you are by yourself. When they see your greatness. Out of fear. I’ve been loyal to those who haven’t been to me and that ends now. Now I’m your threat. Anybody got a issue with my words I’m glad. If you feel me, don’t be scared to use your voice. I was for so long out of blind loyalty.”

While West was performing a show on his Saint Pablo Tour, the rapper addressed the tweets Cudi had let loose earlier that day.

“Do you know how many people wish they could be signed to G.O.O.D. Music?” West told the crowd, according to E!  “Get their life changed, have an opportunity? Never forget that! I am so hurt. I feel so disrespected. Kid Cudi, we are two Black men in a racist world. … Don’t ever mention my name in a bad manner, none of y’all.”

Again while in concert, this time in Houston, West addressed Cudi’s tweets. This time, while on the suspended stage associated with his Saint Pablo Tour, West expressed forgiveness.

“The most important artist of the past 10 years, the most influential, and I hope he’s doing well,” West told the crowd between singing. “I just want to take this time out to say Kid Cudi is my brother … The most influential artist of the past 10 years?“

A few weeks later, Cudi joined West in Sacramento, Calif., to perform “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1.” This came shortly after Cudi had gone to rehab for depression and suicidal urges, as he announced on Facebook on Oct. 4, 2016. Cudi’s first performance since leaving rehab came a couple weeks before he joined West at ComplexCon, on Nov. 6, 2016.

In Sacramento on Nov. 20, “Father Stretch My Hands” was one of only three songs West played at the show before abruptly leaving. He then canceled the rest of his Saint Pablo Tour before being hospitalized for his own plights with mental health.

A little over a year later, Ye performed for the first time since his show in Sacramento. Just as West gave Cudi a stage to return to after Cudi’s personal grief, Cudi helped Kanye reintroduce himself following a lengthy public absence. West joined Cudi in his native Chicago to again perform “Father Stretch My Hands,” only this time, as part of Cudi’s Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin’ tour.

After announcing the upcoming release of his own seven-song album on Twitter, West sent the Twittersphere in a frenzy by also adding that Kids See Ghost, the title of his group and joint effort with Kid Cudi, would be arriving June 8.

Kim Kardashian set the internet ablaze on Jan. 31, 2019, when she posted photos of Kanye, Kid Cudi, Pete Davidson and Timothée Chalamet having dinner together at Nobu Malibu for Cudi’s 35th birthday.

The photos quickly went viral, and Davidson, who was then dating the reality star, later revealed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon that he paid the bill for the expensive dinner.

“Just so everyone knows Cudi will not be on Donda because he’s friends with you know who,” Ye wrote in a since-deleted note posted to Instagram in which he tagged both Cudi and ex-wife Kardashian, and alluding to Davidson, her then beau.

Cudi responded to Ye by writing in the comments: “Too bad I dont wanna be on ur album u f—kin dinosaur hahaha. everyone knows ive been the best thing about ur albums since i met u. Ima pray for you brother.”

“The Scotts” rapper then took to Twitter, writing: “We talked weeks ago about this. You’re whack for flipping the script and posting this lie just for a look on the internet. You ain’t no friend. BYE.” In another tweet, he added: “God opens the door so the wrong people can exit ur life.”

The exchange didn’t end there. The next day, Ye took to Instagram again, expanding on his earlier statement. In the now-deleted post, he wrote, “THE REASON I ASKED CUDI TO AT THE LEAST SPEAK TO SKETE IS BECAUSE FOR YEARS CUDI ALWAYS MADE IT SEEM LIKE IT WAS ME AND HIM AGAINST EVERYONE NOW THAT IM FIGHTING FOR MY FAMILY HE NOT BY MY SIDE THIS IS BIGGER THAN MUSIC.”

The rapper was referencing Cudi’s friendship with his ex-wife’s then boyfriend, SNL star Davidson. In a second post, he explained, “I WOULD HAVE NEVER ASKED FOR THE LOYALTY IF IT WAS NEVER OFFERED AND I FOUND A COOL PICTURE CAUSE I LOVE CUDI AND ALWAYS WILL BUT DONDA2 IS ABOUT RUNNING BACK IN THAT BURNING HOUSE I RESPECT NOT EVERYONE GONNA BE READY FOR THE SMOKE.”

As news spread that Cudi would appear on Pusha T’s album It’s Almost Dry, he tweeted about the track — “Rock N Roll” — he’s featured on with West to clear up the status of his relationship with the “Hurricane” rapper. “Hey! So I know some of you heard about the song I got w Pusha,” Cudi tweeted. “I did this song a year ago when I was still cool w Kanye. I am not cool w that man. He’s not my friend and I only cleared the song for Pusha cuz thats my guy. This is the last song u will hear me on w Kanye.”

In his Esquire cover story, Cudi revealed that he has come to peace with cutting ties and moving on from what he describes as a toxic, mostly one-sided relationship. “I’ve been on every one of that man’s albums. He’s only been on two of mine. That should tell you something,” Cudi said of Ye. “And don’t think I didn’t ask.”

Cudi also discussed their online feud earlier in the year. “Do you know how it feels to wake up one day, look at your social media, and you’re trending because somebody’s talking some s–t about you?” he said. “And then you got this person’s trolls sending you messages on Instagram and Twitter? All in your comments? That s–t pissed me off. That he had the power to f–k with me that week. That he used his power to f–k with me. That pissed me off … You f—ing with my mental health now, bro.”

Cudi said he’s at a point in his life now where he has “zero tolerance for wrong energies,” noting that he’s watched “so many people” over the years who were close to Ye get burned by him doing some “f—ed up s–t… and then they turn around and forgive him. And there’s no repercussions. You’re back cool with this man. He does it over and over.”

The conversation then got personal, with Cudi directly addressing Ye and excoriating the MC who he said was launching attacks over something that had nothing to do with him. “I’m not one of your kids. I’m not Kim. It don’t matter if I’m friends with Pete or not friends with Pete,” Cudi told the magazine. “None of this s–t had anything to do with me. If you can’t be a grown man and deal with the fact that you lost your woman? That’s not my f–king problem. You need to own up to your s–t like every man in this life has. I’ve lost women, too. And I’ve had to own up to it. I don’t need that in my life. I don’t need it.”

However, it’s not a simple friends or not-friends situation, with Cudi adding that the “twisted thing” is that he still loves Ye. “But I love [him] so much that I can kick you the f–k out of my life and be done with your a–. ‘Cause you are not good for me … I didn’t love myself all them years you knew me. I love myself more now, bro. I love myself way more.”

Kid Cudi and Ye were reportedly spotted hugging it out at a Vultures listening party, signaling they were back on good terms after over a year of turmoil. West even previewed “Gun to My Head” at the Las Vegas party featuring an assist from Cudi, which eventually landed on Vultures 2 later in 2024.

Cudi pulled up to Apple Music for an interview with Zane Lowe in support of his Insano project, during which he revealed West sincerely apologized to him. Cudi showed Ye a ton of love in the interview, calling Yeezy his “family.”

“It’s like friendships. Really, it’s beyond friendship. It’s about when it’s brotherly, sisterly s–t, family s–t. It’s just a little bit more complicated,” Cudi said. “And siblings hurt you the most. So you go through things, but family is always there. You don’t give up on family.”

He added: “This is someone who is my brother, ultimately, who came into my life, and championed me, and did things for me that nobody else did for me early on in my career. People don’t even know that Kanye paid for the first ‘Day ‘N’ Nite’ video when I didn’t have a deal.”

Cudi explained that the apologies from West are few and far between, so he respected the move.

“He’s said some things that he might not be able to come back from in a lot of realms, in a lot of spaces, from certain people,” Cudi continued. “But we grow, and I pray for him, and that’s my brother. And the reason why we became cool again is because he apologized to me, and it was sincere. I was just like, ‘Wow, Kanye does not apologize to anybody [or] say sorry to anyone.’”

Kanye extended an olive branch to Cudi to help end their rift by posting a screenshot on Instagram Stories of himself listening to Insano cut “ELECTROWAVEBABY,” which landed on Cudi’s new album.

Ye and Ty Dolla $ign released their Vultures 2 sequel, which featured a deluxe edition available on the Yeezy website that included the Kid Cudi-assisted “Gun to My Head” collaboration. However, Cudi had no idea at the time that West intended to release it.

“It’s tasty. Hope Ye drops that one day,” Cudi wrote on X before fans let him know that it was already out. He added: “Where??? I wanna hear I forgot what it sounds like I only heard it once since I recorded it when he played it that one time at the listening event.”

Kid Cudi spoke on CBS Mornings about his and Ye’s broken friendship. “It’s a sad thing,” Cudi explained. “The freedom we experienced when we were creating, it will just never happen again, and that’s just the heartbreaking side of things.”

Cudi admitted he’s been heartbroken by West in the past on numerous occasions and hated West’s comments specifically about Virgil Abloh following the Off-White designer’s passing in 2021.

“There’s no coming back from that, man,” Cudi continued. “I’m done with you. And it breaks my heart because I loved Kanye. I really loved him. He was part of my life changing and at some point, he was a really good friend, but the man that he has become … I just don’t know that guy anymore.”

Kid Cudi kicked off his Rebel Ragers Tour in Phoenix and ended the opening night with an olive branch for Ye, which saw him perform their Kids See Ghost standout “Reborn.”

“This one’s for Ye,” Cudi told the crowd before instructing, “We gotta sing this loud so Ye can hear you!”