Kid Cudi

Hip hop hasn't been underground for 20 years, but underground hip hop is still emerging. There's local hustlers and regional scenes and then there's artists who are just "out there". Or, as Kid Cudi describes himself "in my own zone, alone."

Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Kid Cudi (Scott Mescudi) has been compared to Chromeo and fellow label mate Kid Sister but it's his association with Kanye West, on whose most recent record he appears, that best gets at his potential. Like Kanye, the 23 year-old Kid Cudi is brave enough to rap romantic over electro and talented enough to pull it off.

Comparing himself to the popular but bizarre 1970s comedian Andy Kaufman, Kid Cudi boasts he wants to bring his listeners along to some "next level shit". He's succeeding. With the pensive Day 'n' Night, Kid Cudi became a national and then international attraction. On his latest, Spazzin' Freestyle, he moves so quickly you hardly notice when a bed of drum & bass suddenly gives way to a syrupy house chorus. It's the kind of song you have to play twice to get but only once to enjoy.

As ambitious as he is organized, he's now simultaneously promoting his forthcoming debut – "[t]his will be the most magnificent album that people will hear for some time" – while making a play for the movies – "I gotta keep it under wraps for now, but it’s a big deal."

see: myspace.com/kidcudi