Kid Cudi spoke openly about a health crisis that forced him to retire from music.
In an interview with Esquire, the rapper revealed that he suffered a stroke two weeks after entering rehab for depression and drug addiction in 2016.
The 38-year-old said he needed to be hospitalized after the stroke affected his speech and movement, telling the outlet that “everything was screwed up”.
After undergoing months of physical rehab, Cudi finally felt like a breakthrough when he auditioned for the Broadway play Lobby Hero with Michael Cera.
The “Mr. Rager” rapper had to memorize a lot of dialogue for the role, which ended up going to another actor. Still, in the end, Cudi felt like a winner himself.
Cudi suffered a stroke in 2016 that led to speech and mobility issues. Getty Images for the Met Museum/
“I’ve proven to myself that I can do it. That’s what I needed at the time,” he told the outlet. “I was happy. Damn, my brain is still strong. I didn’t lose anything.”
In the same interview, the “Pursuit of Happiness” rapper opened up about his ongoing feud with his former girlfriend Kayne West. Cudi said he wanted the “Donda” rapper to be “a grown man” and accept Kim Kardashian’s divorce petition.
“If you can’t be a grown man and deal with losing your wife? That’s not my damn problem. You have to stand up for yourself like every man has in this life,” he said, adding, “I’ve lost women too. And I had to admit it. I don’t need that in my life.”
The rapper says it would take a “miracle” to mend his relationship with West. WireImage
The pair’s feud began last year when Kardashian was dating comedian Pete Davidson — one of Cudi’s good friends.
Given their close friendship, West dropped the rapper – real name Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi – from his album Donda 2.
The decision “pissed off” the “Day ‘N’ Nite” rapper, who claims it would take a “Mother King miracle” for the artists to repair their relationship after it took such a toll on his mental health.
“You know how it feels to wake up one day and look at your social media and be trending because someone is talking stuff about you?” he explained. “And then you got that person’s trolls to message you on Instagram and Twitter? Anything in your comments?”
Cudi has been open about his mental health issues for years. Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
Mescudi has a long history as a mental health advocate — something he’s very proud of.
“It’s a lot of pressure, but it keeps me alive. So I take it. It doesn’t stress me out,” he told the outlet when asked if he ever “tired” of being a mental health spokesperson.
“It makes me think, ‘No, Scott. you have to be here Let age erase you.’”