A Timeline of Kid Cudi on G.O.O.D. Music

A look back at Mr. Rager's history with Kanye West and the label.

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Image via Complex Original
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He's a noted music industry outsider, but there's one person Kid Cudi has always connected with: Kanye West. After meeting 'Ye at the SoHo BAPE store in the mid-'00s, Cudi aspired to make music like what he heard on College Dropout. He dropped his debut mixtape A Kid Named Cudi in 2008—and West showed up to his release party after hearing the music through Plain Pat.

The two started working together on Jay-Z's The Blueprint 3 and, most notably, Kanye's 808s & Heartbreak. Cudi signed to West's G.O.O.D. Music imprint and began his career with Man On The Moon. Through countless interviews, performances, and a lot of his music, Cudi has professed how important Kanye West has been in both his career, and his life.

Yesterday, Cudi announced that he was leaving G.O.O.D. Music and would focus his efforts on his own label, Wicked Awesome Records. It left fans in shock but Cudi insisted it was all on good terms and that he knew six months ago that he would be leaving. It's been a long ride for Cudi, and Complex has been there for all of it. We look back on Cudi's career and his history with G.O.O.D. Music.

Written by Lauren Nostro (@LAURENcynthia)

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Kid Cudi and Kanye West Meet At The BAPE Store

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Plain Pat Gave Kanye West A Kid Named Cudi and It Caught His Attention

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Kanye West Shows Up To Cudi's A Kid Named Cudi Release Party

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Kanye First Worked With Cudi on The Blueprint 3, Good Ass Job, and 808s & Heartbreak.

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Cudi Signs To G.O.O.D. Music

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Cudi Says Kanye West Understands His Music

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Kanye West Appeared With Cudi on "106 & Park" To Debut "Day 'n' Nite" Video

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G.O.O.D. Music SXSW Showcase at Levi’s/FADER Fort

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Cudi Says He Set The Bar To Be Bigger Than Kanye West

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Kanye West Is Featured Along With Common on Cudi's "Make Her Say"

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Date: July 2009

"Make Her Say" from Cudi's Man on the Moon: The End of Dayfeatures Kanye and Common, as well as stratches from A-Trak, and a sample of the acoustic version of Lady Gaga's "Poker Face." 

via Complex

Kanye West Calls Himself and Cudi The "Originators of The [808s] Style"

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Date:: August 2009

Kanye West gives Cudi the highest credits when asked about 808s & Heartbreak. In a Complex cover story, West says:

"Me and Cudi are the originators of the style, kinda like what Alexander McQueen is to fashion," he says. "Everything else is just Zara and H&M."

via Complex

Common Narrates Cudi's First Album Man on the Moon: The End of Day

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Date: September 2009

The five acts of Cudi's Man on The Moon: The End of Day are all narrated by Common in between tracks.

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Kanye West Is Executive Producer of Cudi's Debut Album Man On The Moon

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Kanye West Appears on Cudi's "Erase Me" on Man On The Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager

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Date: August 2010

The Jim Jonsin produced track "Erase Me" is the lead single from Cudi's Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager with a feature from Kanye West.

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Kid Cudi Is Featured On G.O.O.D. Friday Releases "Good Friday," "Christian Dior Denim Flow," and "The Joy"

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Kid Cudi's Famous "We Don't F**k With You Musically" Quote

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Date: September 2010

Kid Cudi is unfuckwitable. When asked about a Wale lyric referencing him, Cudi goes on a rant about thirsty artists, and how him and Kanye do business. He says:

"I don't even talk about Kanye, and that's my homeboy! They talk about Kanye like they're bosom buddies with this nigga. Talking about "I be in Hawaii"—man, shut the fuck up. Why you got to tell everybody everything? Then people like Wale get mad that 'Ye ain't give him no beats. 'Ye ain't give you no beats because we ain't fucking with your raps.

It's not a conspiracy theory. We don't fuck with you musically, so we're not going to provide music for you. The shit is a service, it's a quality of a certain standard. Niggas are just so thirsty it's ridiculous. I've been eating humble pie forever, and people still call me an asshole.

Cudi goes on to say how he didn't think that "anybody is fucking with what we—me and Kanye—got. Creatively, there's nobody."

via Complex

Kanye West Says Kid Cudi Is His Favorite Artist

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Kanye Recorded Verse for "Wild'n Cuz I'm Young," Got Removed From Album

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Kid Cudi Appears on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy's "Gorgeous"

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Date: November 2010

Cudi rocks the hook on this infectious track off of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy also featuring Raekwon.

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Kid Cudi Appears In Video For Kanye West's "All Of The Lights"

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Dream On Disbands, Cudi Calls Yeezy "A True Friend"

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Kanye West and Cudi Perform "Gorgeous" at SXSW

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Date: March 2011

Kanye West performs at EVO's Power Station SXSW event in 2011 and brings out Pusha-T, Mos Def, Mr. Hudson, Cyhi The Prince, Kid Cudi, John Legend, Jay-Z—and a marching band.

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Cudi Calls His Work With Jay-Z and Kanye West a Brotherhood

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Kanye West and Cudi Perform at Call of Duty XP Event

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Date: September 2011

Kanye West ends Activision's Call of Duty XP event with a full set and appearance from Cudi.

via Complex

Cudi Joins Kanye West and Rihanna For "All Of The Lights" Heineken Red Star Performance

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Cudi Wins Grammy For "All Of The Lights"

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Cudi Voices Support For Pusha T in Beef With Lil Wayne

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Cudi Takes Part in Complex's G.O.O.D. Music Cover

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Date: July 2012

Cudi is featured with the rest of the G.O.O.D. Music crew on the cover of the August/September issue of Complex. When speaking about working with Kanye and the G.O.O.D. Music team, Cudi says:

"With all due respect to what these guys said, I think we're missing the main point, which is that we represent honesty, in all aspects. Ain't nobody fake. Ain't nobody phony. Niggas are who they are. Everybody is who they are around each other. We're real. I'm not in other crews. I don't know how other niggas live, but I know right here that's one of the main things we represent: honesty and realness. You can just hear it in the music. This ain't no cookie-cutter shit.

He went on to say that his time with G.O.O.D. Music is "the only time where I feel like I'm around people that understand me. I felt like an orphan before then."

via Complex & via Complex

Cudi Is featured on Hit-Boy's "Old School Caddy"

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Cudi Joins Big Sean, Hit-Boy, and James Fauntleroy To Perform "Clique" in L.A.

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Date: October 2012

Big Sean performs "Clique" in L.A. at Big Boy's Block Party and brings out Kid Cudi, Hit-Boy and James Fauntleroy to help perform the Cruel Summer track.

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Cudi Has Lead Role in Cruel Summer Film

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Kid Cudi Has One Song, "Creepers," on G.O.O.D. Music's Cruel Summer

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Date: September 2012

Cudi only had one track, "Creepers," on G.O.O.D. Music's Cruel Summer, and it was a track from the days of MOTM2. He told Complex:

"I was a little disappointed. But Kanye had a vision for that. Whatever that vision was didn't include much of me. [Laughs.] I was bummed because I could've contributed. I'm a good asset. But he had a different vision. Everyone that was showcased on the album did their thing and they needed that at that time. The energy was on some hip-hop shit.

I was on WZRD, doing my rock shit. But I'm not tripping. "Creepers" was a jam I was holding onto for a while. It was waiting for that perfect platform and it happened to be great for that album. It would've been dope to have more. I want to apologize to the fans for not having more. But [sings] Ohhhh it ain't my fault. 

via Complex

Cudi Performs After Hit-Boy at SXSW

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Date: March 2013

Following Hit-Boy at this year's SXSW, Cudi starts out by performing tracks off Man on the Moon and WZRD. He goes on to share a new verse.

via Complex

Kanye West, Pusha T, Common Features on "Indicud" Were All Ultimately Cut

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Cudi Leaves G.O.O.D. Music

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Cudi Is Featured Big Sean's Upcoming Album Hall of Fame

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