Kid Cudi, the American rapper, has defended his decision to reunite with Kanye West, saying the rapper “apologised and it was sincere” following years of conflict and controversy over his antisemitic outbursts.
Cudi reunited with West on Friday night during the latter’s concert in Chicago, marking their first joint performance in seven years. The pair performed “Father Stretch My Hands, Pt. 1,” “Ghost Town” and “Pursuit of Happiness” to close the show.
The reunion came after the rappers publicly fell out in 2022, when West removed Cudi’s contributions from his album “Donda 2”. Their dispute was linked to West’s frustration over Cudi’s friendship with Pete Davidson, who was dating West’s former wife, Kim Kardashian, at the time.
Kid Cudi recalls their past feud
Cudi had previously expressed strong feelings about their fallout. In an Esquire interview, he said: “With all due respect, I’m not Drake, who’s about to take a picture with him next week and be friends again, and their beef is squashed. That’s not me. What I say, I mean. I will be done with you. It’s gonna take a motherfucking miracle for me and that man to be friends again. I don’t see it happening.”
However, Cudi appeared to have changed his stance following his reunion with West.
Responding to radio DJ Peter Rosenberg on X on Saturday, Cudi defended his relationship with West and explained why he chose to perform alongside him despite his past controversies.
“I understand ur frustration, Peter; I fucks w u, but I don’t really care if ur disappointed in me. That man is my brother. U don’t have a relationship w him as I do. Damn near 2 decades of art and friendship. U not family. So I get it. I’ve been around Ye, and I can honestly say talking to him now is how it used to be when I first signed to him, but even better. He was dealing with mental health struggles for years, and now he’s good. Everyone deserves some grace when they’re family. I was the hardest on him out of anybody. I held him accountable. He apologised, and it was sincere. But as I said, you’re not family, so I get it.”
West faced backlash over antisemitic remarks
West’s career has faced significant backlash following a series of antisemitic remarks, including his praise of Adolf Hitler and denial of the Holocaust. Earlier this year, he published an apology in the Wall Street Journal and attributed his controversial outbursts to manic episodes.
Cudi and West previously collaborated on the 2018 album “Kids See Ghosts” and performed together at Coachella the following year
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