Kid Cudi says “we have to stand with” Lil Nas X — and we have to agree.
The rapper’s powerful statement of solidarity came in the form of a mini-essay for Time magazine’s annual Time 100, a list of that year’s most influential people. In the blurb, published Wednesday, Cudi offers a rave review of the younger rapper’s ralents, and drops some heavy hints that the pair might soon end up in the studio together.
“I’m going to do whatever I have to do to let him know — you have my support,” the multi-Grammy Award winning rapper wrote, before teasing: “When we do our song together, however trippy the video is, let’s get sexy with it.”
The excitement for a possible collab is definitely mutual; after Cudi tweeted a screenshot of his comments in Time on Wednesday, Nas replied, “we will make the greatest song of all time together.”
Lil Nas X was far from the only LGBTQ+ honoree on the Time 100 this year. Others on the list include civil rights attorney Chase Strangio, Pose star Billy Porter, soccer player Megan Rapinoe, activist Tourmaline, lesbian intellectual Angela Davis, Taiwanese LGBTQ+ advocate Chia Chai-wei, and the perpetually hair bow-wearing Nickelodeon sensation JoJo Siwa.
In his comments for Time, Cudi called Nas X “a new twist on some of the themes I was riding on when I first started out,” lauding the 22-year-old Montero artist both for his creativity and for being an openly queer Black voice in music.
“To have a gay man in hip-hop doing his thing, crushing records — that is huge for us and for Black excellence,” Cudi gushed. “The way he’s unafraid to make people uncomfortable is so rock ’n’ roll. He’s a true rock star.”
Cudi also called out the homophobia Nas X has faced from others in the industry, urging other artists to stand up in solidarity. Referencing a viral tweet that Nas posted on September 1 suggesting Black male rappers “just don’t wanna work with [him],” Cudi said that the reality of Nas’s words was saddening.
“There’s a homophobic cloud over hip-hop, and he’s going to break that shit down,” Cudi said bluntly.
This isn’t the first time Cudi’s expressed enthusiasm for Nas X’s boundary-defying oeuvre. Responding to Nas’s September 1st post via a quote Tweet, Cudi promised to “frolic in rose gardens” with the rising star. Nas jumped on that train immediately: “u heard it here first everybody. kid cudi x lil nas for montero deluxe.”
Montero itself isn’t even out yet — it’s due to drop on Friday, September 17 — but this news has us even more hyped for that deluxe edition, and maybe even some full-on duets down the line. Lil Nas and Kid Cudi drenched in florals, rapping about heartbreak and getting real sexy with it? I’m throwing all my cash directly at my computer screen trying to buy that track but nothing’s happening yet. Someone help.
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