It's hard to believe that Kid Cudi is only turning 29, especially after the last few tumultuous years he's been through. Having only released one critically acclaimed mixtape, the Cleveland rapper shot to fame and got signed to G.O.O.D Music by Kanye West. He's been on a phenomenal rise, having released two albums that have had fans and critics drooling over them. The rapper has since struggled with depression, drugs, but is is now back to his best, releasing Indicud, his third album, this year. Kid Cudi turns 29 today and HNHH has decided to break down his 30 best tracks .
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It's Yo Birthday: 30 Best Kid Cudi Tracks
30. Paper Planes (Freestyle) (2007)
Stoner Charm
Spitting lyrical wit over the 2007 summer smash hit, Kid Cudi released this on his unofficial mixtape, grabbing the attention of the likes of Plain Pat and Emile.
Give The Drummer Some
It's Yo Birthday: 30 Best Kid Cudi Tracks
29. Cool Head (feat. Kid Cudi) (2011)
Give The Drummer Some
With Travis Barker backing him with some eerie drums, Cudi is in his element.
Man On The Moon II: The Legend of Mr.Rager
It's Yo Birthday: 30 Best Kid Cudi Tracks
28. All Along (2010)
Man On The Moon II: The Legend of Mr.Rager
Throughout the album, Cudi lets fly with emotional lyrics, none more so evident than in this song when he talks about being alone forever in this drug-induced state of mind.
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It's Yo Birthday: 30 Best Kid Cudi Tracks
27. Creepers (2012)
Cruel Summer
Kanye let G.O.O.D Music affiliate Cudder take full creative control with this song and he didn't disappoint, making for one of the better songs on the album.
Man On The Moon
It's Yo Birthday: 30 Best Kid Cudi Tracks
26. Sky Might Fall (2009)
Man On The Moon
A thematic album, this song marks the lonely stoner's arduous task of facing his nightmares and fears and how he has to deal with it.
Stoner Charm
It's Yo Birthday: 30 Best Kid Cudi Tracks
25. Love Stoned (2007)
Stoner Charm
This song gave him exposure to a lot of label heads as well as expanding his already present underground fanbase, as he spit vicious lines over J.T's original song.
A Kid Named Cudi
It's Yo Birthday: 30 Best Kid Cudi Tracks
24. Embrace The Martian (2008)
A Kid Named Cudi
This song explained to his listeners how and why Kid Cudi thinks of himself as a being from another world, adding himself to the long list of rappers who have identified as aliens.
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It's Yo Birthday: 30 Best Kid Cudi Tracks
23. Mojo So Dope (2010)
Man On The Moon II: The Legend of Mr.Rager
Cudi addresses his depression, the drugs and alcohol he used to cope with it, and how he now lives through his music.
Man On The Moon II: The Legend of Mr.Rager
It's Yo Birthday: 30 Best Kid Cudi Tracks
22. REVOFEV (2010)
Man On The Moon II: The Legend of Mr.Rager
The second single off the album, it became an instant classic. Sounding a lot like Pink Floyd, Cudi addresses the kids and tells them not to stress.
Man On the Moon
It's Yo Birthday: 30 Best Kid Cudi Tracks
21. Solo Dolo (2009)
Man On the Moon
One of the primary themes in this album is how Cudi escapes reality through his dreams and this song primarily focuses on that.
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It's Yo Birthday: 30 Best Kid Cudi Tracks
20. Cudi Get (2008)
A Kid Named Cudi
Sampling J.Dilla's "Wild," this track is one of the stand-out ones from Cudi's first and only official mixtape.
A Kid Named Cudi
It's Yo Birthday: 30 Best Kid Cudi Tracks
19. Maui Wowie (2008)
A Kid Named Cudi
Everyone knows Kid Cudi is a stoner. He reiterates this by spitting a track about a certain brand of weed that's grown in Hawaii. Now that's dedication.
A Kid Named Cudi
It's Yo Birthday: 30 Best Kid Cudi Tracks
18. Man on The Moon (The Anthem) (2008)
A Kid Named Cudi
Many call this Cudi's best ever work and rightfully so as it shows off the genius he had as a young rapper trying to make it big in a world that didn't understand him.
Man On the Moon
It's Yo Birthday: 30 Best Kid Cudi Tracks
17. Alive (feat. Ratatat) (2009)
Man On the Moon
Collaborating with instrumental duo, Ratatat, Cudi explains how he's only himself at night: a beast. An introspective track, it's also one of the best collaborations he's done.
Man On The Moon II: The Legend of Mr.Rager
It's Yo Birthday: 30 Best Kid Cudi Tracks
16. Marijuana (2010)
Man On The Moon II: The Legend of Mr.Rager
Every rapper tends to do a track about the sticky icky and for perennial stoner Cudi, it's no different. He even ends the song with a "Ah! 4/20."
A Kid Named Cudi
It's Yo Birthday: 30 Best Kid Cudi Tracks
15. Heaven At Nite (2008)
A Kid Named Cudi
Close your eyes and listen to this after you've smoked one as Cudi discusses what his personal Heaven would look like as he takes you on a journey through his imagination.
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It's Yo Birthday: 30 Best Kid Cudi Tracks
14. Down & Out (2008)
A Kid Named Cudi
Sampling Outkast's "Chonkyfire," this track is the first off his critically acclaimed mixtape and it's straight hype.
Man On the Moon
It's Yo Birthday: 30 Best Kid Cudi Tracks
13. Cudi Zone (2009)
Man On the Moon
Rapping about who he is, this is Cudi at his strongest. The lyricism here shows why Cudi is such a well-respected rapper these days.
Man On the Moon: The Legend of Mr.Rager
It's Yo Birthday: 30 Best Kid Cudi Tracks
12. MANIAC (feat. CAGE & St.Vincent)(2010)
Man On the Moon: The Legend of Mr.Rager
After his cocaine addiction, Kid Cudi had to explore his mental state and did so with aplomb by figuring out the darker sides of his personality and discuss it on this standout track from his sophomore album.
A Kid Named Cudi
It's Yo Birthday: 30 Best Kid Cudi Tracks
11. The Prayer (2008)
A Kid Named Cudi
Sampling Band of Horses' "Funeral," this is easily Cudi's most underrated track. Discussing how he's trying to leave a legacy behind after he's done, he also spits lines like "my mind racing/I can't catch it/Even if I got a head start."
Man On the Moon
It's Yo Birthday: 30 Best Kid Cudi Tracks
10. Make Her Say (feat. Kanye West & Common) (2010)
Man On the Moon
The lead single from his debut album had Kanye and Common spitting verses that were on-par with debutant Cudi's great first verse— all over a Lady Gaga sample.
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It's Yo Birthday: 30 Best Kid Cudi Tracks
09. Cudderisback (2010
A silly, simple freestyle Cudi put together while on tour went on to become one of his best tracks.
Man On The Moon
It's Yo Birthday: 30 Best Kid Cudi Tracks
08. Up, Up And Away (2009)
Man On The Moon
Yet another stoner track, this time it's about how Cudi loves to wake and bake every day.
Man On The Moon
It's Yo Birthday: 30 Best Kid Cudi Tracks
07. Simple As (2009)
Man On The Moon
Cudi breaks himself down in the simplest way possible: He likes weed, girls, rapping, and is a tormented being that thinks no one understands him. Done.
A Kid Named Cudi
It's Yo Birthday: 30 Best Kid Cudi Tracks
06. Cleveland Is the Reason (2008)
A Kid Named Cudi
Expressing the love he has for his hometown, Cleveland, Ohio, this track does more than that as with one of his trippiest hooks, it became a song bigger than the city of Cleveland itself.
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It's Yo Birthday: 30 Best Kid Cudi Tracks
05. Hyyerr feat Chip Tha Ripper (2009)
Man On The Moon
Just another song about smoking weed but quite possibly his best track on the subject.
Man On the Moon
It's Yo Birthday: 30 Best Kid Cudi Tracks
04. Day n Nite (2009)
Man On the Moon
Possibly the track that brought him the most attention as it was remixed countless times, most notably by Crookers, which he went on to use as the official single.
Man On the Moon
It's Yo Birthday: 30 Best Kid Cudi Tracks
03. Soundtrack 2 My Life (2009)
Man On the Moon
Cudi breaks down his life in a dope autobiographical song. He talks about the problems he had growing up,the death of his father, his on-set depression, and the work ethic of his mother.
Man On the Moon
It's Yo Birthday: 30 Best Kid Cudi Tracks
02. Pursuit of Happiness (2009)
Man On the Moon
The track starts off seeming like yet another superficial party song but as it goes on it takes a more introspective turn, as Cudder talks about how this superficial life he's leading is empty and he wants a more fulfilling one. Phenomenal track.
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It's Yo Birthday: 30 Best Kid Cudi Tracks
01. GHOST! (2010)
Man On The Moon: The Legend of Mr.Rager
Complex Magazine said this song changed music. More than that, it changed Cudi. He talks about how a boy becomes a man. He discusses how after a man's dealt with the things he has, he's numb, cold, empty: a Ghost.
