Movie Review: Kid Cudi’s Documentary “A Man Named Scott”
On Nov. 5 the documentary, A Man Named Scott, was released sharing the rise to fame of rapper and actor Scott Mescudi a.k.a Kid Cudi.
His most vulnerable moments are seen while creating music and how it inspires and gives hope to youth, adults and other art creators. This film captures the love Cudi has for his music and the power it has to create a lasting legacy for future generations to listen to.
Writing was a chance for Cudi to express what he was feeling. His music describes experiences in his life where he has felt lost, clueless, and moments of hopelessness to the point where sucicide was on his mind. As seen in the documentary, at the age of 11 Cudi began writing poems to cope with the passing of his father. At 15, Cudi transitioned to songwriting.
I discovered Cudi through my childhood best friend Perla Salinas. As soon as Pursuit of Happiness comes on or anything by Cudi, Salinas and I would sing at the top of our lungs and dream about our futures striving in New York City. Every time I hear Cudi playing I can hear my best friend’s voice singing with me.
When his music was new to me, it gave me a feeling of hope that I could do more with myself in this big world. Even though I can feel sad at times, Cudi’s music reminds me that we are all human and are still in pursuit of our own happiness. Everything else is only an obstacle to conquer and grow from.
Cudi brought a new form of beats and instrumentals to his music that makes his songs sound gory and creates an atmosphere where it can feel like you are somewhere in the universe floating around in the galaxy. You can feel that vibe in every album he’s created; a few that invoke this feeling are Man On The Moon: The End Of Day; Man On The Moon II: The Legend of Mr.Rager; and Man On The Moon III: The Chosen.
Cudi’s realness in his music and lifestyle connects to people all over the world and has inspired many popular artists in the industry like A$AP Rocky, SchoolBoy Q, Pharallel Williams, Willow Smith, etc. Rapper and friend of Cudi, Kanye West (who goes by the name ‘Ye’ now) says in the film, “That’s the connection that people have with Cudi and pure artists… It’s what we feel. Cudi just does what he feels.”
Cudi is beyond music, he’s an actor, father and a true inspiration for people like me that can be seen as weird or different due to our fashion or lifestyle. In a male-dominated industry, Cudi challenges gender norms by expressing himself through fashion and it’s important to have a role model like him in society for youth and future generations to discover and feel comfortable within themselves.
He has passion and rage in his projects. Cudi knows the value he holds to youth and wants to create something that all people can relate to. Something you can still vibe to while driving around with your homies.
You can stream A Man Named Scott on Amazon prime now.
