How Kid Cudi’s Battle With Mental Health Has Helped Me Face My Own Demons

Depression, manic depression, and overall, overwhelming emptiness can be a hard feeling to live with, yet statistically, MILLIONS of us are living with it every single day, and have been for a long time. It is a disease that bears no scars, so people do not always see it as such. If someone finds out you have Cancer, they treat you more gently and tend to feel sorrow and empathy for that person, but for some odd reason people do not look at depression and invisible mental health issues as seriously as they look at other debilitating diseases, even though it IS very much a fatal disease to many. 

In a world where depression is OFT misunderstood, one musician and artist became a huge inspiration to me for his own public battles with his own inner demons. That man’s name is Kid Cudi, and there’s damn good chance that, if you don’t like his music, you are probably not “one of us”, meaning those afflicted with this, because if you were, Kid Cudi would not only be an inspiration for my own struggles but for yours, too.

Why?

Because the man was brave enough to step up and actually talk about it (which 90% of us, famous or not, are too ashamed to do). Now THAT takes true courage, and changing the world for the better is what people in positions of power and authority like him SHOULD do. Celebrities are the new American Gods, after all. Neil Gaiman is spot-on with that shit.

Depression In His Music

Don’t let the astounding success of his Pursuit of Happiness track and sound fool you, his records display a wide and great sphere of musical influence, you can hear his sadness come through, and that even hails back to his first Man on the Moon mixtape. 

Hell, the Man on the Moon track sums up depression and feeling different PERFECTLY, and this was before he had even dropped his first single, technically speaking.

Peep these lyrics:

They can't comprehend
Or even come close to understanding him
I guess if I was borin' they would love me more
Guess if I was simple in the mind
Everything would be fine
Maybe if I was jerk to girls
Instead of being nice and speakin' kind words
Then maybe it would be OK to say then
I wasn't a good guy to begin with
But my mind is all crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy
They got me thinkin I ain't human,
Like I came in from above, above, above, above
Feelin like a airplane in the sky
But then they say I'm crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy
They got me thinkin I ain't human,
Like I came in from above, above, above, above
Feelin' like a bird sittin' high, high….

I BE THAT MAN ON THE MOON.

Right away he set himself apart from the Atypical hip hop crowd by writing a song that focuses on feeling like an outcast and then using that solitude to create something even greater.
Little did I know even at that time, Cudi had been fighting this depression his whole life (Dad killed himself and Cudi discovered the body hanging on the porch as a teenager, my heart goes out to him in that moment, it is unfathomable) and it seems since then, it only got heavier for him, but this wasn’t something he hid. 

He actually started wearing that on his sleeve with the Mr. Solo  Dolo alter-ego he created (there are Solo Dolo songs on almost all Kid Cudi records). Mr. Solo Dolo is the part of him that he uses to protect himself. In his own words, Mr. Solo Dolo “don’t need nobody”, and that is an armor. After losing a best friend and a godfather to suicide myself, it is also something I could completely relate to.

It IS easier to push people away than to risk them getting close and you getting hurt.
Then there was the OTHER persona he created that fully embraced his dark side, which is when things got more dangerous for Cudi, which you can hear in his Man on the Moon II album quite clearly.

That side of him is known as….

Mr. Rager (the Cudi Killer)

As seen in the video above, even Cudi (like most depressed or manic depressive people) feels he has at least two sides to him. Solo Dolo stays out of trouble. Mr. Rager is the trouble. 

At one point, Cudi admitted to spending $10,000.00 on cocaine (and he is a marijuana guy) and at the time, he was just spiralling hard and not giving a fuck. And as you can see from the video above, this was a VERY dark time for Cudi because, as you can see, the “dark side” of him kills the good side in the video, letting us know where he felt he stood, mentally, at the time.
Luckily, he has many personas to lose himself in.

This was at the height of his career, and that fame and level of expectation began to weigh on him and again, caused the singer to birth another side project to let some of that pathos out. 

King Wizard and the Birth of WZRD

He had name-dropped King Wizard before, shouting out his sci fi and fantasy fandom (he loves that shit). This particular side project would be rock oriented (named WZRD, no hint it was a Cudi record at all upon first or second glance) with Cudi playing the guitar and writing all the music with his boy, producer Dot Da Genius.

But if you listen to the WZRD, the sadness started to really come through. As you can see above, he covered Nirvana covering blues-God Lead Belly’s version of Where Did You Sleep Last Night, a very dark song in all aspects. But for me, that wasn’t the red flag that something was wrong. That came via another song on that record.

The song Afflictem, in particular, goes so far as to ask the listener:

What would you do if you heard the news that I was dead?

It is sung  melodically over some lovely acoustic guitar so you almost wouldn’t notice it if you weren’t listening closely, but I knew Kid Cudi’s depression at this point, so the track stood out to me, as did something in the linear notes of the CD. 

(yes, CDs still exist).

It said:

Never Feel Alone. We Are Always Here. Even in Death.

Wow. It became such a heavy-yet-influential thing to me, I hung it over my desk.This is also when I knew Cudi’s issues were getting heavier, and though it saddened me to no end, it also made me feel less alone in my own plight, fighting my own depression since childhood. 

It (men talking about depression) was taboo, it wasn’t something people openly spoke of, yet here he was, and in doing so, each time he made a declaration about his own sad state-of-mind it made me want to be proactive about my own sadness. 

And on some real shit, anyone can rap about “bitches, money, and hoes” but here you have a man skewing those sad tropes to sing about his own emotions. To me that is far ballsier than ripping the mic away from some young girl at an awards show (no offense Kanye, I know you had a rough few years too, bless your fragile soul).

Then Kid Cudi’s Speedin’ Bullet To Heaven album came out, and on sound and name alone, I knew my boy was hitting…

Rock n’ Roll Rock Bottom

I personally think the Speedin’ Bullet to Heaven album is a piece of divine work that transcends genres and shows a man who, though he may have been mentally tortured, was and is at the height of his genius. 

From soft acoustic songs addressing his Dad’s suicide (which he never did before) to screaming rock songs about demons that sound like something Nirvana would have made were they still making music, it was undeniably heavy and it jumped too many genres in the album (punk, rap, rock, chill instrumentals, etc), which it made it difficult for your average person to take to it. But the album was SO raw, the reaction of the “fans” (not me, btw, I am a REAL fan, not one of those fair weather fools) sent Kid Cudi spiralling. 

He canceled the tour to support the album, released a few tweets that got some people worried, and then he took to Facebook and dropped a massive, emotional truth bomb that will forever inspired me to keep going no matter how hard or sad or overwhelming my own life and depression may get. This is called being “woke” for those not in know.

What he wrote, word for word:

Now that, my friends and fellow sufferers, takes bravery. It is one thing to tell a friend or family member or two that you get sad, but to take to social media and tell the world and your ENTIRE fanbase you are basically living in a hell that is your own mind, that takes nuts the size of wrecking-balls. Kid Cudi has wrecking ball sized nuts, depressed or not.

It was at that very moment, though I have been on meds and have let people around me kind of know what is up with me, that I decided there is no more denying what I feel or suffer through. If this man who is famous and loved by millions has the courage to admit that he is depressed and has been as long as he can remember, who am I to suffer alone? It was also, sad to say, commiserating. I felt less alone in that sadness knowing a hero if mine was sometimes swept away by it, too.

The Aftermath

This is the best part. After Kid Cudi got checked out of the hospital, he released a new album, (that is his most hopeful sounding album of all time, Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin’) and he has been in Japan with his on-again, off-again BFF, Kanye West. This was also right after Kanye did the same thing for the same reasons (felt like he was losing his shit, checked himself into hospital) so the two have been in Japan, (photos of them have them looking like they are reborn, having the time of their lives) with the rumor there MAY be a Kanye-Cudi collaboration (their relationship is an article unto itself) album dropping at the end of the year (hinted at by both, validated by none so far) but that shows you, TWO of the biggest acts in music, and they both had to check themselves into a mental health facility to ensure they didn’t hurt themselves.
That is like finding out Superman also gets colds. The next time you have a cold, you would think of Superman and realize, this ain't shit.

Not to say following Kid Cudi’s depression and music means I undermine my own. Quite the opposite, actually. 

It taught me that mental health issues plague almost all of us, and there is no shame to be had in standing up and telling the world that, especially if in admitting it, you get one step closer to gaining control over it, as opposed to IT having control over you.

So thank you, Kid Cudi. I always thought my “solo dolo” thoughts made me a weirdo and I didn’t belong, but you’ve taught me otherwise. It also doesn’t hurt he seems the happiest he has been in years, with that even being reflected in some of his most recent music:

Come to find out, there are millions of us Solo Dolo's, and there is so shame to be had in that (and no shame in seeking comfort in those numbers or seeking out help, either).

At the end of the day, I love Kid Cudi’s music for how eclectic and anthemic it is, but I love the man himself because he is not too scared to let the world know we all bruise, some of us more easily than others.

Keep you head up, Cudi, and we’ll do the same.

Kid Cudi, Mental Illness, And The Bravery It Takes To Share That With The Public

I am sure you were all as crushed by the recent news that Kid Cudi had himself institutionalized for depression and suicidal urges, but we need to step outside ourselves and realize how important and brave this move really was. 

Massive, unyielding, unwavering, props to Scott Mescudi, first and foremost. In a time when rappers shout about the things they own, how big their dick is, and how powerful they are, masking clearly massive insecurities by overcompensating, Kid Cudi comes out and does the bravest thing I have ever seen a musician do. He straight up told his fans he is depressed and has been fighting suicidal urges (on the regs) and needed to stop and get help. This is a huge moment, because we live in a world where, black or white, female or male, we are told to push those feelings down and ignore them and not even talk about them out loud because they are so taboo that they make some people piss themselves. Well, maybe we needed someone like Kid Cudi for this. Someone brave enough to step and up and say out, loud “hey ya’ll, I am sad and cannot fix this on my own” to wake the rest of us up to be just as brave and honest. You know what? I’ve been there, too. Tried to take my own life at 27, razor to my neck. But here I am. Years later, alive and thriving. And you want to know what helped? Ironically, his music helped saved my life because he sung from the rusted soul of a wounded man. Made me realize I wasn’t as alone in that darkness as I thought I was. Now HE is in that same darkness, surrounded. So maybe it is time WE step up and try to do the same thing for him and others like him.

Seems only right. One hand holds another, only to be saved itself, later on by the very same hand it once held. Circle of life shit.

By the way, Cudder = Cudi fan, not a “cutter” who self-harms, just so we are all on same page.

First Off, We Get It (as Much As We Can, Anyway)

To anyone who is a true fan of Kid Cudi’s music, it is there. The torment, the demons, and the pain. I can give examples right off, without even having to listen to anything.

“What would you do if you heard the news that I was dead?”

“All along I knew I was meant to be alone, out here on my own..”

“No one wants a troubled boy, leave alone that troubled boy…”

“Tried it all, I can’t stop this internal bleeding, and my heart is leaking out...and it hurts..”

“My Mom’s calling, think I should hit decline on the face while I’m thinking ‘about suicide.”

Those just being a handful of lyrics taken from varied albums and singles, but the pain was there and it was always palpable to those of us who had a soul. I even tried tweeting at dude once or twice to make sure he was okay, but you know how that world is. You cannot show weakness. Which is what makes his Facebook post and depression declaration even more profound.

For those who may have missed it, here is the post from Kid Cudi’s Facebook page from last week, word-for-word:

It's been difficult for me to find the words to what I'm about to share with you because I feel ashamed. Ashamed to be a leader and hero to so many while admitting I've been living a lie. It took me awhile to get to this place of commitment, but it is something I have to do for myself, my family, my best friend/daughter and all of you, my fans. 
Yesterday I checked myself into rehab for depression and suicidal urges. 
I am not at peace. I haven't been since you've known me. If I didn't come here, I would've done something to myself. I simply am a damaged human swimming in a pool of emotions everyday of my life. There's a raging violent storm inside of my heart at all times. Idk what peace feels like. Idk how to relax. My anxiety and depression have ruled my life for as long as I can remember and I never leave the house because of it. I can't make new friends because of it. I don't trust anyone because of it and I'm tired of being held back in my life. I deserve to have peace. I deserve to be happy and smiling. Why not me? I guess I give so much of myself to others I forgot that I need to show myself some love too. I think I never really knew how. Im scared, im sad, I feel like I let a lot of people down and again, I'm sorry. It's time I fix me. I'm nervous but ima get through this. 
I won't be around to promote much, but the good folks at Republic and my manager Dennis will inform you about upcoming releases. The music videos, album release date etc. The album is still on the way. Promise. I wanted to square away all the business before I got here so I could focus on my recovery.
If all goes well i'll be out in time for ComplexCon and i'll be lookin forward to seeing you all there for high fives and hugs.
Love and light to everyone who has love for me and I am sorry if I let anyone down. I really am sorry. I'll be back, stronger, better. Reborn. I feel like shit, I feel so ashamed. I'm sorry.

I love you,
Scott Mescudi

Wow. Nah man, we love you, on some real shit. You haven’t let anyone down and please stop being so hard on yourself. Maybe that very high standard is what makes you feel sad. Don’t apologize. The only person you owe anything to is yourself, and you taking those steps should not be followed with an apology. We got you, bro. And again, to reiterate, WOW.

That post, my dear friends and fellow Cudders, is bravery. The bravest of the brave. Hell, I tried to take my life years back and my own family hid it from other members of the family so that shows you the shame and taboo that goes along with it. So to step up willingly and use his own words to tell us fans and fam how he feels is some other level shit. It really is. The bravado of hip hop as of late is not bravado at all. Waving a gun and wagging a cock back and forth. Weak shit. This post Cudi wrote to fans was the complete opposite of that. This was that bad dream we all have of showing up at high school or work naked. Yet, Kid Cudi walked into class naked, willingly. You try to tell me that is not brave I will smack your face with a handful of baby powder. Listen to this song Trauma off his Speedin’ Bullet to Heaven (a name that scared me TBH) album and tell me you would not be tormented if you were him:

Anyone can act tough as a shield, but the toughest people alive let us know when they drop to one knee. And hell, if they are an inspiration to you like Kid Cudi is to me, you take a knee too, even if only for a second out of respect.

#YouGoodMan

Had this been anyone else and anyone else in control of their PR you would have gotten some straight “Cudi is drinking a lot and going to rehab a bit” PR release from some soulless agent, and that is NOT what we got. What we got was the exact opposite of that. A naked, exposed soul was letting the world know he was sick of suffering and was going to try and change that (and NOT with the barrel of a gun in his mouth, thankfully). 

Our problem is we see the wrong things as brave now. We really do. Stupid things like people skydiving from outer space and not dying we see as heroic and not stupid (which it REALLY is) and we refuse to recognize when people do truly brave things, like Kid Cudi did here. We put people on pedestals for picking up a piece of trash off the ground to ‘save the earth’, but then don’t say anything to someone who tries to save themselves. What? Even my friends on Facebook who have been institutionalized (I know at least 5) never told anyone outside me and few others. THAT is how taboo it is. Yet here you are talking about a guy who admitted that to one hundred million people on Facebook. How is that not brave? How does that not raise the standard of how we treat ourselves? It is and it does, period, and we owe thanks to Scott Mescudi for that.

In a world where Cudii was surrounded by people who use massive shields of egocentricity to survive and thrive, he chose to lower his shields and be real. The man deserves all the help he needs as well as some serious accolades once he pulls through this. And yes, I said ONCE he pulls through, because I know he will. I know this because the few of us who are actually brave enough to admit they are scared and sad and overwhelmed are the ones who also get saved because they were brave enough to admit that in the first place.

Also, I know the business really well. There is NO WAY his agent wanted him to do that. They would have pushed him to put a spin on it. Drugs, sex addiction, any of those. But HE chose to post what he did to his fans and HE chose to get himself help, and that is what cements Kid Cudi as one of my heroes.

Because he has the balls to reach his own hand in and use his music to pull his fans and fam from the darkness, all whilst admitting that very darkness is swallowing him alive, too. It doesn’t get much braver than that. So I say kudos to Kid Cudi. 

It was brave what you did, and many in life wouldn’t have had the same courage to be as honest as you. May you truly findthe peace in your soul that you deserve, may you realize the impact your music has had on us and helped keep so many of us here, and know, the darkness may be big, but your courage and presence and strenth is bigger, real fucking talk.

You held us up, so like I said, only fair you let us do the same for you now. And remember what you said to me that got me through a sickeningly sad and self destructive period in my own life:

At the end of the day I’m walking with the heart of a lion, the heart of a lion.

It’s true, Scott. You really are, and you got this, dude.

Oh, and thank you for being so brave. That shit isn’t easy. I been there. I will use a favorite proverb here to sum this up and help you see:

You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying overhead, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair.

You, my friend, are preventing just that, and that takes the strongest of all souls. May you find the peace you seek and you may your soul reach a place of contentment it deserves. Because hell, we all deserve peace.  And don’t forget, Cudi, you are Unfuckwittable, and how many people can say that?

Why Kid Cudi Is The (Best and) Last True Punk Rocker Alive

Make no mistakes, punk is not a type of music. It is a lifestyle choice. You can bring up the Sex Pistols and Ramones and yes, I will agree they are punk bands, but it is their attitude and approach to pop music that makes it punk, not the music itself.  While it could be said punk music is four chords of chaos and repeated hooks, punk is not punk if someone who does not carry that mentality with them is playing it. Dylan playing electric at the Newport Folk Festival is a perfect example. Yes, he played his same folky songs he always played back then, but that day, plugging in electric for an audience that viewed electric rock as the death of music was about as punk as you can get. So you see, punk is a lifestyle choice that, IF YOU ARE LUCKY, will bleed into your musical sound as well. It is with that exact thinking in mind that I present to you the simple fact that rapper, musician, and artist Kid Cudi (who is mislabeled as hip hop by all, when he in fact plays every genre) is the last of the Mohicans when it comes to punk. You may disagree now but you will find that harder and harder to do the more you read, so get reading. My point is valid if you are brave enough to give it a chance.

ALWAYS Unable to Labeled

Here is the first thing that separates Kid Cudi from most hip hop artists (and most of music, to be honest). From his very first mixtape, A Kid Named Cudi, he had hinted to us he was not just a rap artist. There was a sort of manic energy to his music that danced between morose and inspiring, hitting every emotion in between on the way.

Maybe the full-on punk hadn’t emerged yet, but there were hints of rebellion masked as a depth most rappers don’t choose to share. Cudi shared it from the start, making him braver, more honest, and hinting at the punk he’d become. Don’t let the softness of the song below throw you off. It cuts deep, a song about being different and feeling like you don’t belong and no one understands you. A song, in essence, about the very things that make someone a “punk”, already cementing my point.

Not a punk ‘song’ by any means, but written from the viewpoint of someone who very much feels isolated and misunderstood. The seeds had been sewed from day one by and for Kid Cudi.

Under the Thumb of Music Execs

This was the point he moved to a major label and the label guys started doing that thing they do when they fuck with your music because they want it to sound a certain way. They were trying all they could to make him a pop artist and hip hop artist, as displayed by his first single, which, while great, did not sum up the man’s sound at all.

But we can look at it as the moment Kid Cudi was officially put on the map, so it is a moment I am still grateful for. I just know now how much he was holding back. They made him act and perform a certain way but he hungered to let his roots be known. Scott Mescudi was not a man raised on just rap or hip hop or anything that made him feel separate or different. He listened to it all and loved it all. He loved science fiction growing up (kind of obsessed, which explains his Man on the Moon persona) and always loved all kinds of music, from alternative to punk to classic rap to modern Kanye (who he has recorded with, written for, and produced. Don’t judge, Kanye is his own article). But the major labels wanted a very specific sound, so he gave it to them, branching whenever he got the chance. His song for the Fright Night remake began to truly show his darker, punk rock roots a little more:

From the hard, crunching guitars that fill it to the yells and yelps he makes throughout the song, that was when the REAL Cudi was beginning to bleed through. This man had a darker spirit than he was being allowed to show us, and it grew more and more hungry the more it was stifled. By the second album, it was all laid out. Hell, with Mr. Rager he straight up made a rock song and the video features his “punk, dark side” killing his pure self. That, my friends, says it all. He was sick of being the peon and wanted to let his dark side out and let his real emotions win for awhile. 

This was it for him. A time to break free.. And he did. 

He Went Rogue

It finally hit him that he had the album he wanted to make with producer and good friend Dot Da Genius (Hey, I never said he was humble, but his name fits) but the kicker was, it was going to be an album inspired by white music. I know that sounds very gentrified, but understand, Cudi liked Nirvana and the Pixies and old Blues artists Lead Belly, and he wanted to make an album that reflected that. So instead of making another Cudi record that sounded too different, he took a chance and formed WZRD with Dot and they made an entire album together that is filled with guitar and crunchy Nirvana-esque riffs and screams and pure power.

And wouldn’t you know it, the album places number one on the college and alternative charts when it drops. Number one, dammit!

BUT (and there is always a but to ruin everything) fans were not as kind. Seems they wanted old Cudi even though anyone with ears and commons sense could tell how happy the WZRD record made him. Hell, at one point I was so confused as to why he didn’t tour the support the WZRD album that I tweeted at Dot and asked him why and I saw he sent it to Cudi with no response. Seemed there may have been label dogs keeping Cudi acting a certain way, which is not uncommon in that nasty business. So what does Cudi drop next? Well honestly, he drops….

One of the Greatest Hip Hop Records of all Time

So next, to really mess with those who think they know the direction he was going, he releases a double album (Indicud)  that is pretty much the pinnacle of good hip hop post 2010. Every single sound was represented on that album, from West to East coast, from 90’s influenced (Wu-Tang, YO) to stuff that sounds like nothing else out there. It really is a remarkable hip hop record.

But even then, the Indicud record hints at who Cudi wanted to be still:

Yes, featuring Father John Misty well before every neckbeard in America was bragging about this guy’s music like they discovered it. But what was to happen next? How was hip hop Cudi going to bridge WZRD Cudi so they could co-exist?
He had a plan, of course. 

Satellite Flight Was the Transition 

It was the record Satellite Flight that Kid Cudi best tried to gel both of the musical worlds he had created together into one thing. Being a huge fan who saw and heard the progression the whole time, I adore the album and its wide variety of moods and songs. But again, fans started to rise up say shit like they wanted “The OLD Cudi” back, and to me, people who said that were always insulting the artist in mention. Saying you want the old version of an artist is saying you want an artist who didn’t evolve or hasn’t grown in any way over a decade. Don’t you understand that would be hell to an artist? Is there a bigger insult than that? That would be stagnation, and no artist in their right mind would allow or perpetuate that. 

So what happened after Satellite Flight (subtitled Journey to Mother Moon)? Easy. Kid Cudi finally said FUCK IT and made the (double) album Cudi wanted. And this is the key moment he became the last true figure representing punk rock in modern music. Because he straight went punk on every level.

He left his label and stopped caring what others thought. Suddenly, out of nowhere, along comes..

Speedin’ Bullet to Heaven (And it Changes Everything)

Can you imagine the size of balls it takes to drop a double album out of the blue that is pretty much, at times acoustic, and at times punk? Well, that is what Cudi did. He switched over to Kanye West’ label (say what you want about the guy, but he let Kid Cudi make the record CUDI wanted, and that also takes balls) and the end result is easily one of the most raw, real, honest, at times heart breaking and at times inspiring records I have ever heard. Speedin’ Bullet to Heaven.

Would YOU have the balls to release a song this raw and honest:

And on the other extreme, how about  releasing a song like THIS:

That song is pure punk and the closest we have come to music like that since Kurt blew his brains out (because of or as a result of his whorish wife). Yet, you know how people reacted to this record, right?

“WAAAAHHHH, Outrage, We Want Cudi To RHYME At Us” Scream the Masses, Cudi Screams Back...F*ck You

To me, those are not fans. A fan would be selfless enough that would want an artist to evolve and explore what feeds the artist creatively. People who whine at bands or artists for changing are not really fans of that artist in the truest sense, to me at least. They are fair weather sheep who want to approach the troth hoping it is full of the same filth they love to gorge themselves on everyday. Kid Cudi got to a point in his life when he no longer wanted to help fill that troth. That, motherfuckers, is pure punk, right down to the soul.

Cudi Is the Last of His Kind

So Cudi did ONE DATE OF THE TOUR and people reacted too harshly he just pulled it and said fuck it. But all of it, everything I just mentioned above, what most people seem to be missing is, it was punk from the start. Everything this guy did, and it finally culminated in a person who still symbolizes what made a whole entire music (and lifestyle) scene be born from. From not giving fucks and doing what YOU want to do, spite what the masses may beg you for.

Keep doing you and the music that feeds your soul, Cudi. The best of us recognize it and see and hear it for what it is. All I need to say about your progression and all you've done is Amen. Ya feel me?

Real recognizes real. We see you, Cudder. We see you and thank you. For amid the music landscape we all have to choose from right now, there is still at least ONE artist staying true to himself, and if you think there is anything more punk than that, you don’t know what punk means.

Remy is the rarest Pokemon of all, and cannot be caught by anyone (even child services). He lives in a velvet cave in the Northeast, and if you say his name three times in a mirror, he appears dressed in assless chaps. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook if you hate yourself enough.