Kid Cudi Releases Candid Memoir Detailing His Struggles with Addiction and Mental Health

Kid Cudi’s highly anticipated memoir, Cudi: The Memoir, is out today, offering fans an unfiltered look into some of the most painful and personal moments of his life. Known for his openness and deeply emotional music, the Cleveland-born artist has long connected with listeners through themes of vulnerability, mental health, and self-discovery. In his book, however, Cudi goes further than ever before, revealing the darkest chapters of his past.

Speaking in a preview interview with CBS Mornings captured by TMZ, Cudi explained how his cocaine use, while destructive, played a role in keeping him alive during a period when he was suicidal. “That was my life for a while, you know? I was running to the grave and I had a death wish,” he told host Anthony Mason. “I was so dark and suicidal. The success was there, but happiness… I don’t think I felt happy. I think I had a hard time dealing with the fame, and the reason why I was doing cocaine was so I didn’t blow my brains out.”

The memoir includes a harrowing passage about a night when he believed his life might end. Cudi describes consuming more cocaine than ever before and collapsing in his New York apartment, unable to stand. Alone and in emotional turmoil, he spent hours crying while listening to Lykke Li’s “Time Flies” on repeat. “It was a love song, but the melodies and her voice filled me with despair,” he writes. His heart raced to the point where he feared it would burst, forcing him to lie still on the floor until the episode passed.

Cudi’s revelations shed light on how fame did not shield him from inner turmoil. Instead, the pressures of success seemed to intensify his struggles. The memoir underscores the depth of his mental health battles and the role that music and self-expression have played in his survival.

Beyond the book, Cudi is set to release his new album Free on August 22 through Wicked Awesome Records, Republic, and UMG. The 13-track project will arrive without features and includes previously released singles “Grave” and “Neverland.” Given the themes in his memoir, listeners may hear reflections of these experiences in his new music.

Cudi: The Memoir offers a raw, sobering account of survival, addiction, and the ongoing fight for inner peace, adding another layer to Kid Cudi’s legacy as one of hip-hop’s most honest voices.