Are Michael Jackson’s albums “just” music to you? It feels preposterous to suggest that MJ is anything short of iconic. His run from Off The Wall to Thriller to Bad to Dangerous only rivals fellow greats like Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and Prince. Sometimes, when the music is as strong as his, you don’t have to do a million other things to supplement the talent. Moreover, the King of Pop was a visionary in visuals and performance. So when Kid Cudi recently attempted to downplay Michael Jackson’s ironclad resume, chaos ensued.
Recently, the Man on the Moon crooner posted (and eventually deleted) that Michael Jackson was, in fact, the greatest of all time. However, he also described him as “just music,” and emphasized his desire to surpass that standard. Kid Cudi said that he wanted to be known across all forms of art: music, film, fashion. The Cleveland artist wants his hands in all of it.
“Michael was the greatest, but he was just music,” Cudi wrote. “I’m thinkin more than music. I wanna be known as one of the greatest becuz of my range creatively in the arts. Music, visual arts (painting), fashion, directing, acting, etc.”
Kid Cudi Downplays Michael Jackson’s Legacy to Prop Up His Own Legacy
To Cudi’s credit, he has spread his wings into other creative avenues. Obviously, he has a massive legion of fans and was an early advocate for rapping about mental health like Scarface. Complex just named his 2009 album, Man on the Moon: The End of Day, as the 28th greatest rap album of the 21st century. So, his musical legacy speaks for itself.
Additionally, he’s done his fair share of acting in TV shows like HBO’s How to Make It in America and Luca Guadagnino’s film, We Are Who We Are. Nowadays, Kid Cudi is trying his hand at writing and directing for his Netflix debut, Teddy, announced in 2022. Add that to his penchants for fashion and modeling, and there’s no shortage of creative avenues. But in our opinion, he didn’t need to put down Michael Jackson’s legacy to celebrate his own.
While Cudi is pursuing other ventures, don’t expect him to provide any features in the meantime. Back in August, he posted on X that he didn’t want any collaborations unless it felt natural and authentic. “No features, just me. I think im over features unless it happens organically,” Kid Cudi wrote. “Theres people ive had on my albums that i havent talked to in years. Didnt promote the album, just went ghost. Makes me feel weird. So w this one, I was like, f*** that. I dont need anyone else on this one.”
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