Doing features nowadays isn’t nearly as romantic as it used to be. There used to be stories of how artists would come together in the studio and make magic. Collaboration and chemistry would be evident immediately, Ghostface and Raekwon being a prime example. Nowadays, though, a lot of features are coldly sent after some text and email exchanges. Artists barely have to connect anymore. It’s something that leaves Kid Cudi extremely icy against the prospect of working with artists again.
Recently, Cudi posted on X, opening up about his upcoming 11th album Free. The record comes out on August 22, notably not having any big name features accompanying him. This was a purposeful choice for Cudi. He notes that these “collaborations” never feel natural for him anymore, some artists never even reaching out. It’s all incredibly transactional and ruins the music a little bit. Consequently, he marked a line in the sand and said he wasn’t doing features anymore unless it felt right.
Kid Cudi Decides On No More Features Unless It’s Organic
“No features, just me. I think im over features unless it happens organically,” he writes. “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, fuck that. I dont need anyone else on this one.”
Additionally, it seems like Free is going to be something of a passion project for Kid Cudi. He notes during a Q&A session on X that he wanted to experiment in new musical directions. As a result, it makes more sense for him to explore it on his own.
“Well, I felt I wanted to go a totally new direction sonically and then talk about the joy I feel, but also dive into some moments of reflection. A song like Grave is an example. My favorite part is that I figured out a way to reinvent myself after 17 years and get excited about makin another album,” Cudi says.
The post Kid Cudi Says He’s Never Doing Features Again, With One Exception appeared first on VICE.
