Wale Speaks On Strained Relationship With Kid Cudi

Wale is opening up about years of tension, disappointment, and hurt tied to his relationship with Kid Cudi, a relationship he says once ran deep but eventually left him feeling blindsided and dismissed. During a candid appearance on Boardroom Talks, the D.C. rapper revisited the timeline of their fallout and how it affected him personally and professionally. According to Wale, the turning point came when Cudi publicly criticized him during a period when he already felt vulnerable in the industry. "I don't talk to Cudi… I don't harbor nothing, but I really felt like they kicked me when I was down," Wale said. He referenced Cudi's comments in an interview, Cudi was asked about Wale, who had referenced the Man on the Moon artist in a song. "Then people like Wale get mad that 'Ye ain't give him no beats—'Ye ain't give you no beats because we ain't fucking with your raps," Cudi said. "It's not a conspiracy theory. We don't fuck with you musically, so we're not going to provide music for you." Wale explained that at the time, that comment hurt, since it was coming from someone he once considered a close peer. "We used to run together… and you going to say something like that to Complex, which is kind of like my direct fan base? That joint fucked me up… like it really did," said Wale he also explained that even after attempting to mend fences, things didn't improve. He recalled being at Rick Ross' house when Cudi called, prompting Ross to encourage them to collaborate. They agreed, and Cudi sent what Wale thought was a first draft of vocals for the song, which was eventually released as "Focused." But according to Wale, that's where the effort stopped. "He did the vocals over the phone… and I'm like, 'We'll fix it when it gets close to the album.' But he couldn't be bothered to fix the vocals properly," Wale said, explaining that Cudi's over-the-phone vocals were used on the final version of the song, and that's why he's never performed the track live. But the disconnect went beyond music. Wale recalled inviting Cudi to an unspecified personal event in 2015 or 2016. Cudi's response, he said, felt like a dismissal. "He was like, 'Everybody just wants me to do everything for them.'" Wale continued. "I was like, let's fight… like, now it's not even no industry thing. It's not even a cold war. You['re] this person, and you talking to me like that? Let's do it." What followed, Wale admits, was a long stretch of resentment that was made worse by watching Cudi receive widespread compassion during his public struggles with mental health, while Wale felt he didn't receive the same grace for his own comparable issues. Today, though, the MMG rapper says he's in a different place emotionally. "It was really bad for a couple years… how I felt about him and how I felt about the grace he would get for struggling, and I was going through the same stuff and I ain't there getting nothing," he said. "That joint was boiling my blood."

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