Kid Cudi Defends Kanye West Reunion; Talks ‘Grace’
Kid Cudi is doubling down on his decision to reunite onstage with Kanye West, despite backlash. While fans and public figures are questioning the previously well-liked rapper’s decision to get back onstage with the very controversial Kanye, Cudi is making it clear that he thinks everyone, including Kanye, deserves a little “grace.”
Kid Cudi joins Kent West’s Chicago shows
Kanye West is currently performing onstage to promote his latest album, Bully. The American leg of the tour appears to be going well. The controversial rapper has sold out several shows, including his Chicago appearances. That might be partly due to backing from other big stars at the events. West has paraded some of the biggest names in the game onstage.
While there has been some backlash against other big names who are supporting West, the biggest surprise and backlash has been reserved for Kid Cudi, who appeared during the sold-out concerts in Chicago. He came onstage to perform several songs with West, including his solo hit, “Pursuit of Happiness.” The appearance marked the first time in seven years that Cudi has performed alongside Kanye. The pair even shared a hug onstage.
For casual watchers, the reunion might have come out of nowhere, but those who have been paying close attention to Kid Cudi in the months since he made headlines for everything from his testimony to his book to his marriage likely saw it coming. Cudi has been hinting at a rekindled friendship with West since at least July. Whether or not that lasts remains to be seen. Still, Cudi is sticking with his decision to reconnect for now.
He talks ‘grace’ amid backlash
Kid Cudi and Kanye West may have smoothed over their differences, but a lot of people weren’t exactly thrilled that the former collaborators have patched things up. Cudi used X (formerly Twitter) to reply directly to one critic. After Peter Rosenberg called out Kanye’s collaborators, Cudi wrote that he considers Kanye his family. He defended West, claiming West’s mental health struggles were to blame for his antisemitic rants and controversial comments. Cudi went on to insist that he had “held him accountable” and that West had sincerely apologized. He closed out the comment by saying everyone deserves “some grace” when they are “family.”
Travis Scott has made similar comments over the years after receiving criticism for working with West following West’s very public spiral. He, too, has insisted that West is family, though he has not spoken openly about offering Kanye “grace” like Cudi has. Scott was also on hand at the Chicago concerts last week.
Kid Cudi’s history with Kanye West
Cudi and West’s relationship stretches back nearly two decades, beginning when West signed Cudi to GOOD Music and the two developed one of hip-hop’s most influential creative partnerships, eventually releasing the joint album “Kids See Ghosts” in 2018 and performing together at Coachella the following year. Their collaborative efforts were considered prolific before Kanye’s public downfall.
One major blowup came in 2022, when West publicly slammed Cudi for his friendship with Pete Davidson. In an Instagram post that has long since been deleted, West insisted he was no longer collaborating with Cudi because of Davidson.
Kid Cudi kept pretty quiet about that fractured friendship until 2025. During a CBS Mornings interview, Cudi insisted that he was done with West. He hinted at a long history of falling out with the controversial rapper, but didn’t go into detail.
