KID CUDI, whose unique multi-format breakout hit single, "Day 'N' Nite" is a radio and digital smash, is joining the artist roster of Universal Motown, the label announced today.
"Kid Cudi is at the vanguard of a game-changing new generation of artists," said Universal Motown President Sylvia Rhone. "He crosses musical boundaries with an appeal that goes beyond genre, format, race, language, and culture. Cudi lives easily in the hip-hop, indie rock, pop, and R&B worlds - a diversity that shows in his innovative music and his all-embracing persona. He is a born storyteller who brings a positive, life-affirming message to his brilliant lyrical flow and compelling music. There are no clich s in what Cudi does. He is a breath of fresh air - a dynamic and important new voice, not only in the next phase of hip-hop, but as a groundbreaking trendsetter who represents the future. I am thrilled to welcome Kid Cudi into the Universal Motown family."
Cleveland, Ohio native KID CUDI (pronounced CUT-ty, with short 'u'), now residing in Brooklyn, New York, is completing his debut album, Man on the Moon: The Guardian, for late summer 2009 release on Dream On/G.O.O.D. Music/Universal Motown. Cudi also is launching his own label, Dream On, along with partners Emile and Plain Pat, in a joint venture with G.O.O.D. Music later this year. "Cudi is a combination of constant inspiration, struggle, reality and dreams put to melody!" declared superstar producer/artist and G.O.O.D. Music label founder Kanye West. KID CUDI holds two slots in the Billboard Top 20 singles this week: as an artist on his own single, and as co-writer of West's double-platinum smash "Heartless." "Partnering Kid Cudi with Universal Motown and Sylvia Rhone couldn't be a more natural fit," commented Emile and Plain Pat. "They were the first major company to take notice of our movement and truly grasp our vision. We are thrilled to extend and deepen our relationship. It's a great feeling to watch the world discover the talent we saw in Cudi over these past years."
The ingenious, spaced-out wit and sparse but addictive electronic arrangement of "Day 'N' Nite" has already made the song a Top 5 iTunes download - No. 4 on the Top Songs list, and No. 3 on Rap/Hip-Hop -- while debuting in Billboard's Hot Digital Tracks chart at No. 6, at the threshold of gold certification with over 450,000 digital singles sold; and on Hot Ringmasters at No. 10. "Day 'N' Nite" is a bulleted No. 7 On Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart and is Greatest Gainer in sales on that list. On national radio, the track is Top 5 in the Rhythmic-Crossover format, Top 25 on Mainstream Top 40 and Top 15 on Urban formats, where it is among the week's top 5 Greatest Gainers in spins. Alternative stations are also following, in a building multi-format surge. Online, the song has driven almost 5 million page views on MySpace.com, and several posted tracks have generated nearly 30 million individual song streams.
"Day 'N' Nite" is also building an immediate worldwide story, with radio and sales breakouts in Canada, New Zealand, Sweden and especially Belgium, where the track is already Top 5, and the U.K., where the club mix of the track by Crookers entered the national singles chart at No. 2. "Kid Cudi is that rare artist who exists without boundaries of genre," said Universal Motown Senior Vice President, International Kirk Harding, who last summer initiated the talks between Universal Motown, Cudi and his management team that led to his signing. "You don't meet many like Cudi, with that breadth of musical spectrum," he added. "That's how we identified his international potential long ago."
KID CUDI released his first mixtape, A Kid Named Cudi, in July, 2008 as a free download sponsored by New York streetwear company 10 Deep, leading to an introduction and signing to Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music imprint, and in turn, to Cudi's co-writing of four tracks on the platinum Kanye West album 808s & Heartbreak, including the Top 5 single, "Heartless" and stepping out in a featured vocal on "Welcome to Heartbreak."
Cudi appeared on television and cable shows including MTV's Dogg After Dark, BET's 106th and Park, MTVu's Spring Break special and NBC's Last Call With Carson Daly to debut the single and video, while being tipped as an artist to watch in such authoritative print outlets as Rolling Stone, Vibe, The Source, Interview, and XXL.
Adding to a deafening buzz with a much-commented-on appearance at South By Southwest's music festival, KID CUDI is currently on a national press and radio promo tour, scheduled to run through late spring and beyond, that will also include stops at such festivals as Bamboozled and Rothbury. He is also prominent in MTV's Spring Break programming across its various cable platforms, and is this week's greatest gainer in spins on FUSE's video playlist
