After much anticipation, Kid Cudi’s new album and Netflix special Entergalactic arrives today.
In an exclusive interview with Rap-Up, the rapper-actor was buzzing over the release of the long-awaited project, which was first announced back in 2019.
“This is the best feeling I’ve ever had,” Cudi said while joined by his Entergalactic co-star, Jessica Williams. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a feeling like this as an artist since I’ve been doing it. I’ve never done anything so massive before in my career. It’s kinda unreal.”
In the 90-minute animated TV event, co-created by Kenya Barris, Cudi voices comic artist Jabari alongside a star-studded cast that includes Timothée Chalamet, Vanessa Hudgens, Teyana Taylor, and Williams, who plays his love interest, Meadow.
Cudi linked up with Barris after the “Black-ish” creator asked Cudi to speak at his daughter’s school.
“From that came from Kenya just asking me, ‘So what are you working on? Like what are you doing?'” Cudi recalled. “And I kinda told him that I was kinda bouncing some ideas around. And at that time I had come up with this concept for an anthology series, where it would be 6-8 episodes, and one episode would be animated.”
Kenya pitched the idea to Netflix, who loved it. “He got back to me and he was like, ‘Yo, they’re really into the idea, but they were thinking about doing it animated.’ So I was like, ‘Oh, shit. That’s kinda dope ’cause what I could do is take the one episode that was animated and just make it a full story.’ So that’s how Entergalactic was born.”
The 15-track album, which features Ty Dolla $ign, 2 Chainz, and Don Toliver, soundtracks the romantic comedy. And there may be even more music on the way.
Cudi has shared plans for a second installment of Entergalactic, which would be more like a compilation album. He also recently teased a collaboration with Dua Lipa. But fans may have to wait a little longer for that.
“I’ve reached out to Dua, she knows I wanna do a record,” he said. “I think she’s chillin’ out right now for the rest of the year, but she knows I wanna link up, so hopefully when she has time. Dua, I’m ready whenever you’re ready, baby.”