Rapper Kid Cudi has tackled the issue of maintaining a celebrity status and why despite his recent work alongside rap stars like Jay-Z and Kanye West, he does not feel the need to flaunt his fame.
From Cudi's perspective, he does not aim for the same limelight.
"I always stop, shake a hand, say 'Whattup,' take a picture if someone wants to take a picture, or sign something," he explained in an interview. "When people follow you, and you can tell when they're following you, and you're going to shop or eat and people are staring, it's the typical thing, but then it's like, 'C'mon, am I really that famous?' You have to ask yourself that. I'm not Justin Timberlake; I'm just this dude and I never tried to make myself seem larger than life...What you see is what you get in my music. I just don't really understand it in my brain, so that's why it's kinda creepy."
Cudi also recently discussed his disinterest in branching out into a fashion or fragrance venture.
"Never," Cudi said about launching his own lines. "I'm a fan of fashion; I want to be the consumer. I know it's cliche for artists to have their own brand and sh*t, but that's too much stress. No colognes, no perfumes, and if I did, it'd probably be, like, eau de Egyptian musk...[In New York], people's style is expressed more through their personality than what's in at the time. You see all different styles in New York, and that's what made me want to stay here. I experienced more in the first six years I was here than I did the whole time I was in Cleveland. It's cool."
Grammy-winning rapper Lupe Fiasco has also said he does not want to achieve the same amount of fame as artists like Jay-Z.
''There's a misunderstanding with my fanbase,'' he said in an interview. ''People [at Warner] feel they know my fans more than I do. They want me to step out of my comfort zone and step into theirs. I don't have necessarily the celebrity success they want me to have but it's more social success and being able to speak at a college about world affairs. That's a success, to me. 'I don't want to be Jay-Z and be worth $400 million and perform on every awards show. It's getting in touch with somebody who needs to improve their self-esteem. As opposed to driving a Bentley and putting some chains on.''
Outside of music, Cudi recently said he wanted to focus on an acting career.
Kid Cudi's first acting gig is for the new HBO series "How to Make It in America." When we caught up with him last night at a screening for the show, we wondered if he'll ever give up music for acting. "I'm trying to evenly balance them out right now, but eventually I want to leave behind music and just do acting," he said. "I only got into the music business to tell my story and inspire some people. I think four albums will do it, and when I'm done with my four, five albums, I'll switch it up. Once the story is told [musically], there's nothing else to say."
Check out recent footage of Kid Cudi below:
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