Kid Cudi

Solo Artist

Photo: brinsknaps · CC BY-SA 2.0
Active 2003-present
Origin Cleveland, Ohio
Albums 11
Tracks 190
Most frequent collaborator Dot da Genius · 52 tracks
Genres Hip HopAlternative Hip HopPsychedelic Rap
Complete Artist
99%
Authorship

Holds writing credit on 189 of 190 tracks

Does Kid Cudi write his own songs?

He is credited on 189 of his 190 studio tracks. Only 45 are his alone, and 26 of those 45 are Speedin' Bullet 2 Heaven, the album he made without anyone else.

By the Numbers

11
Studio Albums
190
Tracks Credited
99%
Self-Written
over 22 million units in the United States
Records Sold
23
Years Active
352
Collaborators

Authorship Breakdown 189 / 190 self-written

Who wrote the songs?

Across all 190 tracks: how many Kid Cudi wrote alone, how many they co-wrote, and how many were written by others. The bracket marks every track they hold any writing credit on.

Kid Cudi has a writing credit99%
24%
76%
1%
Sole author45tracks24%
Co-written144tracks76%
Outside writers1tracks1%

Role Fingerprint how they contribute

Lyricist Performer Composer Producer
Kid Cudi's roles across the catalogue

Share of all 190 tracks where they are personally credited, by role.

Lyricist (words)99%
Composer (music)99%
Producer72%
Performer100%

Authorship Over Time writing credit per album

Kid Cudi's writing credit per album, in release order. Hover any bar for the album.

avg 99%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
93%
100%
100%
100%
2009Man on the Moon: The End of Day
2010Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager
2013Indicud
2014Satellite Flight: The Journey to Mother Moon
2015Speedin' Bullet 2 Heaven
2016Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin'
2020Man on the Moon III: The Chosen
2022Entergalactic
2024Insano
2024Insano (Nitro Mega)
2025Free
Early · 100% written
Mid · 99% written
Late · 100% written

Authorship by Decade track-weighted

100%
2000s
Man on the Moon: The End of Day
100%
2010s
Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager, Indicud +3 more
99%
2020s
Man on the Moon III: The Chosen, Entergalactic +3 more

Authorship Spectrum pure performer to complete author

Where Kid Cudi sits on the scale from a pure performer (0%, sings songs written by others) to a complete author (100%, writes everything). The bright marker is their catalogue authorship score, plotted against other artists on the site.

Kid Cudi
Other artists on the site

Reference artists spread across the scale, closest by genre and era.

EXO8%
Xscape17%
Salt-N-Pepa35%
TLC59%
Destiny's Child69%
Mýa78%
Arrested Development89%
99%Kid Cudi
Pure Performer0%
Songwriter~50%
Complete Author100%

Who Really Wrote the Hits signature songs

Make Her Say
Man on the Moon: The End of Day
Written by Kid Cudi, Kanye West, Common, Lady Gaga, RedOne, T-Pain, Nate Walka, Breyon Prescott, Christopher Henderson, Brandon Melancon, James Brown, John Conte Jr., The-Dream, Jamie Foxx, Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi, Lonnie Lynn, Stefani Germanotta, Nadir Khayat, Rasheed Faheem, Nathan Walker, Terius Nash
Co-wrote
Erase Me
Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager
Written by Kid Cudi, Kanye West, Jim Jonsin, Frank Romano, Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi, James Scheffer
Co-wrote
Mr. Rager
Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager
Written by Kid Cudi, Emile Haynie, Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi
Co-wrote
Just What I Am
Indicud
Written by Kid Cudi, King Chip, Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi, Charles Worth
Co-wrote
King Wizard
Indicud
Written by Kid Cudi, Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi
Wrote it

Discography 11 albums

All eleven solo studio albums. The collaborative records made as WZRD with Dot da Genius and as Kids See Ghosts with Kanye West are group releases and sit outside this catalogue, as do the mixtapes.

Collaborator Network who they worked with most

Kid Cudi190 tracks
DD52Dot da Genius, 52 tracks PP46Plain Pat, 46 tracks J26Jean-Baptiste, 26 tracks JK22Jean-Baptiste Kouame, 22 tracks DC17Dennis Cummings, 17 tracks EH15Emile Haynie, 15 tracks MD12Mike Dean, 12 tracks RE11Rami Eadeh, 11 tracks R11Ramii, 11 tracks B10Bnyx, 10 tracks KC9King Chip, 9 tracks DB9David Biral, 9 tracks DB9Denzel Baptiste, 9 tracks TA9Take a Daytrip, 9 tracks AK8Anthony Kilhoffer, 8 tracks JT8Justin Tranter, 8 tracks E7E*vax, 7 tracks SF6Saint Fort, 6 tracks SW6Shawn Wasabi, 6 tracks CW5Charles Worth, 5 tracks MD5Michael Dean, 5 tracks S5Sadpony, 5 tracks DC5Dan Crean, 5 tracks PW4Pharrell Williams, 4 tracks MW4Mike Will Made It, 4 tracks W4WondaGurl, 4 tracks MM4Mike McHenry, 4 tracks DO4Days of 1993, 4 tracks KR4Karl Rubin, 4 tracks LY4Lil Yachty, 4 tracks CJ4Charles Jawanzaa Worth, 4 tracks CT4Chip tha Ripper, 4 tracks CA4Christian Astrop, 4 tracks BA4Bianca Atterberry, 4 tracks JB3Jean Baptiste, 3 tracks KW3Kanye West, 3 tracks W3WZRD, 3 tracks MW3Michael Williams II, 3 tracks TS3Travis Scott, 3 tracks JW3Jacques Webster II, 3 tracks MM3Michael Mulé, 3 tracks F3FnZ, 3 tracks HM3Heavy Mellow, 3 tracks 1318YOMAN, 3 tracks WJ3William J. Sullivan, 3 tracks JR3Jeremiah Raisen, 3 tracks JR3Justin Raisen, 3 tracks SA3Steve Aoki, 3 tracks BS3Benjamin Saint Fort, 3 tracks BN3Beau Nox, 3 tracks MM2Michael McHenry, 2 tracks FS2Free School, 2 tracks R2Ratatat, 2 tracks MS2Mike Stroud, 2 tracks MJ2Mary J. Blige, 2 tracks AR2ASAP Rocky, 2 tracks RM2Rakim Mayers, 2 tracks A32André 3000, 2 tracks on OutKast's page AB2André Benjamin, 2 tracks JG2Julian Gramma, 2 tracks JG2J Gramm, 2 tracks FO2Finneas O'Connell, 2 tracks F2Finneas, 2 tracks ER2Everett Romano, 2 tracks L2Len20, 2 tracks VG2Vincent Goodyer, 2 tracks RL2Roy Lenzo, 2 tracks TD2Ty Dolla Sign, 2 tracks TG2Tyrone Griffin Jr., 2 tracks DT2Don Toliver, 2 tracks CT2Caleb Toliver, 2 tracks MZ2Mike Zombie, 2 tracks HC2Honorable C.N.O.T.E., 2 tracks JB2Jonas Berggren, 2 tracks on Ace of Base's page LB2Linn Berggren, 2 tracks on Ace of Base's page JB2Jenny Berggren, 2 tracks on Ace of Base's page UE2Ulf Ekberg, 2 tracks on Ace of Base's page KB2Keanu Beats, 2 tracks CD2Cydney Dade, 2 tracks LC2Lil CC, 2 tracks MR2Michael Romito, 2 tracks C2Census, 2 tracks JR2Je. Raisen, 2 tracks MP2Miles Parks McCollum, 2 tracks RB2Ryan Buendia, 2 tracks RC2Russell Chell, 2 tracks ZS2Zachary Seman, 2 tracks G2Grades, 2 tracks DT2Daniel Traynor, 2 tracks ZE2Zach Ess, 2 tracks AM1Andy McCluskey, 1 track PH1Paul Humphreys, 1 track TB1Thomas Brenneck, 1 track DG1Dave Guy, 1 track on The Roots's page LM1Leon Michels, 1 track P"1Patrick "Plain Pat" Reynolds, 1 track JB1Jeff Bhasker, 1 track CP1Claude Puterflam, 1 track CP1Christian Padovan, 1 track GK1Gerard Kawczynski, 1 track MF1Matt Friedman, 1 track C1Common, 1 track LG1Lady Gaga, 1 track R1RedOne, 1 track T1T-Pain, 1 track NW1Nate Walka, 1 track BP1Breyon Prescott, 1 track CH1Christopher Henderson, 1 track BM1Brandon Melancon, 1 track JB1James Brown, 1 track JC1John Conte Jr., 1 track T1The-Dream, 1 track JF1Jamie Foxx, 1 track SG1Stefani Germanotta, 1 track on Lady Gaga's page NK1Nadir Khayat, 1 track RF1Rasheed Faheem, 1 track NW1Nathan Walker, 1 track TN1Terius Nash, 1 track M1MGMT, 1 track CK1Christian Kalla, 1 track KG1Kenneth Gamble, 1 track LH1Leon Huff, 1 track C1Crada, 1 track AW1Alain Whyte, 1 track CG1CeeLo Green, 1 track JN1Jannis Noya Makrigiannis, 1 track AR1Anders Rhedin, 1 track TM1The Mountains, 1 track FN1Fridolin Nordsø Schjoldan, 1 track CI1Chuck Inglish, 1 track EI1Evan Ingersoll, 1 track JJ1Jim Jonsin, 1 track FR1Frank Romano, 1 track JS1James Scheffer, 1 track C1Cage, 1 track SV1St. Vincent, 1 track CP1Christian Palko, 1 track AE1Anne Erin Clark, 1 track G1GLC, 1 track NW1Nicole Wray, 1 track RP1Richard Perry, 1 track JK1Jonathan Keller, 1 track SM1Skip Mahoney, 1 track JP1James Purdie, 1 track LH1Leonard Harris, 1 track BB1Blended Babies, 1 track RE1Rusty Evans, 1 track VP1V. Pike, 1 track TR1T. Randazzo, 1 track FJ1Father John Misty, 1 track

Bubble size = tracks worked on together. Showing the 150 most frequent of 334. DD Dot da Genius · PP Plain Pat · J Jean-Baptiste · JK Jean-Baptiste Kouame · DC Dennis Cummings · EH Emile Haynie

Photo credits

Portraits in the web and the rail come from Wikimedia Commons. The artist's own photo carries its credit under the picture.

The Authorship Story

Data Insight

He is credited on 189 of his 190 studio tracks, but only 45 of those are his alone. The exception is the album nobody liked: Speedin' Bullet 2 Heaven, 26 tracks written and played entirely by him, is the only record here with no other name on any credit.

Quick Facts

  • On nearly all of itCredited on 189 of 190 studio tracks
  • Alone45 tracks, and 26 of those are one album
  • Two GrammysBoth in 2012, for "All of the Lights" with Kanye West
  • Biggest albumMan on the Moon, 835,025 in America and 4x platinum
  • Highest chart placing"Day 'n' Nite" reached number 3 on the Hot 100
  • Eleven albums2009 to 2025, plus two collaborative records outside this list

Creative Fingerprint

Credited on almost everything, alone on a quarter of it, and completely alone only on the album that flopped.

The Story

Kid Cudi came out of Cleveland in 2009 with Man on the Moon and a hummed hook that half of rap spent the next decade copying. Eleven albums, over 22 million units at home, and a pair of Grammy wins for a song he gave to somebody else's record.

Awards & Recognition

Grammy Award, Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, for "All of the Lights" with Kanye West, Rihanna and Fergie (2012)
Grammy Award, Best Rap Song, for "All of the Lights" (2012)

Frequently Asked Questions Kid Cudi

Does Kid Cudi write his own songs?
He is credited on 189 of his 190 studio tracks. Only 45 are his alone, and 26 of those 45 are Speedin' Bullet 2 Heaven, the album he made without anyone else.
Who wrote "Day 'n' Nite"?
Kid Cudi with Dot da Genius, who produced it. It reached number 3 on the Hot 100, the highest of his career.
How many albums has Kid Cudi released?
Eleven solo studio albums, from Man on the Moon in 2009 to Free in 2025. WZRD and Kids See Ghosts are collaborative records outside that count.
Has he won a Grammy?
Two, both in 2012 for "All of the Lights" with Kanye West, Rihanna and Fergie: Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and Best Rap Song.
How many records has he sold?
Over 22 million units in the United States.
Which album sold the most?
Man on the Moon: The End of Day, at 835,025 in America, certified 4x platinum.
What is Speedin' Bullet 2 Heaven?
A 2015 grunge record he wrote, produced and played himself, on which he sings and plays guitar rather than raps. It sold 30,000 and is the only album of his with no other writer on it.
Who is Dot da Genius?
The Brooklyn producer who made "Day 'n' Nite" with him and has engineered and produced across the catalogue. They also recorded together as WZRD.
Why is Kanye West on so many credits?
Cudi signed to GOOD Music and wrote on West's albums. The first three of his own records came out through GOOD, and both his Grammys are for a West song.
What is his real name?
Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi. Credits print it as Scott Mescudi.

Sources

Wikipedia: Kid Cudi Wikipedia: Kid Cudi discography