Kid Cudi Memoir Reveals Struggles, Diddy Trial Testimony and Kanye Rift

Rapper and producer Kid Cudi has published “Cudi: The Memoir,” a candid account of his rise from Cleveland to global stardom, detailing battles with depression, cocaine use and a 2016 stroke. In a CBS Mornings interview he said he once “had a death wish,” and described the pressure of early fame after collaborations with Kanye West on “808s & Heartbreak.” Cudi also reflected on his reluctant appearance as a prosecution witness in the sex-trafficking trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs. Subpoenaed after twice declining, he testified in May that his home was broken into and his car fire-bombed in 2011 while he was dating singer Cassie Ventura. Combs was convicted in July on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution and faces up to 20 years in prison, with sentencing scheduled for Oct. 3. Asked about his long-running friendship with West, now known as Ye, Cudi said the relationship is “over” after West’s disparaging remarks about the late Louis Vuitton designer Virgil Abloh. “There’s no coming back from that,” he told CBS, adding that the man he once considered a mentor “no longer exists” to him. The 41-year-old artist, who married fashion designer Lola Abecassis Sartore in June, is promoting both the book and a new album titled “Free,” set for release on Aug. 22. He said sobriety and fatherhood have reshaped his outlook: “I know I did the right thing, so that’s all that matters.”