Kanye West and Kid Cudi's Complicated History: A Timeline

Kids See Ghosts is the latest new project from Kanye West, following the critically acclaimed Pusha T record DAYTONA and the significantly less critically acclaimed Ye. It’s the first official album from Kanye and Kid Cudi, and it will be Cudi’s first full project since 2016 (other than a stray song for Rampage). Despite it being their first album together, Cudi and Kanye have worked together on and off since 2008. Below, find a timeline of Cudi and Kanye’s professional relationship.

2006: Kanye and Cudi first meet in a Virgin Megastore, as Cudi recounted in a 2009 SPIN interview: “I was looking at CDs, saw the gleam of a Jesus piece in the right side of my eye, looked up, and it was Kanye West,” Cudi said, adding that he introduced himself and offered Kanye some of his music. Kanye politely refused but Cudi said he was undeterred. “I said, ‘We’ll be working together one day soon.’”

2008: Cudi releases “Day ‘n’ Nite” as part of mixtape A Kid Named Cudi before the single is rereleased on independent hip-hop label Fools Gold. The song  impresses Kanye, and Cudi is invited to work on the massively influential 808s & Heartbreak, co-writing songs like second single “Heartless” and “Welcome to Heartbreak.” Cudi and others would reveal eight years later that both were originally meant for Jay-Z’s The Blueprint 3 before Kanye decided to take them for himself.

September 15, 2009: Cudi’s Man On The Moon; The End Of Day comes out, with Kanye,  Emile Haynie, and longtime Cudi collaborator and former Kanye manager Plain Pat all listed executive producers. Additional production comes from Ratatat and Dot Da Genius, showing Cudi’s eclectic taste. Kanye guests on “Make Her Say” and co-produces “Sky Might Fall.”

2009-2010: Kanye works on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy in Hawaii, where Cudi provides backing vocals on “All of the Lights” and co-writes and features on “Gorgeous.” He is one of dozens of artists and producers in the sessions for the album. Cudi’s sophomore album for G.O.O.D. Music, Man On The Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager comes out on November 9, 2010, with Dark Twisted Fantasy following November 22. Standout track “Runaway” was produced by longtime Cudi collaborator Haynie, while Plain Pat handled additional production on “Monster.” Kanye returned the favor by guesting on Mr. Rager’s alternative-rock leaning lead single “Erase Me.”

2012: The G.O.O.D Music compilation Cruel Summer comes out, executive produced by Kanye. Cudi features on “The Morning” with several other artists, while “Creepers” is Cudi solo.

2013: Following Cudi’s side project WZRD, Kid Cudi’s Indicud comes out on April 12th, 2013 under G.O.O.D Music with Kanye’s Yeezus following a couple of months later. Just before Indicud’s release, however, Kid Cudi announces that the album would be his last on the label and that he is no longer a part of G.O.O.D Music.  “[Kanye and I] were talking on the phone the other day and these are things I’ve been wanting to talk to him about,” Cudi told Los Angeles radio station Power 106. “Me starting my own direction, and he got it because he’s trying to start his new path and try new things as an artist and he was just like, ‘Man, I feel you as an artist. It’s cool, whatever.'”

2015: Kid Cudi releases Speeding Bullet 2 Heaven, produced by himself and Plain Pat. The album is lambasted for its poor production, songwriting, and lack of structure throughout. Cudi defends it and Kanye praises it.

May 2016: Kanye releases The Life of Pablo, his infamously scattershot seventh album with a seemingly bottomless list of credits. Among them is Plain Pat and Cudi, who contributes to “Waves” and “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1.”

September 2016: In an extended Twitter rant, Cudi lashes out at Kanye, Drake, and others who “think they’re soooo great. Talkin top 5 and be having 30 people write songs for them.” Days later, Kanye fired back at a concert in Tampa Bay: “I birthed you. We all dealing with that emo shit all the time… don’t try to say who I can do songs with. You mad ’cause I’m doing songs with Drake? Can’t nobody tell ‘Ye who to do songs with. Respect the God!” Days later, Kanye walked back those comments, saying “I just want to take this time and say Kid Cudi is my brother and I hope he’s doing well tonight.”