Tale of Two Demon Slayers: How Me & Cudi Killed Our Addictions.

*I wrote this piece in 2018.*

“And I tried to piece the puzzle of the universe Split an eighth of ‘shrooms just so I could see the universe.”

“Ah shoot! It’s my jam!” I shouted behind my shoulder to my friends in the back seat. My best friend muttered, “Ah, shit!” between her lips as they held her cigarette. I rapped every word while my friends waved their hands in-and-out of the car windows to the beat. I paused mid-sentence between the verses, “I effin love him, man!”

There was another friend in the car with us — inside the stereo — Kid Cudi. We were listening to his single “Soundtrack 2 My Life” found on his debut album Man on the Moon: The End of Day. This psychedelic rap album catapulted after his first single “Day N’ Nite” was released, becoming one of the “Best 25 Songs of 2009,” according to Rolling Stone.

At this time, my friends and I were young adolescents who loved to get drunk, and not think about responsibilities.

I was a troubled 20-year-old who barely graduated from high school. I got into zero universities because I applied to none. I went to a community college for free because my mom worked there. I didn’t care much about anything besides being…