Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi, 24, isn’t the first rapper to claim an intergalactic residence. What separates him from the pack is a musical curiosity that ranges beyond hip hop, soul, and R&B. On his standout 2008 mixtape, A Kid Named Cudi, he sang over Paul Simon’s 1975 “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” and Band of Horses’ 2006 “The Funeral.” Gearing up for his debut, Man on the Moon: The Guardians (Dream On/G.O.O.D./Universal Motown), this summer, the cavalier Clevelander is set to release perhaps the most eclectic showing in modern-day rap. “I want my shit to sound like vintage space, like the soundtrack to Tron or 2001:A Space Odyssey,” says Cudi, before jetting back to Hawaii to finish recording with Kanye West. Here, five cuts that inspire West’s golden child.
