Kid Cudi - Early Life

Early Life

Kid Cudi was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and grew up in Shaker Heights and Solon. He is the youngest of four children, with two brothers, Domingo and Dean, and a sister, Maisha. His father, a house painter, substitute teacher and World War II Air Force veteran, was Mexican-Native American, while his mother, a middle-school choir teacher at Roxboro Middle School, in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, is African-American.

When he was eleven years old, Cudi's father died of cancer; his passing would have a significant effect on Cudi's personality and subsequently his music. Cudi attended Shaker Heights High School for two years before transferring to Solon High School. He was expelled from the school for threatening to punch his principal and would later earn his GED. Cudi studied film at the University of Toledo, dropping out after a year; he was determined to join the US Navy but was denied due to his juvenile police record.