Jim Jones Explains How He’s ‘Solely Responsible’ for Kid Cudi’s Career [Video]

Many Kid Cudi fans know that the rapper initially left his home state in Ohio for New York City to pursue his dreams in the music industry in the mid-2000s.

When he arrived, he connected with Dot Da Genius, A-Trak, Plain Pat, and even got Kanye West’s attention, while also hitting gold with his hit song, “Day ‘N’ Nite.”

However, during a recent interview with VIP Saturdays on Sirius XM, Jim Jones revealed how he played a part in the rise and fame of Cudi’s career, becoming the first big-name artist to remix “Day ‘N’ Nite.”

“Man, Kid Cudi was a nobody!” Jones said. “He worked in a fucking store under Koch Records. I was signed to Koch Records. I didn’t even know Kid Cudi worked down there. Lisa Brunt’s nephew at the time was doing some work for me in my studio and he’s like, ‘Yo, I manage these video directors, I want them to shoot a video for you.’”

“I’m like, ‘Show me the video.’ They showed me the video, ended up being a Kid Cudi video that they shot for free for him. They’re like, ‘Yo, this is the kid that works inside the fucking rock ‘n’ roll store under Koch.’ And I was like, ‘Give me the record and I’ll let y’all shoot me a video.’ They got me the record, I did the record, they shot the video,” Jones said.

Later during the interview, Jim Jones was then asked how his cover of “Day ‘N’ Nite” ended up on Hot 97, where it gained a lot of exposure.

According to Jim, someone at the station took it from YouTube and broadcasted it, but he was removed off the track.

“I put it on YouTube. Somebody at Hot 97 ripped it off of YouTube and started playing it at Hot 97,” he continued. “When [Cudi] got his deal, they took me off the record and went for ads without me on the record. DJ Cassidy did that. You know I bumped into him, that’s my man, though. It’s always a joke, though, but it happens like that. I’m solely responsible for Kid Cudi’s career. You can go tell him that and he’s going to tell you, ‘He’s right.’”