Kid Cudi Tries Standup Comedy and Says the Feeling Was Electric

Kid Cudi is used to taking risks, but this one came with a microphone and a room full of strangers. The rapper and artist just added another creative lane to his résumé by stepping on stage to try standup comedy for the very first time.

Cudi shared photos from the night on Instagram and followed them with a long, excited message about how it felt to tell jokes instead of rapping lyrics.

“Sooo this happened!!! Did stand up last night for the first time and holy fuck it was ELECTRIC!!!” wrote Cudi. “Hearing people laughing their asses off and enjoying my set really touched my heart man 🥹 I was maaaaad nervous, this was another type of nervousness I hadn't felt before.”

He also described the feeling once the show was over.

“The high I felt when I got off stage, never felt that before either,” he continued. “I wanna say to everyone that showed love, all my friends that showed up and all the other comics on the bill that supported me and were rooting for me, THANK U SO F---IN MUCH!!! “

The show took place on Friday (Jan. 9) at Mi’s Westside Comedy Theater in Santa Monica. Cudi gave special thanks to his Happy Gilmore 2 cast mate, comedian and writer Joseph Vecsey, for setting up the gig and helping him “get my set together.” After the show, Vecsey posted online that Cudi “killed it.”

For fans curious about how Cudi sounds as a comedian, he promised that clips from his set are on the way.

Cudi is not the first rapper to test the comedy waters. T.I. has spent the last few years working on his standup, with mixed results. One of his recent sets during the Cheaper Than Therapy comedy special showed that even legends can struggle.

In a now-viral clip, T.I. tried to joke about Young Thug and was met with an almost silent crowd.

“That man was fighting a RICO! I’m sorry, white people — Young Thug is a rapper, he’s from Cleveland Avenue. His name don’t sound like much but he’s held in high regard within the community. He’s a national treasure. Yes, responsible for many Negro Spirituals,” T.I. explained to near-silence.

Comedy is just one part of Cudi’s expanding creative world. Last September, he said he needed to “step into the shadows” musically to “focus on my other dreams.” One of those dreams is now coming to life overseas.

Cudi recently announced his debut art exhibition in Paris under the name Scotty Ramon. The show will run from January 31 through March 1 and feature 10 original works along with an exclusive soundscape.

From music to painting to standup comedy, Cudi keeps proving that trying something new is part of who he is.