MANIAC

Kid Cudi goes to a dark place on this song, embracing the unpredictable, nefarious side of himself. He raps: I am the maniac, I am the fool I found a monster in me when I lost my cool We later learned that Cudi was dealing with some serious anger issues provoked by his success. He got into drugs and reached a point when just about anything could trigger a bout of rage. Cudi eventually went to rehab and became an advocate for mental health.

This is a track from Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager, the sophomore album from New York hip-hop artist Kid Cudi. The song also features a verse from indie rapper Cage and vocals from Cudi's fellow Brooklynite singer-songwriter St. Vincent. The three artists performed the song on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon along with Fallon's house band The Roots on November 2, 2010.

Cudi hooked up with Cage after he asked his A&R to reach out to an underground MC. "I was just happy that he responded, because he's a hip-hop dude and at that point I didn't know how real hip-hop heads thought about me musically," said Cudi to MTV News. "So I was like, 'Man, this dude is not going to mess with me. He's going to be like, "Man, what is this? Nah, I'm not really rocking with that." ' And I spoke to him on the phone and he was just mad cool." Cudi added that he was unsure if Cage would like the collaboration that he had in mind. "At first I was looking at his expression and I was like, 'Man, he's probably going to hate this.' I never put it out there, but I always just brace myself in my mind, said Cudi. "Like, man, if he hates it, I ain't mad at him, but he was feeling it."