Kid Cudi Faces The Music, "People Were Like, 'We Liked You Better When You Were On Drugs'"

Grammy-nominated rapper Kid Cudi recently opened up about finding sobriety in his life after past battles with drug addiction and the negative reaction some critics have given him since cleaning up.

Despite having a clearer head these days, Cudder said his new music has not been well-received by all music heads.

"There were a lot of write-ups where people were just sh*tting on it and there were a lot of people who were like, 'We liked you better when you were on drugs,'" Cudi revealed in an interview. "It's kinda like, 'Man, OK, well you weren't a fan to begin with so f*ck you,' and I like myself better off drugs. So it's about me and it's about evolving and it's about change. It's about becoming a man; it's about becoming mature...Ten years from now I'm going look at my discography and I'm gonna be proud of it -- I don't want to be 10 years from now looking at my discography, like, 'Man, I was a f*cking knucklehead when I made that.'" (MTV)

A few months ago, Cudi opened up about steering clear of marijuana.

"You know how some people can take a smoke and they're good, they do it for recreational purposes, sh*t like that? People that go to bars or drink at their house with their friends casually. I was the motherf*cker who was doing that sh*t all the time, recreationally, every day, wake up, needed it, all those things. While I was in that state of mind I just was missing a lot of sh*t that was going on in my circle. I just felt like I needed to just take a step back, clear my dome and focus on some real important sh*t. Like my daughter for one. My family, my business, things that are important. But you know, don't be sad, I had a good run right? We got high together a lot right?" (Necole Bitchie)

Cudi broke the news of his sobriety in a blog posting on April Fool's Day.

"I dont smoke weed anymore. I'll leave it to the kids. Im 27 with a business to run and I need to be alert and focused with my mind strong. For those who still get it on, smoke one in my memory as your favorite lonely stoner. This is not a joke. I know most of you wanna see me all drugged out and f*cked up and i know misery loves company, but im sorry those days are over. I had a good run, Amsterdam and all. Im happy being sober. Im happy being a new me. Giva f*ck who thinks of me different, you didnt care about me in the first place if you cant be proud and happy for me for growing and starting a new chapter." (Kid Cudi's Tumblr)

In summer 2010, Cudi said he conquered a cocaine addiction.

"No more blow. People do drugs to camouflage emotions and run away from their problems. Now I'm going to deal with certain things as they come, prioritize sh*t--man up, so to speak. Just for the record, it bugged me out that people said it was liquid cocaine [that I got arrested for over the summer]. No, I'm just f*cking rich, and my blow comes in a jar. There was no liquid in it--that sh*t makes no sense." (Complex)