Why “Sad People” By Kid Cudi is the Song We Need Right Now
As the world slowly begins to heal, or at least open its doors once again after almost a year and a half of shut down, I—and I’m sure millions if not billions of others—am finally processing what has happened. It feels as though two years of life were snatched away. Suddenly, I’m 20 rather than 18, a junior rather than a freshman. The pandemic caused growth, but not in a way that felt usual at all: it often entailed growing more anxiety, processing grief, and increased rates of depression.
Walking on the streets with my headphones in, music has acted as some sort of escape. These past weeks, “Sad People” by Kid Cudi has been on repeat. The lyrics begin with: “In the dead of the night I have these dreams, what’ll happen to me? will I burn out?” While being in college during the pandemic, millions of us have felt the same: have I missed out on the education I was promised? The education that millions save up for for years and years?
Although millions of us are going through the same turmoil, it is often a lonely journey: “Say something’s wrong with me, I know. By myself alone drivin’, I go.” What direction are we going in? I’m more anxious than before… However, the song remains hopeful. It reflects on the sadness and identity crises we all experience—but that that is the point—we are in it together. It is a universal experience.
In the chorus, Cudi sings: “Yeah, baby, say you’re back in my zone. Just what I need mama. Been in hell the same old, on a mission and I’m gonna fly high. This is for the sad people who keep the blunt burnin’, and we off on a journey.” Somehow, walking along the pavement, I feel less alone when listening to this song. Cudi illustrates and reflects the anxieties that have worsened since the pandemic. The many nights I spent with too much time to think and my constant OCD—trying to find control in an uncontrollable time: “It's in the search of nights, I'm sittin' wishin', I can find love in me. Lettin' go, ooh, this ain't livin' I swim in pain never drown, keep my head up above the waves.”
Cudi’s lyrics reflect the pain, but uplift the hope—which is exactly why “Sad People” is the song we need right now. A motto to live by, as cheesy as it may sound: accept and process your pain—don’t extinguish it—but hold up hope. That is what will get us through this.
Cover Photo by The Come Up Show. Edited by Madison Case.