WZRD (band)
| WZRD | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Wizard, 2 Be Continuum |
| Origin | Brooklyn, New York, New York City, United States |
| Genres | Alternative rock, neo-psychedelia, pop rock, psychedelic rock |
| Years active | 2010–present |
| Labels | Wicked Awesome Records, Republic Records |
| Members | |
WZRD (pronounced one letter at a time, W-Z-R-D) is an American alternative rock band and music production team, composed of longtime friends and frequent collaborators, recording artist Kid Cudi and record producer Dot da Genius. Formed in New York City in 2010, Cudi originally named the band Wizard, inspired by the Black Sabbath song of the same name. However, Cudi renamed the band on two separate occasions, the first being in April 2011 to 2 Be Continuum, explaining: "I needed something more original, something different...". The second time occurred in November 2011, to the band's current namesake. Their eponymous debut album WZRD, was released in February 2012, peaking at number three on the US Billboard 200 chart. The album was supported by the lead singles, "Brake" and "Teleport 2 Me, Jamie".
Scott "Kid Cudi" Mescudi and Oladipo "Dot da Genius" Omishore met through a mutual friend, with whom Cudi once worked at Abercrombie & Fitch: "He was a good friend of Dot’s friend named Riliwan. Riliwan’s just such a real motherfucker, to this day, that we play him records and get his opinion—because he’s not going to cut us any slack. But, being that our records have been so awesome he barely says anything. We would rap at work, and he would spit, and he was like, 'Yo, I know a producer. I want you to meet him.' I was like, 'OK,' and he had him come up. We met up, and Dot played me some beats. I remember being like, 'OK.' I wasn’t like, blown away". Dot da Genius had just started producing but Cudi claims he saw "potential in the artistry".
After working together for about seven months, Cudi was being evicted from his apartment. With plans to move back to Cleveland, Ohio, Dot da Genius' parents allowed Cudi to stay with them and their family, so the two could continue working together and pursue their music careers: "I remember being like, 'Shit—what am I going to do? I’m going to have to go back to Cleveland, go back to my old job, stack some money and then come back.' I was talking to O-Dot about this, and they were saying that I had to be out by January 31st—the day after my fucking birthday. So I was like, 'I don’t know what I’m going to do, but if I have to go back home, you can still send me beats, and we can still work.” I brought it up, not for a guilt trip, but like, “Yo fam, how are we still going to work?' Because I knew if I wasn’t proactive, I wasn’t going to get anything accomplished. So I was like, 'If I go back to Cleveland, it’s temporary, literally until I can get my paper back up.' I was like, 'Man, I’m just about to pass out here. Is it cool if I stay here?' and he was like, 'Yeah, yeah.' So I slept on the couch. I woke up in the morning, and Dot came downstairs, like, “Yo, my parents want to talk to you.” I was like, “What the fuck? What happened? What’d I do?” I thought I was in trouble. So I went up to his parents room, and his dad was like, 'O-Dot told us about your situation, and we’ve seen that you come to the house, working with Dipo. You guys have been productive, staying out of trouble, and you guys are working towards something.' And he was like, 'I think about it like this, if it was my son, what would I want another family to do for my son?' Long story short, he said, 'You can stay here as long as you like, until you get on your feet. And you can still work with Dipo. You guys can still work on your music. So it’s a win-win.' I remember being like, 'Holy shit. Like, really?' Because I was really about to go back home, and I ended up staying there, and the rest is history. It was really, really an amazing thing. It was a blessing just to have them in my life and for them to want to do that for me. Like I said, me and Dot only knew each other for seven months."
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