Hi, I'm Scott | Scott Mescudi | TEDxSHHS

okay just wanna check the mic first my good get the sound right this is not Comedy Hour I promise the funny thing is I used to go to this school and my class is to sit like in this area here yeah Oh - who's the auteur Kendra come here Kendra come up kids you AG everybody oh I'm fine you how about that reunion okay so is this a little surreal I haven't been in this room since 1999 mm maybe so I'm 31 I just turned 31 on January 30th how about that thank you and when I was approached to do this TED talk I was immediately like why and then it was kind of like put in perspective for me and I'm not really one to do speeches I'm really weird as you can imagine and so I do the performing in I'm on stage doing this this is my job it's different to stand up in front of people like this when there's this light and speak and and you know express yourself in this way but I told myself okay how am I gonna be able to do this let me just talk about my life that's something I know better than anyone else and I feel like coming from Cleveland coming from Shaker you know such a diverse place and just looking in the audience from the people I can see it's still but not very diverse but I believe that my upbringing in this town the school district is what made me the man I am today and when I moved away when I was 20 years old my mom was extremely sad where's my mom at yeah she was crying hey mommy my first big fan was my mom and it was really interesting I remember leaving home and she's giving me a hug at the airport and she leans in she goes now I can always turn back around we can go right back home you can change your mind and everything to be fine I'm like no I'm going is this happening and you know walk into security and then looking back and just seeing her like let me just be like however as soon as I turned back around I knew I was on a mission on this very specific quest you know it was bigger than just wanting to be a musician or do movies it was about finally showing the world what Scott could do I wasn't the best student I'm gonna be honest with you Kendra knows this if Kendra was in my classes she was sitting next to me I probably would have tried to cheat off her but that's not the point the point is it's like when I think about it you know I wish I applied myself as much as I applied all the energy into music as I did as I as in music as you know as in music I wish I could apply that same energy into my academics when I was at school so a lot of people look at me now and they go oh man this must be dope to be a rapper in it is dope it's awesome I'm not but you know I can't say that I don't want to sometimes go back and relearn some things I can't say I don't feel out of certain conversations that my friends have you know and these are things that I think about you know because being in school is all about being cool and wearing the fresh that was gonna curse but we're in fresh clothing and being popular and when you go out into the real world you realize that that moment is just a little of your life high school you know now remember Kendra AG but everything else I don't remember now I'm just joking but I'm saying at that moment in your time in life you feel like that's all that matters High School's like all this girl doesn't like me this guy here and it's all this drama strumming you go into the real world and notice about just trying to make your mark in the world and I never got a chance to do that academically so I had this fire I had this fire to pursue this musical career I had no idea how to go about it I was living with my uncle who was up an age at the time 80 years old whose older uncle so when I moved to New York it's not he could show me around show me all the cool spots you know he was just kind of like there's a train and you get a MetroCard and you go now say okay we got to wrap it I can do this all right I was immediately wrong for that for assuming that it was gonna be the same it is not the same but I embraced it I embrace I embrace the fear the danger I enjoyed the fact that I was going in uncharted territory it was like a sense of wonder for me and I can't say I was one of those people that was into like having thrills and you know getting some type of stimulation from that but it was nothing like saying I go I'm gonna go out and pursue something and I know I'm gonna do it and nobody's gonna tell me I can't and anybody that doesn't believe it imma prove it to him sooner or later and that's just what it is because at one point I didn't feel like I was smart enough to pass that test I didn't feel like I was smart enough to go to this college but what music it was like nobody's gonna take that from me you know I'm saying because there was things that I was dealing with as a youth at this school that I didn't talk to people about that probably kept me from putting my best foot forward with my academics you know and the music is a platform for me to express myself and also realize that I'm not that crazy that there's other kids out there that might be depressed or lonely dealing with suicide things like this and it was one of those things that you know I just feel really blessed to just have my mom who's been my supporter forever who supplied that that trip financially first couple of months or whatever to have the support of my hometown I can come back in this room and just feel the love and energy you guys got me really nervous my palms are sweaty but um it's really just the clock it's like 11 minutes 24 seconds 23 seconds 22 seconds so what's gonna happen when that clocks over with it's like something I don't just pull me offstage geez but um really I first thing I did when I went to New York and most people think it was kind of like this this amazing adventure it wasn't it was pretty much finding a job and for the first couple years I was working everywhere you know whether it was like at this clothing store here or Abercrombie & Fitch or American Apparel or Dean & Deluca I always had a job I was a hustler and you know I still apply that same work ethic with the music you know I mean like I'm almost in a way where I don't know how to relax because my whole life has been just a blind you know I mean and I think that when people ask man how'd you do it you know it was just kind of like I don't know like I was just focused you know because it's hard to put it into words because I can't say that it's just something that a switch I just flipped when I turned 20 like I was always this guy you know I was always just outspoken and creative and artsy I used to draw when I was a kid it was before all the musical stuff came along I was an artist you know he's to draw my stuff he's drawing my tattoos and I said oh but I'm getting 18 I'm gonna get these tatted it was about being a cartoonist I've been telling was like 15 and then I just wanted to be a rapper and then it was all uphill from there but you know if I could really just give people one piece of advice you know and and and just pass this along and one thing I want you to take from this is that like we are all the commanders of our own destiny you know I mean it's like you see these movies where they say like that one movie with Lucy or her she has 100% of her brain power and she could do anything she wants you know we realized that the average human doesn't use at like what two three percent you know I mean some weird small percentage like that I really just told myself from jump like hey man I'm gonna do this and I applied the information that I needed to to execute that and in places and at times in my life where I didn't have the answers I made sure to get the information or surround myself with people that had the information you know I mean you can't hang out with people that ain't doing nothing how you gonna get money hang around people that ain't got no money you know saying like how you gonna be inspired by people who aren't at least trying to go the same way at least whether it's music or or school in like I would be inspired by all my friends cuz I went to college I went to university to the OU for one year for film it sucked I hated it you know it wasn't for me but my film class was my film were amazing and now that I'm doing acting producing shows writing shows I wish I wrote that whole couple three more years out because I would have information that I needed and I wouldn't have to go through so many hoops to be able to direct or create my own film or TV show I don't know why I said that let me get back on track so really you know people like I said come up to me all the time and I mean but you did it man you're special you're different and I'm not any different from you you were all the same I came from this town I went to this school all my all my buddies we all had the same opportunities you know it's kind of just like having that self-confidence you know and it was a lot of areas in my personality where I wasn't as confident you know definitely with the chicks early on I don't know if Kendra knows this but the music meet me doing something where I was like wow I made this like my first album when that came out I was like whoa what made this this is something I like put all my energy into and this out on this release to the world on a professional level I was so proud of myself but let's do it again I didn't have time to be like yeah my first time yeah yeah people like it was okay we did good it didn't suck what are we gonna do again we got to do another one then I did that one okay people liked it let's do a third one you can't get caught up and just all the other things you know I really was like even still to this day I have my phone I have my fun but it's focus you know it's never you know even when I do straight I'm still working I'm still writing a song I'm still doing something I'm persistent you know and that's also another part you know I believe that some people get lazy some people might have that one painting that they started the paint and never finish it because they get caught up in their head and their song I can't do this so maybe I go do this it's like sticking to something one goal at a time you know that was like that's still big for me I never put too much on my plate you know at first it was like music and then the acting kind of came into play early on and I was unexpected but it was a blessing that I was prepared for house I'm Ann I've been a class clown since forever let's do this and I used to do it for free now I'm getting paid for this is great so you know I'm glad you guys like my jokes I'm not even a comedian this is just so you know just to kind of fast forward because there's so much I'm trying to squeeze into five seconds five minutes 56 seconds but you know man there were a lot of haters through a lot of doubters or a lot of people that were telling me man you ain't gonna do that that's not gonna happen he'll be back I remember telling my buddies I'm moving to New York all right you'll be back nah nah I'm not gonna back and if I do come back it's for a concert you know and everybody bill or whatever when I came back it was for a concert there's four concert and it was the most beautiful homecoming I've ever had there's no show more important than this show and I'm not just saying that because it was like in Cleveland and just like my hometown it was the first time I saw my peers friends on with the school with being proud of me I didn't get the moment to walk across stage with everybody I didn't get the cap and gown you know I mean I didn't get a chance to see these guys cuz I moved to Solon 11th grade so like even seeing kyndra is wild because I haven't seen anybody and so long but that's the beautiful moment still to this day I do shows and I see a classmate in the crowd not forget my raps I'm kids I'm sorry and you know it's wild you know and I didn't get that at school I didn't play on the football team I tried but I was terrible I didn't play on the basketball team I tried but I was terrible I didn't wrestle I tried no no I did try but I tried outside of the Shaker Heights High School in another district in Cleveland Heights were none of my peers could see V and B and me be embarrassed it was kind of just like okay I'll try this in seventh grade and be terrible and then nobody in Shaker will know about it because it's in Cleveland Heights just talking about but my point is also like music was my plan G you know wasn't like I didn't try everything else like I tried everything else I tried everything that I thought you know was the traditional thing a young boy should do sports you know and even going to college was me just trying to fulfill a destiny what I what I thought was my own destiny but then also I wanted to make my mom happy you know and sometimes guys we got to do that you know there's a lot of things we don't want to do stuff but it's like man like your parents sake they really have to deal with a lot of money and you know it's like and now I'm at 31 and I'm just like I had to apologize to my mom Bob was like seven years ago I was like mom I'm sorry like I was a nightmare but we got money now so let's just go like and we're okay we're good now and it's funny too because I took my mom to get her first tattoo ever I forced her to get the tattoo and it's so funny because you are you are you embarrassed I'm sorry but this is big you know because our relationship from the kid I was a high school it's the best it's ever been you know I used to put my mom through hell but she was my supporter and that's what parents are there to do to give you the devil's advocate even when I'm not gonna say every time I told my mom I was moving to New York see one like okay huh you know but that was more so like the fear of letting your child go out into the world more so like the people in the street that are just hating on you we don't want to see you when parents care you know I got a four and a half year old she'll be five in March she's the Apple my she's my baby and she's so funny you know cuz I'm the one that gets emotional when she has to leave you know and I I kind of dislike when she's leaving I'm like you know I'm gonna miss you right and she's like yeah I'm gonna get miss daddy yeah my you know you can call me and stuff right you know me miss me and I'm just I'm just sad you leave it's just like it's okay we always come back and I was just like Ryan I'm so emotional but it was just like beautiful to just see you know like me be the parent now you know I'm saying and to see that confidence in my child and the same confidence I gave my mom and you got to just kind of take a back seat and go okay cuz I literally like follow my daughter's lead I mean I just whatever she is telling me to do I just follow whatever you do I mean obviously not in every way or else like I would be broke but in some ways I do what she asked me to do what she tells me to do but that's the beauty of life y'all you know I'm saying I used to come in this room I just sit right in that section sometimes I pay attention sometimes I wouldn't most the time I'd be checking out chicks some chick I would never talk to you because I never had a communism maybe it was the day that we would send carnations kyndra Valentine's Day that wasn't a joke I was the king of like sending like carnations to chicks that I never talk to I would be asking my mom for like look I get five bucks you know his pizza day I just wanna load up on the carbs and she would just be like okay you know not knowing that I was buying carnations for all these chicks you know buddy thanks for supplying ammo but with 23 seconds left that's when I let y'all know that life will throw you a ton of curveballs it's scary but like if you believe man you know if you believe and if you want it and if you want to work hard enough for it it can be so because there's no difference to me and you I just really wanted ish I wanted it bad yeah you know and now III III III didn't want to be a failure and nobody's a failure in this room don't ever think that we can all win and that's it you

Channel: TEDx Talks

Views: 5,837,106

Rating: 4.9709787 out of 5

Keywords: TEDxTalks, English, United States, Life, Music (topic), Personal growth

Id: SEaFHPvuE6Y

Length: 18min 59sec (1139 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 18 2015

Reddit Comments

[u/tuco_benedicto]

Holyy shiite, I remember I saw this on YouTube once but never came back to it. I bookmarked it to watch This Later, but there's too many Skyrim Thomas the Tank Engine mod videos and YTPs from when I was in high school out on there for me to have noticed this. This a must-watch righ now tho!

Btw, anybody else can come up with Ted talks like this from musicians who are actually out there and known? The only other one I can remember is Alan Palomo's from Neon Indian

[u/just_a_goose]

i had a professor in college that made is watch this. i have no idea why

[u/gucci_ghost]

While I enjoyed this when I first saw it, I didn't think he really made any points... he just sort of spoke. Just about his time in the industry and how he got there because "he really wanted it". I didn't gain much insight, I didn't learn much and I didn't really take anything from it. Still loved listening to him rant though.

You can read the transcript here: https://genius.com/Kid-cudi-hi-im-scott-tedx-talk-annotated

[u/speakintrapanese]

I have a friend who helped organize this! He said Cudi was chill but awkward.

[u/charmandolin]

I've actually got a story about this Ted Talk. I was one of the organizers that put this event together. Kid Cudi walked backstage in the auditorium to start preparing, clearly high. He looks at us and goes "oh shit! I need a powerpoint" so he takes my friend's laptop, googles "Scott Mescudi" picks out the first photo that shows up, tosses it on a powerpoint and heads it with "Hi I'm Scott" and just that's it. Was a cool guy and took photos with us afterward.

[u/ddrt]

erhm, you don't love Scott, you love the Kid Cudi

[u/MovieFanatic97]

"HmmmmWelcometomyTEDtalkhmmmmmm"

[u/A1ec_michael]

I remember a while ago this randomly popping up in my recommended. I for some reason watched it, all the while not knowing he was kid cudi or even really knowing kid cudi existed. When I got more into hiphop and found cudi as an artist I connected the dots.

[u/lmaomitch]

Love cudi but this wasn’t great.