Real name: Scott Mescudi
Age: 27
How he got here: A Cleveland native, Kid Cudi moved to Brooklyn after high school. He released his first mixtape, "A Kid Named Cudi," in 2008 as a free download. It caught the ear of Kanye West, who got Kid Cudi on the GOOD Music label and featured him on the track "Welcome to Heartbreak" on West's 2008 album, "808s & Heartbreaks."
Kid Cudi released his debut album, "Man on the Moon: The End of the Day," on Universal Motown Records in September 2009. The concept album sold more than 100,000 copies in its first week. His second album, "Man on the Moon 2: The Legend of Mr. Rager," was released in 2010.
Kid Cudi has sold more than 4.6 million digital singles, 1.3 mobiletones and, according to Universal Motown, is one of the world's most blogged-about artists of all time. He's also become an actor, having starred in the HBO comedy series "How to Make It In America."
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Show: 8 p.m. Wednesday at Pershing Center with guest Chip Tha Ripper
Tickets: $37.50, available at Pershing box office, ticketmaster.com, Ticketmaster locations and by phone at 800-745-3000. Ticketmaster service fees: $10.85. Final price for Ticketmaster purchases: $48.35.
Why is he playing Lincoln? This is a "routing date." Kid Cudi will play at Minneapolis's Target Center on Tuesday and a festival at Colorado's Red Rocks Amphitheatre on Thursday, making Lincoln a logical stop along the way.
About the show: Cudi, who is innovative in the same manner as West, raps and sings during the show, during which he is accompanied by a band that features longtime collaborator Dot Da Genius on keyboards and DJ Jon Kaslow on turntables. They even have done a cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Hey Joe" at some shows.