Kid Cudi and Dot Da Genius Cover Complex

Kid Cudi & Dot Da Genius elevate their game with WZRD.
This feature is a part of Complex’s WZRD Week.

The L.A. desert is a special place. Beautifully secluded, with miles of snow-capped mountains providing the backdrop and snake holes populating the sandy ground, Antelope Valley is unkempt in the most spectacular way possible. “This is so peaceful,” says Scott “Kid” Mescudi as the tranquil surf movie Sight/Sound plays in his trailer. “I’m obsessed with the desert. I wish this was my backyard.”

To read the full story, and see the full set hit the jump.

This being his fourth Complex cover—and his first digital one—most readers should be familiar with Cudi’s story by now. From his career’s humble beginnings to the pressures of newfound fame, the ups and downs with drugs, the newfound thrill of fatherhood, and the fall-outs with rappers he didn’t fuck with musically—all have been well documented in these pages. Indeed, Cudi first referred to himself as one of the “wizards” of the rap game in a 2010 Complex cover story. Now he’s just released a new album called WZRD with his old friend Dot Da Genius, the same guy who produced Cudi’s breakthrough hit, “Day ’N’ Nite.” After 8 hours of shooting together on a set reminiscent of the infamous “What’s in the box?” scene from Se7en, both Cudi and Dot seem exceptionally happy.