Kid Cudi is marking a new chapter with the release of his latest album Free, and on its closing track, “Salt Water,” he opens up like never before.
The project dropped on Friday (August 22), and its final song ends with a powerful spoken-word bridge where Cudi reflects on his battles with grief and mental health. He acknowledges how far he’s come and the lasting bond he feels with his late father.
“Yes, my life has been one hell of a ride. There was a time when happiness was a very far off and distant thing for me to acquire. But I made it out of the darkness, I saw the light. And I know that my dad is proud of me. All my angels, they’re proud of me,” he shares on the track.
Cudi’s father passed away from cancer when he was just 11, a loss that has haunted much of his life and music. He’s often spoken about how the grief gave him what he’s described in his songs as “night terrors.”
“[A]s a kid losing your father and having to deal with it, and getting older and not really being able to talk to anybody about it, it just ended up manifesting in these dreams in my mind,” he told HipHopDX back in 2009.
With Free, though, Cudi makes it clear he’s reached a turning point.
That theme of transformation surfaces again on “Truman Show,” where he symbolically lays his old self to rest:
“Wave goodbye with both my hands/ To the lonely man, the lonely man/ Wave goodbye, did the best I can/ For the lonely man, the lonely man.”
After years of openly wrestling with depression, anxiety, and addiction, his latest work feels different—full of healing, gratitude, and light. And with “Salt Water,” Cudi not only honors his father’s memory but also celebrates the peace, strength, and joy he’s finally found for himself.
