Credit: Alamy

Kid Cudi is taking a break from releasing music to focus on other areas of his career. The Cleveland rapper announced the decision following the release of Free last month.

Free was his last album to be released on Republic Records, meaning he will no longer be signed to a major label for the first time in his career.

Shortly after going independent, Cudi took to X to reveal that his exit from the label inspired the album title.

“Fam!!! I just wanna say thank you to all my fans for supporting Free, spreading the word and sending love,” he wrote. “I’m so grateful I have y’all in my corner. Free was my last album on a major label (which is part of the reason I called the album Free) and now I’m lookin forward to a new chapter and being independent. I’m so proud of this album and the reception it received.”

The rapper continued, “So many people hit me and my friends about how much they loved it. And this last 2 weeks has been really special for me. When u take chances and see people feel u and take the ride w u, it’s a beautiful thing. Please keep runnin it up, tell ur friends, I got a new short film I directed myself for Mr Miracle droppin in a matter of weeks that ur gonna fuckin love. I love y’all man. All day everyday.”

Cudi went on to explain that he’ll be putting his time into other creative paths such as directing and building up his acting resumé.

“I think ima officially take a step back for a while from droppin albums and focus on directing, more acting, painting and fashion for sure,” he said. “Its gonna be a while til y’all hear another album from me but I promise when I do come again, it won’t be boring.”

Free saw Cudi explore sounds like pop and alternative rock, and included the singles ‘Neverland‘, ‘Grave’ and ‘Mr Miracle’. The album didn’t perform well on the Billboard 200, peaking at 192 on the chart.