The Making Of Kid Cudi's "Day 'N' Nite" With Dot Da Genius | Deconstructed

Kid Cudi’s 2008 debut single “Day ‘N’ Nite” remains his highest charting song to date, peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Taken from the Ohio rapper’s groundbreaking mixtape ‘A Kid Named Cudi,’ the track also served as the lead single from his debut album ‘Man on the Moon: The End of Day.’ It features co-production from Dot Da Genius, who continues to collaborate with Cudi to this day.
Read more on Genius: genius.com/a/t...
Read all the lyrics to Kid Cudi’s “Day ‘N Nite” on Genius: genius.com/Kid...
Watch the official music video for "Day 'N' Nite": • Kid Cudi - Day 'N' Nite
CREDITS:
Executive Producer: Felicia Kelley
Creative Director: Andrew Oppeneer
Producer: Ndeye Thioubou
Director: Zach Cooper
Shooter: Jeffrey Soffer
Editor: Bryan Fox
Production Assistant: Raina Zafar
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[@kngdre4127]

This man single handedly changed the wave

[@mekhifenner5469]

K!ng Dre fr

[@tonygicz8]

Fell off too quick.

[@ZyIlr]

Antonio Alanis not enough recognition

[@gavinn.4060]

BasketballFilms he also hasn’t released a solo project since 2016

[@cassetteo]

and it wasnt on fl ... hmmmm

[@SDA408]

Damn y’all gotta keep doing more of these throwback songs

[@screamingtrees9619]

FyeHunnit ppp

[@SamPineSol]

Forreal. Drank in My Cup next? 😶

[@10thPowerMusic]

Sam Pinedo already a behind the track for that kzbin.info/www/bejne/i5SQpZWMbcaLaNU

[@LittleMissMiracle]

FyeHunnit and post these weekly 😩

[@theawesomegamer123]

fr

[@NOSbeats]

Genius u the goats for this one

[@rxjetpacc]

bro they got that heat for us. No doubt..

[@NOSbeats]

Bring OZ on this show!

[@TheLeschhorn]

bruh they acting like they didn't shun Cudi and threw him to the white ppl for 10 years, now kanye likes him and yall love him too. DiccRiders

[@rxjetpacc]

FredoLechon he was on drugs bro..it happens, at least he better now

[@Yoko.Kurama]

WZRD album is good too. He did the beats

[@SmartRapperTV]

Dang that went back in history for this one! Beat went SUPER HARD this was a super catchy record.

[@devontheillest9448]

This one of my favs 💯

[@cameronsanchez2204]

Ayy rob level , smart rapper

[@styl1ssttt]

facts

[@Uzi-London]

Smart Rapper this IS STILL a catchy record

[@infraacodes8484]

@@mitzelperc3049 damn

[@aijaz9011]

DAY N NITE TURNS 10 THIS YEAR

[@nancyzamorano7373]

Aijaz Karim Yes

[@mindegrade3403]

sad to know theres still a huge amount of people that are really about what the song has to say, myself included

[@ZodiacXDG]

@@mindegrade3403 are you s stoner or a junkie?

[@mindegrade3403]

@@ZodiacXDG leaning toward the first one more

[@loganj3429]

Ludic 11 NOW

[@shemmy7302]

We don’t deserve this Deconstructed episode 🔥🔥🔥

[@trapicallatino3001]

Shemar Williams LMAO FACTZ

[@YaBoySL]

The most honest comment ever

[@obsidian_sharp]

Shemar Williams speak for yourself my guy, I work hard lmfao

[@Kemetblack90]

Shemar Williams speak for yourself

[@shemmy7302]

J.A.G Glass haha. Just kidding

[@KevinRaza]

Genius, for your "Deconstructed" series, and on behalf of every Producer, Composer, Beatmaker and Music Writer in the world : Thank You !

[@jaybouzane]

facts, always learnin somethin new from these

[@darianesquivel4060]

You can scrap the words producer, composer and music writer off that comment of yours.

[@sevenfoldmusic9203]

@@darianesquivel4060 Why?

[@kkona3868]

@@darianesquivel4060 lmao what are you fucking dumb

[@yongpeaceplanet]

this was unexpected but dope ! thanks genius !

[@TheMarkoPoloProgram]

I see what you did there!

[@freshhbeatz1164]

🔥🔥🔥🔥 Go check out my remixes m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/nIObZ4KOnLCWidU

[@Rust_Rust_Rust]

@@TheMarkoPoloProgram what did he do?

[@brandonlawson1856]

Day N Nite is one of the best songs ever made.

[@richyounginnbdb2831]

No cap it took me almost a decade to find out what song was this

[@musiqmark]

Rich YounginnBDB me too it took me til when I was In 8th grade to know the meaning of this song this song speaks to me

[@nick_phi11ips]

@ZachLavineHive ! not really u heard ksg?

[@ErinJeanette]

True it's so good

[@fitzfitzchivalry4538]

100%

[@CYBERKILLJOY]

so nobody gunna ask how this man saved a ten year old music file in good quality?

[@gullyslime4x485]

Right!!????

[@LAFLAME1111]

And remember how he made it too

[@biggrime]

Cds

[@레몬c-p3d]

only producers know that this is actually a hard thing to do

[@paarthurwax2522]

@@stealthyisnthere the song was made ages ago, that's a new MacBook Pro. He prolly just saved the project

[@6slade]

I was like 11 years old when Cudi’s album dropped and I heard my older 16 year old sister always listening to this and Pursuit of Happiness. This album came at the start of a new hip hop generation, and for its impact Cudi is a legend.

[@DiffensiveE]

Still to this day I love this song

[@roan5254]

Diffensive don't we all

[@KATZFEY]

legendary song

[@miketorres3934]

Diffensive e how could you not?

[@frandavis1990]

Diffensive e that song is the truth

[@Yumemaru.]

Diffensive e hell yeah

[@LeBeautiful]

A KID NAMED CUDI. and a dot named Da Genius

[@ifyouusedarkmodeimjohncena7189]

LeBeautiful no i

[@wesleydass1746]

Gah damn LeBeautiful I was ur 200th like btw

[@Maxhunna]

It's actually, A Genius Named Dot

[@MichaelMyersss]

Sounds like a humble producer

[@ashtar3876]

he really does

[@neonsolace2748]

"Then it started playing at half speed and we both looked at eachother this is crazy we gotta find a way to put this into the song" - When the tempo slows up creates that new new

[@jose2D7735]

Verse deeper than I thought

[@Augors]

It's crazy that years later, I still get goosebumps when I listen to this track, even when I was in high school back in the day when this came out

[@GleenwoodEABaby]

SeptAuden damn you old Asf lol I’m pretty sure I was in 5th grade when this came out

[@Augors]

Ehhhh, Not that old lol this came out in 2008 and I was a freshmen in high school. Around that time, shit was crazy with music, especially when Kid Cudi came out.

[@Astro_Ape]

Shit Kidz, I was a fresh grad partying during Senior Week @ Myrtle Beach when this shit dropped. If y'all only knew..

[@Augors]

@nycbk23 FACTS!!!

[@Augors]

FACTS!

[@aaron3941]

The “accident” made this song so fire.

[@DiffensiveE]

Kid Cudi’s voice is too good 😫

[@zzanityy2784]

Diffensive e faxxx

[@LucidSoundz]

videos like this keep me alive mannnn

[@sr-pz7gp]

word, I keep coming back to this

[@nutty232]

Lol alive

[@saffiuddin7218]

Yo fr man!🙂

[@alexanderrose1071]

I am one of the kids this song helped. It came out when I was 16 which was probably the most important year in my life in terms of making me the man I am today. I was on a bad path and just started smoking weed around the time this came out. One lonely night smoking by myself while listening to this song on repeat, something came to me. It wasn’t a vision but rather that moment people always hope comes for them. The moment their life changed for the better. I ended up getting straight As that year and got into the college I wanted which wouldn’t of happened without that monumental shift in my life. Thank you Cudi and thank you Dot. You two changed my life for the better.

[@JMcGrew22]

I love how in depth he gets with the story, the sounds, exactly what's being placed where and why. So humble of him.

[@haiderh042]

Yoooo take this W genius 🔥🔥

[@acog_quarks8753]

Haider Hasan the biggest W we have

[@ifyouusedarkmodeimjohncena7189]

I commented this earlier and got 0 likes rip

[@xbl155ful]

Best segment ever, this guy and Cudi really did save lives, that whole album is honestly my favorite. It's rare to love every single song on an album but I fell I love with that album

[@0hMyGandhi]

They didn't talk about how he created that sick bassline midway through the song. (in the song, it starts at 1:51) it's one of my absolute favorite parts of it.

[@davidacuriel]

I don't have even need to go to the song to know exactly what ur talking about

[@sauceontoes3457]

Yeaaaa

[@teodenchgarcia6427]

frrrrr was thinking the whole time when he gon tell us what sound that was....

[@dreaj.6845]

Right. That really helped add even more depth and layers to the rest of the song.

[@theshadowplex]

Exactly, that's what I was waiting for!

[@salislazy]

Dot Da Genius looks like the less rich, more stable and approachable 2 Chainz...

[@NeneJ]

I CANT UNSEE IT LMAO

[@Saientific]

What you mean 2 chainz is unstable

[@noahlortz2054]

Sort of looks like kahwi ngl

[@shlimeonbeats302]

@@noahlortz2054 i thought he looks like trez harrel 😂

[@noahlortz2054]

@@shlimeonbeats302 yeah he does a little bit🤣

[@TheFearlessGoat]

finally, an actual producer who doesn't say "oh my friend gave me the loop and then i just half timed it through gross beat and added a generic drum pattern"

[@CursedByManga]

Ｇ͟IＧ͟NＧ͟Ｇ͟NＧ͟EＧ͟Ｇ͟ Ｇ͟NＧ͟Ｇ͟HＧ͟Ｇ͟NＧ͟IＧ͟NＧ͟E TRUE

[@KaizerMan]

But at the same time this track is almost just as basic. Wouldn't call him an 'actual producer' either as he's just as qualified as the other producers on here with just basic production skills at the time Of course he's better now, but at the time he was an amateur and you can tell with the simplicity of this beat And he kinda did half-time part of it through gross beat

[@datboi2886]

Ｇ͟IＧ͟NＧ͟Ｇ͟NＧ͟EＧ͟Ｇ͟ Ｇ͟NＧ͟Ｇ͟HＧ͟Ｇ͟NＧ͟IＧ͟NＧ͟E 😂😂😂😂😂😂 real talk

[@priam5928]

bruh just because he used pro tools and real synths doesnt mean its better

[@hl2583]

Ｇ͟IＧ͟NＧ͟Ｇ͟NＧ͟EＧ͟Ｇ͟ Ｇ͟NＧ͟Ｇ͟HＧ͟Ｇ͟NＧ͟IＧ͟NＧ͟E @murda

[@nelsonruiz9870]

day n night and pursuit of happiness were way too ahead of its time tbh

[@LyricalGenes]

*Man, the nostalgia made me feel so good!*

[@nancyzamorano7373]

LyricalGenes same

[@DrAdnan]

One of the most iconic songs of all time.

[@opiumisaiah]

0:48 i thought he pulled out a long ass revolver hahahah

[@Lsd1021]

Bought to kill someone with this beat

[@user-pv7vc9kp9k]

I thought it was a machete

[@xymgg1971]

ahahahaha, goddamnit, made my morning! 😂

[@bruhmodsawant992]

Same🤣🤣🤣

[@kem8337]

Hear ye, hear ye

[@InstrumentalsBeats]

Genius y'all outdid yourselves! Please try and bring in Bink for "Devil In A New Dress"!!

[@zacktorretta7347]

InstrumentalsBeats holy shit that beat is godly my guy wtf..

[@element9677]

Look up Sandurz Beat Breakdown. He did a pretty accurate one for Devil in a New Dress

[@jaronschuurman6498]

Wanna see him do the string section mahgod

[@ThinkerHaistTV]

InstrumentalsBeats Asking for a Deconstructed of that is like asking for Jesus to come back knowing you ain't repented...

[@remingtonrojas]

my 2nd fav song after reborn

[@C_The_Guy]

this song changed the way i hear music

[@geomtz8061]

Truest comment bro

[@DukeSaragono]

I love to see how they created these big hit songs, started off so simple and end up huge!!! So inspiring

[@UziBlancoOfficial]

Wow, it's incredible how you can go from not thinking about a certain time period or person from said time in your life an you hear the first few notes of a certain song an it just mentally takes you right back to that time frame.. really had some special moments in my life with this song playing in the background..

[@AxellchavezZ]

This song hits different when you hear it in a summer night

[@stephenwatchesyoutube]

takes me back to summer 2008

[@zee6115]

The lonely stoner frees his mind at night. At, At, At, Night.

[@KP_Gem]

​@@stephenwatchesyoutube omfg summer 2008 was the best 3 months of my life

[@cappuccino3444]

how does this man remember how he made a beat over 10 years ago. I can't remember making stuff I did 2 months ago

[@lz1860]

I guess its easier to remember when it blows up that much 😂

[@TheDiecastFanatic]

Ki - Free Beats because he had it all in front of him...?

[@Crunkmaster]

you _did_ see him looking at the original audio file, right?

[@kianamarie3283]

This is the best Deconstructed so far. They’re all fire but this was mad overdue. Everybody who loves cudi wanted to see this songs Making Of. WE NEED PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS NEXT. PLEASE. The original one.

[@OlafurArons]

I couldn't second that any harder.

[@yeah280]

Pretty sure pursuit of happiness has a lot of producers

[@anja96anjafr8]

Then Mojo So Dope after

[@jaden_ja]

Ask and you shall receive.... its out

[@kianamarie3283]

JayX NO FUCKIN WAY FOR REAL?? Edit: ITS REALLY OUT kzbin.info/www/bejne/iZfXhJ-be7uMnqc

[@GroovyBearTV]

One of the greatest songs of all time 🙏

[@Yumemaru.]

GroovyBearTV hell yeah

[@romanlipszyc]

SYKE

[@Kemetblack90]

GroovyBearTV let's not over exaggerate now lol

[@Isa-fn6rs]

terry jones for its impact in hip hop id say yeah

[@cristobalbalenciaga7295]

I really don’t understand how people are stanning and knob slobing to cudi and this song.. this has to be one of the most overrated songs ever..

[@oflpippen6999]

Imagine going to Abercrombie & Fitch one day and the next day you notice that the dude that checked you out has the biggest rap song out

[@deja0entendu]

Please, keep bringing on these producers that actually know what they're doing. I thoroughly enjoyed this.

[@LegitMusic]

Didn’t expect to see this on here. 🔥

[@KingMaloneBars]

This sound fire when's it dropping

[@sprky-_-]

Moxas 2008

[@JohnIsaacXIV]

.....

[@starlord8938]

Irony anyone?

[@aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa981]

R/woosh

[@afrodeluxe1203]

Moxas 2019

[@izak7390]

*CHILDHOOD SONG*

[@russellwestbrook462]

ayee izak

[@kamarmcneil7390]

Yea man I was like 8 when this song dropped

[@Sonoran.Stoner]

Lmfao wit yo young ass

[@Aerochalklate]

The Timbs i was 9 when this came out

[@ZinalaG59]

Jst make me feel even more old lol

[@dembele2165]

6:10 is the truth im 20 now so when i was really young when this song was out and just listening to it now reminds me of when me and my brother shared a room and i miss those days being young living life and making memories with my brother. to this day i say kid cudi but especially day n nite really did save me in a way. makes me appreciate everything

[@edwardveliz2000]

Who knew one of my all-time favorite outros ever in a song was by accident 😂

[@YoursEteranally]

Thats what I was thinking

[@JonathanLopez-hh9jo]

La la la. Lalala. Kiddddd cudiiiiii

[@charlesmathieu9255]

Bruh the best deconstructed episode to date

[@charlesmathieu9255]

Damn we blowing up

[@ivantorres6116]

This song a classic

[@cglample4066]

maaan this is sooo dope. Thank y'all. I could die happy if there were more of these breakdowns on Cudi's work. *_Man on the Moon_* sparked an entire new sub-sect of music

[@rickfinnikin1605]

This song is 11 years old today. Changed the game

[@brycetoth]

4:35 I felt that when cudi said: uh uh uh uh

[@skurxx]

Ikr moaned to that sound 😖😫

[@dreamrealitysyndrome]

It is SO refreshing to hear someone who knows wtf they are talking about! Someone who actually studied and knows the craft

[@yoitsgiook]

dreamrealitysyndrome yup!

[@edgarh.5727]

I agree

[@jalal5001]

Can you name someone that was on here that didn’t know what they were talking about? I find most if not all producers in this series are well studied even if it’d just the basics.

[@cloudyjohnny]

It’s crazy how you still have the audio file of Day n Night 🔥👌🏻 Sick beat bro 🔥

[@Brxvs]

Cloudy Johnny why wouldn’t he?

[@theNickRYG]

well to be fair, Aphex Twin lost a usb stick with several albums worth of work on an airplane, and the Sex Pistols couldn't find their original masters for Guitar Hero 3 and ended up having to re-record the song! These things do happen (:

[@dansmith9272]

Nick You awesome aphex twin is cool

[@dsahin11]

Dam this could be the best one of this serious so far bruh

[@Pacers00]

I love how proud he is of this, it really shows you the pride and work that goes into making a banger

[@Gazevedoking]

this song is 16 years old today and i'll love it forever

[@thankyouralph]

Classic. Man on the moon is such a good album

[@xgodlyassassin-8305]

Kid Cudi will always be my favorite artist of all time. He saved my life I owe it to him

[@jatrellwilliams8814]

xGodlyAssassin- what exactly do you mean by he saved your life? A lot of people make it seem like they would be dead if Kid Cudi didn’t make music. Which I really don’t believe

[@nalimlattarai2873]

Jatrell Williams stop hating

[@SC-pz3us]

Jatrell Williams stfu lmao

[@chuu33_]

If y’all actually listened to the music y’all would understand

[@benja303]

Yall so fuckin dramatic

[@zzlightening227]

This is arguably my favorite song of all time

[@cartwheelfruitloopthethird205]

Agreed

[@dicey78]

It's an absolute honor to be able to see this

[@aintSosa1]

This song was way far ahead of its time.

[@NeverIsNoOption]

Changed the game forever. Thanks genius for the upload

[@raysgameplays]

ngl this the best one of these ive seen so far. dot da genius also just seems like he really loves producing

[@MylesSquared]

Cudi saved my life

[@evanecker7724]

Myles Squared same my nigga

[@sambo1198]

same man

[@youngmike9011]

May God bless you

[@KidCudiFan4Ever]

Many peoples lives, including mine 🙌🏽

[@Yumemaru.]

Myles Squared ❤

[@jaden4009]

3:50 it was a accident, but one of the best accidents of all time

[@ppang5839]

LITERALLLYYY

[@obrey__]

I really feel lyrics like once a year. Day n nite, iris, live like you were dying, star shopping, and just a few others. This was my anthem growing up a nerdy stoner.

[@codecrxstian]

THIS WILL ALWAYS BE A HIT 🔥🔥🔥

[@ImDougDimmadome]

The fact that he still has the session after all these years goes to show how magical this track is. Salute!

[@mrrager13]

I was in high school when this came out. Instantly become my favorite song, Cudi then became my favorite artist and still is to this day. 5 years ago when I had my daughter I would sing this to her every night for a couple months when she came home from the hospital. It’s now her favorite song as well. Even have a video of her at 2 years old getting excited when it would come on. Glad that not only does it remind me of helping me out in my loneliest moments in HS to my happiest moments now as a father.

[@ardikasulistija6574]

I remember the first night I ever smoked weed by myself, I was bumpin this song. My life has never been the same since. Thank you Cudi and Dot!

[@sheershchaturvedi4534]

Please do making of Frank Oceans Nights with the beat switch

[@samstone7753]

Sheersh Chaturvedi frrrrr

[@adharshrajavel1013]

No way franks gonna agree to do one of these😂

[@diseasesarentrea]

nah that shit trash

[@sprb4725]

Apraustx he didn’t produce it I don’t think

[@lonelylegoman5778]

playdoheater1 are you deaf

[@m_thaOutKast]

Day n nite was ahead of it's time BTW kid cudi saying 'what' is a great notification ringtone.

[@LRG53]

This vid makes me so happy. Behind the scenes of history.

[@RickyGoreMusic]

A classic for sure

[@DragoFTWTM]

RickyGoreMusic can't go no where without seeing you lol

[@RickyGoreMusic]

DragoFTW ya I watch just about everyone 😂

[@neofox2526]

I love how he used half speed in 2008 before Gross Beat existed

[@JuancoPRoFlow]

Dope producer. A real one for a change. Actually played all the melodies by himself, respect.

[@KAYIIOW]

This is legendary. Thank you Genius

[@Backinthedase]

More Cudi production breakdowns!!!

[@EQTsaus]

DaseDesigns The Prayer and Heart of a Lion need to be broken down both by the producers and Kid Cudi. Both the meaning behind the lyrics (by Cudi, obviously) and the beat production

[@Faridaudee]

This is the Genius I like. I don't want no struggle​ KZbinrs on Genius.

[@Steveoclassic]

I was tripping on mushrooms and this song came on in the car and the beat was other worldly at that moment.. a moment I’ll never forget

[@lob0tomi]

this dudes influence on music and the fact he genuinely cares about music and what it does for people. when people genuinely love something you see the quality. straight art, from a young cudi and this producer. his friend at abercrombie & fitch put the whole world on to this insane combo.

[@hoodieaa6378]

This is hella late but im not upset. Deconstructed the best series on YT.

[@ZombreckProductions]

Cudi for sure helping the people with KSG. I can't explain what that song did for me at exactly the time I needed it.

[@bsoundbeatz]

This guy has the master recording session to the record.I bet he owns full right$$$!!

[@uptempo5318]

This might be the best episode yet such an iconic song from a timeless artist

[@gagefraw3182]

Whoever edits this needs a raise: I was keeping tempo when the producer was talking and when the parts came back it was still in tempo. This means that the editor put this whole video in the tempo of this song. Brownie points to this GENIUS editor!

[@persiandondada3385]

Daaaamn I listened to that song yesterday after a few years and now you upload this Video craaazyy

[@isaactheraccoon6057]

Young Savage shiss crazy

[@SpaceBoundBroadcast]

Wow this really hit home. This track and these artists are essentially the reason why I got into music production myself. Ultimate goal is to be able to produce with one of them.

[@TheChiversBeatCompany]

Simplicity is the key as always! Thanks Genius for this new episode!! ☀️🌴 Man on the Moon is still one of my favorite album

[@Sam-me5pl]

So wait, cudi wasn't smoking bud at the time they met, but he released a song about being a lonely stoner?

[@SM-ov4vl]

Samadhi he was predicting the future

[@whoeusbsknsi]

and said it was for the birds but also made tons of other weed related songs lmao

[@Leozzye]

they met way back

[@largechurro2321]

They met way before

[@jamesumoh9958]

He could have been inspired by other stoners… and was empathetic. It's not uncommon for songwriters to do that

[@michaellayman4398]

Damn, gave me chills at 2:23.

[@paramount7616]

He looks like If Quavo n 2chainz made kid

[@ronald19721]

This deserved a grammy

[@cookiecrumble2098]

The kicks are ingrained into my mind. Just so precise and perfect. This production is a classic. CLASSIC

[@Kjohny44]

It's nice to see a producer knowing what he's talking about, not mumbling "i be putting this shit here and clicked that and yeah dude"

[@largepoodle6036]

i love kid cudi, plain pat, dotdagenius, emile, bunch of geniuses man. This shit was absolutely legendary when it dropped. Instant classic

[@Im_1Hun]

Day n night is hands down my favorite song of all time ☀️🌚

[@EricIbe]

This song used to be the shit in 2009. I miss those days.

[@scottgorry870]

Been a long time coming still my ringtone from the start Cudi has got me through some real hard times! Thank you Cudi and thank you genius!

[@oxinym]

This is one of the all time greatest songs. From the vocals to the beat it was magic.

[@MAGEBEATS]

it always amazes me when these huge songs are so simple. so crazy!!

[@norbertboros2908]

actually this one imo isnt that simple. you have to feel those melodies to make them and boy im sure im makin songs and its hard af to create that harmony you imagine in your mind. Bring it upon is the hardest thing ever.

[@amayawilliams1002]

@@norbertboros2908 it isss

[@vyvancing8606]

simple tools but piecing that together into a complete song like this is far from simple