Kid Cudi hasn’t been shy about his dependency on drugs or suicidal thoughts at various stages of his life in his music. His vulnerabilities endeared him to millions across the globe, helping fans who had similar experiences feel less alone.

The Cleveland rapper completely takes the mask off and pulls back the curtain on his life in his upcoming Cudi the Memoir, which will be released on Aug. 12. GQ shared a harrowing excerpt of the book, which found Cudi reflecting on his darkest hours and a near-fatal drug overdose while working on Man on the Moon II circa 2010.

“I was at peace with dying,” Cudi wrote. “After doing more coke than I ever had in my life I was losing all sense of what was real. I’d been alone in my New York apartment, crying for hours, listening to the Lykke Li song ‘Time Flies’ on repeat. It was a love song, but the melodies and her voice filled me with despair.”

He continued in the excerpt: “I tried to get up off the bed, but my legs wouldn’t work, so I collapsed to the floor and started to crawl. Eventually, I gave in and just laid on the ground. My heart was racing. It felt like it was going to burst any minute.

While Cudi’s music can be the medicine of choice for fans, he was the one ultimately looking for a life raft.

“I was a role model, but I didn’t feel like one. People called me their savior. But who was going to save me? I was a lighthouse for others, but I couldn’t find my own way,” he added. “It was peace I was after. Here, crippled on the floor, minutes from overdosing, was the closest I’d ever come to finding it. ‘You made great music that people loved,’ I thought, ‘but this is the end.’”

Elsewhere in the excerpt, Kid Cudi took fans back to sessions for 2015’s Speedin’ Bullet to Heaven, when he had been “plotting” to die by suicide.

“After we’d finished a session, I’d be alone Googling exit bags. I was thinking about a way I could actually do it. I was plotting it,” he admitted. “There’s a song at the end of Speedin’ Bullet where I say goodbye, and that was meant to be my final album. I was going to kill myself at the end of that album, or before it came out, or during that cycle. I was not planning to live that year. Not many people around me expected me to either.”

Cudi’s memoir arrives on Aug. 12, and then 10 days later, the multi-hyphenate entertainer will release his 12th studio album, Free, on Aug. 22.

If you or anyone you know is in crisis, call 988 or visit the website for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, which offers free, confidential support 24/7. Those in need of confidential support for mental health or substance abuse issues can reach out to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Who would have thought that the Greatest Mysterio of All-Time began his wrestling career at 8 years old? If you ask WWE Superstar Dirty Dom, it’s his “deadbeat dad”, Hall of Famer, Rey Mysterio Jr., who’s looking up to him these days.

At 28, Dominik Mysterio has become WWE’s most reviled antagonist, drawing nuclear heat from coast to coast due to his snake-like antics and unrelenting arrogance. On Sunday (Aug. 3), Dirty Dom slithered his way to another win, outsmarting AJ Stylez in a cerebral SummerSlam showdown to retain his Intercontinental Championship.

“From the smartest guys to the biggest guys, if you’re smart in the ring, you’ll be able to outmaneuver and do whatever you want in there,” Mysterio told me the following day before Monday Night Raw from The Barclays Center. “I think I proved that by being a 20-year veteran in this business. AJ thought he was going to walk in there and mess with some kid, but he was messing with the Greatest Mysterio of all-time.”

Though Dirty Dom’s in-ring debut began in 2020, the pretentious son of Rey Mysterio Jr. inherited his slick ways from iconic WWE superstar Eddie Guerrero. Much like Latino Heat, the West Coast native fully embraces the art of lying, cheating, stealing — a philosophy that’s helped him climb to the top of the WWE food chain.

For Entry 010 of Mic Drops and Elbow Drops, Dirty Dom chops it up with Carl Lamarre about his Intercontinental Championship reign, who he thinks is the best heel in pro sports, and how he built the ruthless confidence that fuels his fire.

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The Eddie Guerrero homage was alive and well during that match. From your perspective as someone who honors his legacy, what do you think was Eddie’s most underrated skill as a wrestler?

I believe his ring IQ. People see how good he was inside the ring, what he did and how he achieved those things [because] his moves were great, but the way he would put things together and how he could be able to manipulate feelings based off what he was doing with his movements, I think that was severely underrated. There’s not a person that doesn’t say that when they worked with Eddie Guerrero, that he wasn’t the best person to work with because of how he carried himself. He can go in there and if there’s things he needed to change off the fly, he was the man to do it. So I think his ring IQ is definitely his most underrated skill.

You’ve now passed 100 days as Intercontinental Champion. Has the thought of chasing Gunther’s historic 666-day reign crossed your mind?

Honestly, I’m a day-by-day kind of guy. I am a very chill, California kid from San Diego, if you catch my vibe. I’m a day-by-day, figuring it out [type of wrestler]. I know this is a working man’s title, but hell, if I don’t think anyone is good enough to challenge me, I might hold off for a year. I might not even challenge [anyone] for a year. Who knows? If you’re not worthy of it, why should I let you challenge for my title? I just beat AJ Styles — who’s beaten everybody — so I’ve technically beaten everybody. Forget Steiner Math, this is Dirty Dom Math.

Let’s stir the pot a little. If you had to serve as special guest referee for a triple threat between Rhea Ripley, Roxanne Perez and Liv Morgan, who’s walking out with the win and why?

Liv. Liv’s winning, 100%. Not even based off me being a biased referee or anything. It’s just based off of skill and achievement. Liv is the only person that’s beaten Rhea Ripley more than three times, correct? She retired Becky Lynch. She is the greatest woman’s world champion. She’s a four-time woman’s tag champion. She’s a Slammy Award winner. There’s levels to this, and I believe Liv is at the top of her level. Not even being a biased ref, I would count it straight down the middle and she’d win.

Your first SummerSlam match was against Seth Rollins. Five years later, you’re beating AJ Styles. From both an in-ring and confidence standpoint, what are you most proud of in your growth since then?

I’ve grown massively. I’ve been more confident in the ring and being able to move and do what I want in the ring as far as move-sets and how I act and do things. And being with The Judgment Day as well gave me a level of confidence I didn’t have to the point where I had guys like Finn [Balor], JD [McDonagh], and Damian [Priest] helping me out with all this stuff, telling me, “Nah, dude. This is where you’re at. This is where you’re gonna be.” Sure enough, they helped me build that confidence. Even Voldemort.

Voldemort from Harry Porter?

No, the other person from the Judgment Day that I don’t say the name of. 

Who was the first heel you gravitated toward as a fan and idolized? 

JBL. 

Why JBL? 

Because everything he did seemed so genuine and with hatred. He called himself “The Wrestling God” for a reason. Being a Latino Mexican myself, the skit of him going down by the border — and I know it might be a touchy subject right now — was crazy to me. As a heel, you’re pushing the button as much as possible. So to me, JBL was that dude, to where he can get away with everything and just do anything — because he’s also a 6’7′ cowboy of a heel that’ll knock your head off with a clothesline. 

Which current WWE superstar do you think mastered the art of nuclear heat better than anyone?

Me. There’s no doubt about it. Also, the people around me have helped me so much because obviously these were uncharted territories that we were going into. It happened with Vicky [Guerrero] — but no disrespect to Vicky, she was never a wrestler. She was never bumping and going in there. I’m in there bumping, cutting promos, top of my game, Greatest Mysterio of All-Time — no one’s doing it like I am. Plus, I’m 28 years old. If I wanted to, I could step it up even more — and no one in the past, the present, coming up and even now would lay a finger on me. 

Lastly, who’s the biggest heel in pro sports right now, and what makes them so good at it?

I mean, he’s loved by the city, but hated by everyone else — I’m gonna have to go with my boy Fernando Tatis Jr. Just ’cause the way he carries himself, he’s so swagged out. He’s a stud. He’s a stud in the outfield, he’s a stud at shortstop if they need him there and he’s a stud hitter. The dude could steal homers. He can do it all. People hate him for it, because what? He’s a baller? He’s getting paid millions and millions of dollars and he does this to your favorite teams. All the Dodgers hate him.

Mets fans hate him too.

Are you a Mets fan? 

I’m on the right side of history.

I was gonna say y’all had a bad three-game sweep. And he embraces being a heel. You have to be OK with the boos, getting hated and you gotta be able to embrace it. I think he’s one of the few guys that embraces being the heel. He doesn’t mind getting booed, he’s OK with it. 

Busta Rhymes‘ former assistant is suing over allegations that the rapper assaulted him and then blacklisted him in the music industry – a lawsuit that quickly prompted the star to “categorically” deny any wrongdoing and threaten a countersuit.

In a case filed Tuesday in Brooklyn federal court, Dashiel Gables claims Busta (born Trevor Smith Jr.) repeatedly punched him in the face in January for using his phone on the job. After Gables filed a police report, he says the star retaliated by ensuring that nobody else will hire him.

“This industry-wide retaliation has devastated plaintiff’s career prospects and ability to earn a living in the only industry in which he has worked,” attorneys for Gables write in the filing obtained by Billboard.

But in a response statement Thursday, Rhymes said he “completely and categorically” denies the allegations from Gables, who the star described as an ex-staffer who only worked for him for “a very brief period.”

“Apparently, Dashiel has decided to respond to being let go by manufacturing claims against me in an attempt to attack and damage my reputation,” Rhymes wrote in a statement shared with Billboard. “I look forward to proving these allegations false, and am preparing a countersuit, which I am confident will expose this for what it is — an attempted shakedown by a disgruntled former assistant. Ultimately, I am certain the truth will prevail.” 

Rhymes was arrested in January over the alleged Jan. 10 attack in the lobby of the star’s luxury Brooklyn high-rise, in which police said the rapper punched the 50-year-old staffer in the face multiple times, sending him to the hospital. Court records do not indicate that prosecutors ended up pursuing charges over the incident.

In his lawsuit, Gables offered more alleged details on the incident, which he says was sparked by a phone call from his daughter while he was unloading the star’s luggage. Though Gables said he ignored the call, he claims he responded via text message, sending Rhymes “into a rage” in which the star allegedly screamed, “Stay the f–k off your phone.”

“When plaintiff explained it was his daughter, Busta Rhymes responded, ‘Don’t tell me about your f–king kid, what the f–k that gotta do with me?” Gables’ lawyers wrote. “When plaintiff responded that it could have been an emergency, Busta Rhymes asked ‘are you talking while I’m talking?’ and then, with a closed fist, punched plaintiff in the face.”

After Rhymes allegedly punched him again, Gables said he himself walked away from the scene, causing the rapper to “to become even more enraged” and scream more.

“While plaintiff tolerated a great deal of abuse while working for Busta Rhymes, he could not tolerate the repeated physical assault and was unable to return to work,” his lawyers said, confirming that he filed a report with the police.

The incident has allegedly left Gables “frozen out of the hip-hop music industry” after decades of work in that space: “Word of the assault and plaintiff’s complaint against Busta Rhymes has spread throughout the tight-knit hip-hop community, resulting in plaintiff being effectively blacklisted from employment opportunities in his chosen field.”

In technical terms, the lawsuit accuses Rhymes of a variety of federal and state employment law violations, as well as civil assault and battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Just days after one of his other attorneys said that it was her understanding that Sean “Diddy” Combs‘ team has reached out to President Donald Trump about a possible pardon for the disgraced hip-hop mogul, the Bad Boy Records boss’ lead lawyer threw cold water on the claims.

“I have nothing to do with a possible pardon,” lead attorney Marc Agnifilo told CBS News. “I have had conversations with nobody. I have not spoken to the president. I have not spoken to anybody who speaks to the president about Sean Combs. I have not.”

That seeming about-face came after one of Combs’ other legal reps, Nicole Westmoreland, told CNN earlier this week that, “It’s my understanding that we’ve reached out and had conversations in reference to a pardon,” without offering any additional details on which administration officials Combs’ team has reportedly been in talks with.

In his first interview since Combs was convicted on prostitution-related charges in New York last month — he was acquitted of more serious sex trafficking and racketeering charges that could have had him locked up for decades — Agnifilo told CBS that he hasn’t discussed a potential pardon with Combs either, other than to inform him that it’s being talked about in the press.

Combs was convicted of two felony counts of transportation to engage in prostitution last month at a closely watched trial at which several former girlfriends and employees described the rapper’s meticulously curated, drug-fueled “freak off” sex marathon parties at which they said Combs, 55, observed while his female companions had sex with male prostitutes.

“He says, ‘Go tell him (Mr. Trump) that I need a pardon,’” Agnofilo said Combs told him about the chatter regarding a possible get out of jail effort from Trump. “‘Go tell him I deserve a pardon.’ That’s what he said.” At press time a spokesperson for the White House had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment on a potential Combs pardon. A senior Trump administration official declined to comment to CBS on what they called “speculation,” saying any decision on pardons would come directly from Trump.

While Trump has liberally wielded the pardon and commutation pen so far in his second term — including to pardon the more than 1,500 Jan. 6 rioters who violently stormed the Capitol after Trump’s election loss in 2021— in an interview with Newsmax last week Trump seemed on the fence about sparing his former friend Combs. “Well, he was essentially half-innocent… I was very friendly with him, I got along with him great and he seemed like a nice guy,’ Trump said. “I didn’t know him well. But when I ran for office, he was very hostile.

The president, who prefers those who openly curry favor with and praise him, said the “not so nice” comments from Combs could be a deal-breaker and that those untoward views are definitely making it “more difficult” to consider the effort.

While Trump and Combs were often pictured together at parties and public events before the real estate mogul first became president in 2016, Diddy seemed to quickly distance himself from the commander in chief in 2017 when he told the Daily Beast that he didn’t “really give a f–k about Trump.” Then, after Trump lost his re-election bid to President Joe Biden in 2020, Combs told interviewer Charlamagne Tha God that “white men like Trump need to be banished… the number one priority it to get Trump out of office.”

Agnifilo, whose previous clients include “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli and NXIVM founder Keith Raniere, said he’s currently focused on getting Combs a “good sentence” at an upcoming Oct. 3 sentencing hearing, where the once high-flying rap impresario is facing up to a maximum of two decades in prison. The lawyer said he typically speaks to Combs several times a day from the rapper’s cell at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center; a judge denied Combs bail for a fifth time this week citing the violent nature of Combs’ personal relationships.

While he awaits his fate, Agnifilo said he’s told Combs — who was reportedly eager to testify at the trial — that the broad outline of the sentencing guidelines suggest he could be sentenced to four to five years behind bars, minus credit for time served since he was first imprisoned in Sept. 2024.

In a surprising aside given the damaging, lurid testimony in the trial about Combs’ private life, Agnifilo said one of Diddy’s future goals is to perform at one of New York’s most iconic venues again. “He said to me he’s going to be back at Madison Square Garden,” Agnifilo said.

Watch Agnifilo talk a possible pardon below.

Sean “Diddy” Combs is still in jail, waiting for his sentencing in October, after a judge turned down the music mogul’s latest request for bail.

In his first network interview since Combs’ sex trafficking and racketeering trial, Marc Agnifilo, Combs’ lead attorney, told… pic.twitter.com/7cEuEsY6N2

— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) August 7, 2025

YoungBoy Never Broke Again makes history on the Billboard 200 this week (on the chart dated Aug. 9), as he debuts his 34th album with his latest project, MASA, and surpasses E-40 for the most career entries on the chart among rappers.

Released July 25 via Never Broke Again/Motown/ICLG, MASA debuted at No. 6 with 49,000 equivalent album units earned in the United States July 25-31, according to Luminate. It also marks his 16th top 10 album, tying him with Jay-Z and Nas for the third-most after Future (18) and Drake (17).

Here’s a look at the rappers with the most Billboard 200 entries:

At just 25 years old, YoungBoy has already built a staggering Billboard résumé. His relentless output and loyal fanbase have propelled him to milestones most artists take decades to achieve — if they do at all. He first landed on the Billboard 200 in 2017 with his AI YoungBoy mixtape, and thus, charted 34 projects in just eight years since.

2018 and 2022 were especially busy years, as he landed eight projects on the Billboard 200 in each year. MASA is already his second entry of 2025, following More Leaks in March; he released that compilation while incarcerated in Baton Rouge, La., on a federal gun charge.

Unlike many artists, who tease singles for months and space out releases by years, YoungBoy takes a different approach. He circumvents the traditional album rollout and instead floods the market with new projects at a remarkable pace. Of his 34 entries, only eight are technically studio albums (including MASA), while 20 are mixtapes, three compiled various cuts and three are EPs. (See the full list below.)

Since 2010, the only artist overall to chart more albums on the Billboard 200 is the Grateful Dead (88), a total heavily fueled by the ongoing Dave’s Picks series, which repackages the band’s old live shows. YoungBoy ran up his total based on new material.

Dating even further back to 2000, the only proper artists (excluding franchises) to chart more projects than YoungBoy this century — Grateful Dead (an even 100), Bill & Gloria Gaither (47), Elvis Presley (42), Bob Dylan (40), Willie Nelson (39), Pearl Jam (38), Neil Young (37) and Prince (35) — are all generational talents who have decades’ worth of catalog releases, reissues and compilations. YoungBoy is a full generation or two removed from all those names.

Despite breaking records and reaching new career milestones, the high-volume approach may have its downsides. In a 2023 cover story for Billboard, YoungBoy called his non-stop release output “a disease,” and described it as a compulsion. “Literally, I cannot help myself. I tell myself sometimes, ‘I’m not going to drop until months from now,’ but it’s addictive. I wish I knew when I was younger how unhealthy this was for me. Whatever type of energy I had inside me, I would’ve pushed it toward something else.”

His strategy isn’t entirely unprecedented. Drake has long followed a similar flood-the-market philosophy, and it’s paid off for him. He holds many Billboard Hot 100 records, including most overall entries (360), helped by frequent releases and the fact that streaming weighs heavily in the Hot 100’s methodology. But while Drake’s reign stretches back to 2009, YoungBoy didn’t appear on the Hot 100 until 2017. And yet, by 2023, he became just the 13th artist ever to log 100 or more Hot 100 entries. He was also the youngest to do so, at age 23.

For comparison, E-40 has amassed his 33 Billboard 200 chart entries over nearly 30 years (1993-2022). YoungBoy did it in just eight.

Whether or not the pace is sustainable, the results speak for themselves. YoungBoy has already etched his name in chart history.

Every YoungBoy Never Broke Again Album to Chart on the Billboard 200 (In Order)

Title (Peak Position; Peak Year)