A Timeline: 21 Steps Kid Cudi Took To Grow Up Right Before Our Eyes

The Date: October 15, 2009

The Event: Cudi announces that he will serve as the opening act for Lady Gaga on her Monster's Ball nationwide tour.

The Date: December 13, 2009

The Event: During a show in Vancouver, Cudi gets hit by a wallet that's thrown by a fan. He goes into the crowd and punches the guy that he believes threw the wallet at him. But it's later revealed that the fan he hit was not the guy who actually threw it.

The Date: December 16, 2009

The Event: As a result of the incident involving the fan and the wallet, Cudi gets kicked off Lady Gaga's Monster's Ball tour.

The Date: December 21, 2009

The Event: Shortly after leaving a magazine shoot in Los Angeles, Cudi is stopped by police and held at gunpoint after they receive a call about looting in the area. He is handcuffed and detained briefly but later let go. The cops claim it's simply a case of mistaken identity.

The Date: January 10, 2010

The Event: Cudi announces the title of his second title, Cudder: The Revolution of Evolution.

The Date: February 14, 2010

The Event: Cudi takes a short break from music to star in the HBO series, How to Make It in America, as the recurring character Domingo Dean.

The Date: April 10, 2010

The Event: Cudi uses his blog to announce that he's changing the title of his second album from Cudder: The Revolution of Evolution to Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager. "i started making this project like a collab album, filled with fun and upbeat records that for the most part left you with jack shit when you were finished listening," he writes. "i took a step back, went on tour, and realized im where im at because of the type of songs i write."

The Date: May 30, 2010

The Event: At the Sasquatch Music Festival in Washington, Cudi brings Michael Sharpe—the fan he punched at a concert in Vancouver in December 2009—onstage. "Remember that kid I punched in Vancouver?" he asks during his performance. "This is him. I brought him here to hang out. It's all okay. He forgives me."

The Date: June 11, 2010

The Event: Cudi gets arrested and charged with felony criminal mischief and possession of a controlled substance in New York City after an alleged domestic dispute between himself and an unidentified woman. The controlled substance is later identified as cocaine.

The Date: June 17, 2010

The Event: Cudi releases "REVOFEV," a street single for his forthcoming album, Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager.

The Date: June 30, 2010

The Event: When "REVOFEV" doesn't connect with fans like he'd hoped, Cudi drops "Erase Me," featuring Kanye West, the first single from his album, Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager. When it gets added to iTunes in late August, it debuts at #22 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The Date: July 20, 2010

The Event: During a concert in Brooklyn, N.Y., Cudi finally breaks his silence about the drug charges. "I know you guys were hearing some shit about me in the news," he says. "I was wilding out and shit, but I'm good now. I just smoke weed. I know niggas die when they 27. I'm 26 now, but I promise I'll live till I'm old as shit."

The Date: July 23, 2010

The Event: At a concert in Ohio, Cudi punches another fan. However, this time he simply reacts after the fan tries to bumrush the stage during his performance. Security guards escort the man away and the show continues.

The Date: September 18, 2010

The Event: In an interview with Complex, Cudi talks extensively about his struggles with drugs. "I started using cocaine to get through interviews," he says. "[I] never thought it was a problem, but I was definitely high-fiving death a couple times. It took a lot for me to talk about shit like this on the album."

The Date: September 24, 2010

The Event: Cudi gets sentenced to two days community service after he pleads guilty to possession of cocaine in a case involving the June 11 incident.

The Date: September 30, 2010

The Event: During an interview with XXL, Cudi reveals that he wishes "someone could teach me how to act." He goes on to to say that he's struggled with his newfound fame. "I can't take a bite of my burger without having people take a picture of it," he says. "It's like I'm a caged animal...I just want to do the right thing and react [properly] in certain situations."

The Date: October 5, 2010

The Event: Cudi publicly acknowledges that he has a beef with former friend/collaborator Wale. "He's just somebody I don't click with anymore," he tells Complex. "He never really had a good energy. I never felt like he wanted to see me prosper."

The Date: October 29, 2010

The Event: During an interview with MTV, Cudi says that he's "over rapping." He announces that his next project will be a rock album. "I don't get any fulfillment out of [rapping] anymore," he says. "I don't get any fulfillment out of writing a 16."

The Date: November 6, 2010

The Event: Actor Shia LaBeouf agrees to direct a mini-movie/music video for Cudi's song "Maniac."

The Date: November 9, 2010

The Event: Just a little more than a year after releasing his debut, Cudi drops his second album, Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager. Much of the album focuses on everything Cudi has gone through to get to where he's at today.

Are you glad to see Kid Cudi defeat his demons and release his second album, Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager? What do you think about the final product? Leave us a comment and let us know!