Beyond the Stage: Def Jux Rapper Cage Talks New Kid Cudi Collaboration at House of Blues

^{Photo by Erin Broadley}

It's another Friday night in Hollywood and the Sunset Strip looks like a war zone. Cars inch forward and break hard, some get stuck merging and block traffic, everyone is honking, and some people shout at each other through bullhorns. Definitive Jux rapper Chris "Cage" Palko stares quietly at the chaos from the outdoor patio at the House of Blues and takes a long drag off his cigarette. Across the street, cops have dropped in to break up a massive labor union protest at the Andaz hotel and there is a faint smell of manure coming from the parking lot. The night is shaping up rather dramatically but the only thing distracting Cage from his upcoming performance in a couple hours is the way he and his crew are being handled by the House of Blues staff.

"It's been a very long time since I've been treated like this," he says evenly. The House of Blues won't let them sound check and it won't let them use their video projection backdrop. Not to mention, the only thing in the fridge backstage is beer and half and half. Cage is annoyed. His DJ Chauncey is pissed. And tour manager Todd Westphal is trying to track down the guest list which has miraculously gone missing.

Admittedly, the vibe tonight is much different than it was the last time we saw Cage in July at the El Rey during the first run of his Depart From Me tour with label mate Yak Ballz. That night the performers exuded a infectious energy and showmanship on stage, only further enhanced by the tour mates' rollicking closeness off stage. But this time around things have changed. Rather than headlining, Cage is opening up for Less Than Jake, a seemingly odd pairing that was arranged via their respective agencies to "cross pollinate" their audiences.

Somehow, the one thing people weren't talking much about at the House of Blues was the news that Cage is teaming up to collaborate with Kid Cudi on Cudi's new album. L.A. Weekly met up with Cage backstage to get the scoop...

L.A. Weekly: So, you said you've got some cool new news to tell me.

Cage: Kid Cudi. I'm going to be doing a song on his next record.

L.A. Weekly: Wasn't there some issue with you and Kid Cudi a while ago when it came to him going after Shia [LaBeouf]?

Cage: Isn't that weird? That's how he found out about me. There was no issue or anything. It was just weird and coincidental because I was in an airport reading a magazine with an interview about him where it says he was trying to reach out to Shia to get him on his record. I was like, "Yeah right." He wanted Shia to narrate all the parts that Common did on [Man on the Moon: The End of Day]. Anyway, come to find out he saw my video [for "I Never Knew You"] a couple weeks ago and loved it. He got at me and we just started talking a lot about music and shit and he's like, "I want to get you on my record." I was like, "Cool." I live in SoHo and he lives in Tribeca so we live close. It hasn't really surfaced yet....

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