\u201cI can\u2019t stress enough how therapeutic [music] is for me and how humbling it is to have people come up to me and tell me how therapeutic it is for them as well,\u201d he says. McCloud traces the roots of that recognition to another SXSW festival, over 10 years prior.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy first time at South By was probably the best first time at South By anyone could ever have,\u201d he says with a laugh. In 2014, the rapper was, in his words, young and \u201cdidn\u2019t have shit to lose,\u201d sleeping in a car with his roommate to attend the fest. He networked his way into a wristband and a side-stage view of Childish Gambino\u2019s electrifying Butler Park performance. Gambino collaborator Fam Udeorji noted his initiative \u2013 telling McCloud it reminded him of his and Gambino\u2019s own youthful antics \u2013 and got the fledgling artist an audience with the Atlanta creator.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t even be the artist that I am now had I not [gone] to South by Southwest and did that,\u201d says McCloud. Gambino\u2019s specific words are lost to the starstruck moment, but his encouragement was enough to keep the Texas rapper in the game.<\/p>\n
After last year\u2019s triumph, McCloud returns to the festival with another eye-catching video<\/a> offering for NPR\u2019s worldwide competition \u2013 and his third LP, Work of A.R.T. The seven-track album of socially conscious, wit-loaded lyricism is an ode to the remedial power of music and performance, reflected in every element of the project\u2019s output \u2013 all the way down to the name, Cure for Paranoia, which McCloud says has \u201cturned into a mantra, a way of life.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe year that I created the band, I got placed on medication for bipolar depression and paranoid schizophrenia,\u201d says McCloud. In a hotboxed car on the way to Colorado, the musician effortlessly christened the group upon realizing \u201cthat creating music was more therapeutic for me than the medication was.\u201d<\/p>\n On this visit to the Austin festival, the rapper says his performance is carefully crafted to tell the story of his mental health odyssey and music\u2019s curative role, forgoing a full band setup for a simple trio lineup of McCloud and producers Jay Analog and Tomahawk Jonez, presented with his signature attention to theatrical details and thought-provoking visuals.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really putting my self-discovery that I dealt with last year on full display.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Cure for Paranoia<\/a><\/p>\n Thursday 12, 11pm, Swan Dive<\/p>\n Friday 13, 9:30pm, Shangri-La<\/p>\n Tuesday 17, Time TBA, Swan Dive<\/p>\n Tuesday 17, 11:30pm, Riviere<\/p>\n Wednesday 18, 3pm, Downright Austin Radio Day Stage<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/SX26_MusicCircle.png\")
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773373334_612_SX26_BUG.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n