If “Maui Wowie meaning” is what brought you here, chances are you’ve been on TikTok lately, but here’s the real explanation…
Kid Cudi’s having a resurgence on social media lately, but it isn’t coming from a newly released album—it’s thanks to TikTok breathing new life into one of his oldest songs. Enter “Maui Wowie,” a track from his 2008 mixtape A Kid Named Cudi, that’s suddenly a Billboard-charting viral hit. TikTok did for Maui Wowie what Ashton Hall’s viral morning routine did for Saratoga water.
An interesting thing occurs when a song achieves TikTok success: context goes completely out the window. If the track is catchy enough, the original meaning doesn’t impact the content people make. We’ve seen people tapping their hips like Lil Uzi to the saddest songs imaginable. While “Maui Wowie” definitely isn’t a downer, do people actually know what it means?
What Does “Maui Wowie” Mean?
While the trending TikToks show people clinging to street signs, the song itself doesn’t really mention anything of that nature. At all, actually. Sure, in some ways, the track is about “hanging out,” but the true meaning resides in Cudi’s love for marijuana.
Maui Wowie is a well-known sativa-dominant marijuana strain from Hawaii, and the island of Maui, to be specific, which is where the strain gets the first part of its name. Maui’s tropical climate and rich volcanic soil provide fantastic conditions for growing high-quality cannabis. The “wowie” part comes from the strain’s reputation for an elated and uplifting high—it was also one of the first to get widespread recognition outside of Hawaii.
As a strain that’s been popular since the 1960s, Maui Wowie has earned shoutouts across pop culture and hip-hop. It’s not the first time rappers have paid tribute to the marijuana strain; it’s just the first time it’s reached TikTok virality. Cudi’s hook, “Goin’ back to Honolulu just to get that, that Maui Wowie, that Maui Wowie,” fits right into that lineage—an ode to escapism and good smoke.
On Ludacris’ 2011 track “What You Smokin On”, he raps: “That Sour Diesel, that Northern Lights and that killer Cali/ You see me out up in Oahu, Honolulu, smoking that Maui Wowie.” Way before that, Eazy-E shouted it out on 1992’s “Down 2 Tha Last Roach” in a long list of slang names for “Mar-a-motherf*ckin’-wana.”
For Cudi, though, it’s less about flexing and more about vibe. His version is mellow and euphoric—a stoner’s daydream wrapped in nostalgia.
How “Maui Wowie” Went Viral
The origins of a TikTok trend can be mysterious and completely random. In early September 2025, a TikTok posted by @aaronxbrownn showed him lip-syncing to “Maui Wowie” while inexplicably hanging from a street sign and wearing shades (honestly, he looked chill as hell while doing so). The video racked up over 3 million views. While it’s impossible to be fully sure of where the trend started, this video seems to be the one that kicked it off, as other popular ones followed the same laid-back formula.
@aaronxbrownn omw to honolulu #fyp #mauiwowie
♬ original sound - PAPO
Between that original post and late October 2025, videos using “Maui Wowie” flooded TikTok—and the song felt it. Nearly 17 years after its release, Kid Cudi’s 2008 song made its Billboard Hot 100 debut at #71. It also marked Cudi’s first appearance on the Hot 100 as a lead artist since 2020.
The impact didn’t stop there. Streams of “Maui Wowie” jumped over 1,000% on Spotify globally since September 5, and more than 2.7 million listeners discovered Cudi on the platform in that time—with nearly two-thirds of them being Gen Z. For an artist whose music soundtracked a whole different era of the internet, that’s a full-circle moment.
Cudi celebrated the resurgence on IG, writing: “This is MEGA!!! Debuting #71 on the @billboard charts 17 years later. This is a true example of timeless music. To all the fans who made this happen, I LOVE YOU!! Lets keep it going yall!!!”
Cudi eventually got in on the fun himself, recreating the trend on TikTok:
More About ‘A Kid Named Cudi’
Though “Maui Wowie” is the hot track from Cudi’s 2008 breakout mixtape at the moment, it’s not the only song from the project to be wildly catchy and successful. “Day N Nite,” the only single from the tape, is considered a classic among casual fans and hardcore Cudi listeners alike. The track not only went #3 on Billboard’s Hot 100, but it’s a diamond-certified banger with undeniable replay value. Complex also ranked it as the #7 best song of the decade (2000-2010).
Other tracks on A Kid Named Cudi didn’t have that insane level of commercial success, but by no means should they be overlooked. The project introduced mainstream listeners to Cudi’s hypnotic vocals, nonchalant delivery juxtaposed with emotional range, and, of course, the humming.
Songs like “Man on The Moon” and “Embrace The Martian” established his spaced-out sound, while “The Prayer” detailed his perspective on life, and the noted feeling of an artist wanting their music to live on long after they do.
For new Cudi fans who found him through TikTok, A Kid Named Cudi is worth a full listen—it’s the blueprint for everything that came after. And listeners of age? Sit back, relax, and enjoy the project while smoking on some Maui Wowie.
