[6] He also established a group called Smut Peddlers, with hip hop duo The High & Mighty, publishing an album titled Porn Again, in 2001.

He is also known for his collaborations with New Jersey rapper Tame One; the two were collectively known as Leak Bros. Cage and Camu Tao made up the duo Nighthawks, who released an eponymous 2002 album.

Facing jail time for violating probation, his mother convinced the judge he was mentally unstable, and was sent to the Stony Lodge psychiatric hospital for a two-week evaluation.

[8][9] After being misdiagnosed and placed on the drug, he became suicidal and made several attempts to kill himself, including hanging himself with his shoelaces and saving his lithium dose for a month before ingesting all of them at once.

[7][8] When Palko was released from the hospital at eighteen, he pursued a career as a rapper, giving himself the stage name "Alex", after the protagonist of Anthony Burgess' novel A Clockwork Orange.

[12][13] Eminem later sarcastically addressed the accusation through various songs, including "Drastic Measures (Microphone Autopsy),” "Role Model," and "Get You Mad.

[11] Because Palko felt that he should no longer play a character, he began to take on a more open writing style,[8] and signed with Definitive Jux, where he released his second studio album Hell's Winter, on September 20, 2005.

The two performed "Maniac", alongside indie rock musician St. Vincent, on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in November of that year.

[24] In March 2011, Cudi announced he would be releasing a short film inspired by the song "Maniac", co-starring Palko and directed by Shia LaBeouf, in October 2011.

[31] Cage also announced he would release material under an alter ego, Sam Hill, with lyrics on topics similar to his early efforts on Movies For the Blind.

[36] Palko had two further supporting roles in independent films: Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead's critically acclaimed romantic horror Spring[37] and Amber Tamblyn's drama Paint It Black.

[40] Cage was also called "the poster boy for emo rap" by Exclaim!,[41] with Hell's Winter and the song "I Never Knew You" cited as examples of him performing in this style.