is telling all on his mended friendship with ... and explaining exactly why he ended up forgiving the guy after an ugly falling out.

The rapper hopped on 's Zane Lowe podcast and got into the topic in depth -- explaining he and Ye are, in fact, cool now .... noting it's because Kanye sincerely apologized to him -- which is major, as he doesn't easily dish out mea culpas.

KC adds that working with someone shrouded in controversy is complicated .

.. but at the end of the day, he considers Kanye his brother -- and it's always siblings that hurt each other the most ... but he'll always have his family's back.

Plus, he says fans love the two of them working together ... and Cudi's well aware of that.

You'll recall ... Kanye and Cudi feuded through all of 2022 and most of 2023 -- fuming when Cudi remained pals with as he dated his ex-wife .

In return, Cudi labeled him a dinosaur in the music industry and swore he'd never work. At the time, it certainly felt like things were over between them .

.. for good.

But, through much reflection, Cudi tells Zane here that he wouldn't be where he is today if it weren't for Kanye ... cause he championed him in his early career ... doing him huge favors such as paying for his "Day 'n' Nite" music video when he had no record deal.

He's also adamant that there's a good man underneath Ye's shocking behavior and abhorrent rants ... admitting he might not be able to bounce back from some stuff he's said, but he's praying for him.

Unclear if everyone agrees with Cudi about Kanye's underlying character ... but as far as he's concerned, their problems are water under a bridge.