This is the debut album from American hip hop collaboration, KIDS SEE GHOSTS, a project consisting of two of the most famous artists in the rap game, Kanye West and Kid Cudi. This is not the first time that Kanye and Cudi have worked together, they’ve worked together since Welcome To Heartbreak off of Kanye’s 2008 album, 808s and Heartbreaks and they were working together until Cudi started feeling dissatisfied with being underused by Kanye. They had a brief falling out in 2016 because of that. Cudi felt underused, Kanye felt betrayed, they squabbled online, only to make up shortly after. It’s also important to note the mental health struggles these two have gone through. Kanye’s mental health struggles have been well documented over the years with his manic episodes in the public eye and his vulnerable songwriting talking about just that. Kid Cudi was in rehab for his depression and suicidal thoughts in November of 2016. These struggles translated into fateful sessions in Wyoming in 2017. KIDS SEE GHOSTS was recorded and was one of five projects that Kanye West worked on and released in 2018.
I was initially made aware of this album’s existence because Anthony Fantano gave it a famously rare 10 rating and everyone went crazy. Fantano gave Kanye West a 6 for My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, an album regarded as Kanye’s magnum opus, and he later gave Kid Cudi a 0 for his album, Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven (not as highly regarded). There was one clear narrative with these two as far as Fantano was concerned: redemption. These two talented artists finally got their day in the sun, with Cudi even being able to boast about getting a 0 and a 10 from the melon! For some reason, this was the 10 from Fantano that I held out on the longest, but it was always lurking at the back of my mind. I may disagree with Fantano on many things related and unrelated to music, but he knows a 10/10 album when he hears one, clearly. I, myself, have heard embarrassingly little Kid Cudi (which means just Day N Nite) but I have a bit of a history with Kanye. My first Kanye album was Jesus Is King, and that was a rushed dumpster fire, so then I listened to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and that was a good record (Cudi is the only reason why I like Gorgeous BTW). But I felt like Kanye could do better, so I looked to Kids See Ghosts for salvation. I was initially unimpressed with Reborn because it was out of context, but then I heard Feel The Love one fateful night in the car with my friends and I was BLOWN AWAY. All my friends heard for half of that night was me screaming “GRRRAT GAT GAT GAT GAT!!!!”. At that point, I just HAD to listen to this album!
Yep, I love this album. So, this is what good Kanye is. So, this is what Kid Cudi can do. KIDS SEE GHOSTS does in 23 minutes what lesser albums fail to do in 53! It takes hold of the listener right away because each song hits so hard, while doing so little.
It starts with production that has super tight mixing everywhere. Both Ye and Cudi are on top and powerful and the instruments are clear and crisp. The effects are great as well. This album effortlessly balances supernatural and grounded, all from how much reverb is used, usually on voices. We go from the reverb-caked “I can still feel the love” to Kanye’s dry verse on Fire to the “I feel FREEEEEE”. I feel a difference in proximity with this reverb, and it accentuates the emotional core of the album beautifully.
The composition on this album is absolutely fantastic. Feel The Love has this minimalist beat that comes in with these crushing drums with Kanye’s “GRRAT”. Fire has this western vibe to it that I really like because it has this ominous swagger to it. The sample on 4th Dimension is classic Kanye and one of the better beats I’ve heard from him. Drums on this thing are solid. Pianos are very pretty. The beats are fantastic as well! Structure from this album is one of the selling points of KIDS SEE GHOSTS. Song structure gives West and Cudi equal share of the floor, as it does for any featured artists, but the real focus is album structure. It’s just flawless. The 2 minutes songs at the front flow together effortlessly, making for one of the best 3 track runs of all time. Not to mention the matching dark moods of the longer songs on the second half. Clearly, Ye and Cudi knew exactly what they were doing with this album.
As for the performances themselves, Kanye West is powerful, insane and braggodocious as ever including his vulnerability that attracted me to him in the first place. Balancing him out is Kid Cudi with a calming, yet confident presence with more low key flows, except for the sassy verse on Freeee. Cudi’s humming is also perfect for these songs like Fire, it’s just beautiful. Features from Pusha T, Ty Dolla $ign, Yasiin “Mos Def” Bey and Mr. Hudson are incredible as well, fitting each song perfectly. The shouting of “I feel freeeee” sounds like a bunch of gods getting together to show off their unique powers. It’s awesome! Then we get to lyrics, and they make My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy sound like a mere ego trip in comparison. Kids See Ghosts sees not just two artists working insanely well together, but two people who have been through hell, rose above it, and are now telling their stories. It’s a breath of fresh air with this layered positivity, not only as a fun rap album, but an album that purposefully instills good vibes that stick with you long after your first listen.
KIDS SEE GHOSTS is a short, yet colourful experience with Kanye West and Kid Cudi complementing each other as well as any artists could complement each other. I dare you to find a better collab album than this!
I’m giving this one a Decent 9/10.
FAVOURITE TRACKS: Feel The Love, Fire, 4th Dimension, Freeee, Reborn, Cudi Montage
LEAST FAVOURITE TRACK: Kids See Ghosts
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