Throwback Album Review: Kids See Ghosts by Kids See Ghosts (Kanye West & Kid Cudi)

Source: KIDS SEE GHOSTS Album Cover - GOOD Music / Def Jam

It’s time for the first entry into the Album Review series, and to get the ball rolling, I have chosen an all-time personal favourite project of mine, the self titled project by the dynamic duo of hip-hop icons Kanye West & Kid Cudi, Kids See Ghosts. Despite being just over a year old, Kids See Ghosts in my opinion has quickly become a timeless classic, for a wide variety of reasons.

For starters, the perfectly assembled and masterfully done integrations of Rap, Rock and Psychedelic music help the album carry an eerie, out of this world feeling for the listener to immerse themselves in from start to finish. What makes this even more impressive, is that the project manages to present this beautiful mix of genres in an awe-inspiring manner over a short runtime of just 7 tracks, 23 minutes.

The reason for the short track list and length, is due to the album being released in a series of Kanye West’s 2018 GOOD Summer release schedule, which saw him release 4 other projects of similar length on a week by week basis during the summer (In order, Pusha T’s “Daytona”, Kanye West’s “ye”,  Kids See Ghosts Self Titled Project, Nas’ “Nasir”, and Teyana Taylor’s “KTSE”).

Don’t let the minimum duration turn you off, because what Kids See Ghosts lacks in length, it more than makes up for in just about everything it aims to achieve as a concept album. Kids See Ghosts dwelves into the mind and exeperiences of both artists, and explores themes of suffering from, dealing with and overcoming mental health, through a cycle of both aggressive and calm moments over the 23 minute runtime.

For this review, I will be doing a track by track analysis of each of the 7 songs on the project, where I will explain the meaning behind each track, as well as the part that it plays in this out of body musical experience.

Before we begin, however, I will say that part of the appeal of the project involves the history of the duo behind it, Kanye West and Kid Cudi, as their ups and downs, both together and individually helped form the atmosphere that this project is surrounded in, as well as the chemistry presented by them throughout.

I highly recommend watching the following 1/2 an hour length documentary from Youtube channel “The Most Unruly”, in order to gain a good bit of background information on the 2 artists involved that lead into the creation of this collaborative project.

Now, let us begin, shall we?

Track #1: Feel The Love

Feel The Love doesn’t kick things off with a bang, no, Feel The Love kicks the entire album off with a nuclear explosion and perfectly sets the tone for what’s to come.

It begins with some haunted mellow synths, which are subtle, but immediately present the haunted vibe that the listener would expect from a project entitled “Kids See Ghosts”, these synths are then overtaken by Kid Cudi, whose sole purpose in the track is singing the chorus.

Kid Cudi’s vocal inflection within this repeated chorus is a true outburst of emotion and induces a mix of feelings including outrage, sadness, but also, determination, which stems from him feeling like despite what is going wrong in his life, that he can still “Feel The Love”. This chorus is perfectly balanced by the guest verse from GOOD Musics own, Pusha T.

Pusha T’s verse take a braggadocios, cold and direct approach to the theme of the song, which sees him feeling the love in the highs of success and luxury, without a downturn in sight. That is, until the end of his verse, in which Kanye West comes in with the explosive wave of energy that the song was slowly, but also unexpectedly building up to.

Kanye throughout his portions of the track, vocally outputs these crazy and aggressive gunshot like sounds, which fall perfectly in line with additional amped up snares, bass and drums, immediately laying an aura of uncontrollable chaos within the atmosphere of the song.

Kid Cudi’s singing of the chorus is scattered throughout Kanye’s performance, and due to the contrast of the 2, Kid Cudi’s vocals become haunted and fear inducing, with Kid Cudi’s desire to “Feel The Love” has now become desperation amongst all of the surrounding chaos.

After an outro supported by hard hitting drums and eerie sounding synths, the vocals of Kid Cudi and Kanye West come to a sudden end, and the listener is left overwhelmed, shocked, and at a loss for words. While the conclusion is sudden, it still manages to act as a smooth transition into the next track.

Feel The Love as a track, perfectly encapsulate the chaotic feeling that one can go through when struggling with mental health issues, the desire to still see the positive side of life, while battling the blocks and barriers put up by their own mental state. For all these reasons, I think Feel The Love is a fantastic introduction to Kids See Ghosts.

Track #2: Fire

Fire to many listeners, may seem like a more low-key point on the project, but don’t let this track slip past you, as there is a lot to enjoy about this one.

Coming off of the pure unadulterated chaos of Feel The Love, Fire in contrast is more laid back and care free, which is carried by a guitar driven beat with marching band like drums and percussion.

While the track does present this low-key aspects to them, the beat is also backed up by eerily sounding flutes, and ghoul like sounds laced throughout, which continue the haunted vibe of the project.

Lyrically, the content of the track sees both Kanye West and Kid Cudi reflecting on both the mistakes that they have made in their past, as well as how they react to those who judge them based on these mistakes that they have made.

On one hand, song sees both artists writing off those who judge them in a negative manner as non factors who are better off ignored if they want to move forward positively in life. On the other hand, certain parts of the song discuss the desire to be forgiven for these past failures in order to not need to worry about them.

The outro of the song involves Kid Cudi calling to god for forgiveness for his past wrongdoings and is delivered with a background of smooth and calm hums that have been a trademark for Kid Cudi throughout his discography. The beat, alongside the lyrics and the delivery presents a holy and spiritual like aura for the listener to immerse themselves in.

The outro then fades away into a short segment of guitar strums, which pull the listener back down from the heavens to earth and acts as a reality check to ensure that their full attention is on hand for the next track.

Fire, while being the shortest song on the project, has a lot to offer to the listener. The beat is masterfully orchestrated, the lyrical content accurately represents an internal struggle that many go through in life, and the structure of the song provides enough high and low-key points to ensure that it packs a punch that a song double its length would have.

Track #3: 4th Dimension

As a full concept, 4th Dimension may just be the most unusual track on the entire project, but despite a selection of weird ideas and combinations, this track, somehow and someway, manages to make it all work in a very successful way.

Immediately after being bought back down to earth at the end of Fire, the listener is greeted to an odd intro, to say the least. For the first 20 seconds of the 3rd track, entitled “4th Dimension”, the listener is presented with a snippet of the songs main sample, a 1930s Christmas song.

Yes, you read that right. Now, on paper, this seems like the very odd sample choice, but in a career full of forward thinking beat making and sampling, Kanye proves once again just why there is nobody else like him. After the sample intro finishes, the beat switches, drops, and the group background vocals on this track gain a new haunting presence as they flow on the background of the beat.

Upon the switching of the beat, we are introduced to Kanye’s verse, in which we hear Kanye taking the idea of a out of this world “4th Dimension” and paints a vivid picture of using sex as an escape from the outside world. Some of Kanye’s lines throughout the verse take a comedic detour, but the loose cannon like delivery of these lines just make it work with the eerie beat in the background.

After a replay of the chorus, the song suddenly comes to screeching halt at the halfway point, where the listener with ghoulish, unsettling and creepy sounding laughter. But before the listener has time to truly process what they’ve just listened to, we then hear Kid Cudi come onto the track, with a verse that contrasts the mood of Kanye’s one.

Kid Cudi’s verse is delivered in this cold blooded and monotone delivery and flow, which immediately grabs your attention as he delivers line after line detailing his balance between struggling with his issues and moving forward in life with a carefree attitude. Within his verse, Kid Cudi also pinpoints the struggle of trying to avoid the evils in life, but still falling into sin and temptation anyway.

This verse then ends and shifts into another repeat of the sample chorus. Once the final chorus ends, the track takes yet another weird and unexpected turn, this time, into a old sample interview in which the overall message said is “Just let the music do its thing and 2 and a half minutes is all you need.”

All of that, on a track that is only 2 and a half minutes, and you know what? It just works. While the opening track Feel The Love, presents the listener with a chaotic sound, 4th Dimension provides a chaotic song structure that still maintains the vibe of the project.

With a charismatic performance on the side of both artists, a wide variety of ideas bought to the table, both unique & spectacular production, and a long list of quotable lyrics, 4th Dimension manages to be a pack quite the punch for the amount that it is offering on paper. The unorthodox song structure, unexpectedly, was preparing the listener all along for what is about to come next.

Track #4: Freeee (Ghost Town Pt. 2)

I mentioned earlier in the review, that this project contained elements of rock, well, here we are with a track that is arguably a pure rock and roll song in its most haunted form.

Freee, acts as a follow up a song off of Kanye’s solo release the week before, ye. The song in question is called Ghost Town, a song which mentions the idea of experiencing pain till the point of becoming numb to it and no longer feeling it. 

The track begins off with yet another vocal sample, smoothly transition from the other vocal sample at the end of the previous track. This vocal passage presents the concept of one needing to gain an exact understanding of oneself, of which is the idea behind being able to become free from pain. Learn enough about yourself and what you’re capable of, to gain control.

The backing beat is a hard hitting, gritty, sharp and horror inducing rock and roll type beat, that immediately takes the listener out of their element and matches their mindset with the mood of the song. On top of this beat rests the performances of Kanye, Cudi, and the songs featured artist, Hip-Hop and R&B Ty Dolla $ign.

All 3 men showcase true emotion in their screamed and shouted vocals, with true insanity laced throughout the delivery, as well as the lyrical subject matter of “I don’t feel pain anymore, I feel free!”.

After a verse in which all 3 men make their voices and emotions heard, Ty Dolla $ign provides some incredible and godlike sounding multi-tracked choir vocals that leave the listener breathless. In between, Kid Cudi comes in with a solo verse in which he reflects on coming back from his past issues, and states that he feels like he’s died and came back a whole new person.

The idea of experience a pain so high, and pain so consistently, to the point where you have become numb to it and now tolerate it, is one that a lot of people, especially those who struggle with mental health issues encounter in their lives.

Through the shear power of their insanity inducing, emotionally overwhelming, and out of this world performances, Kanye, Cudi, and Ty encapsulate the listener in a true out of body experience that is the height of the album in terms of aggression and output of energy. A level of energy so great, that a cool down is necessary 

Track #5: Reborn

As a direct contrast to the previous track, Reborn is a much calmer, and soothing track that once again brings the listener back down to earth. With a beat carried by atmospheric and eerie sounding piano keys and bells, as well as emotional and soft background vocals in the form of humming from Kid Cudi.

After a soothing intro from Kid Cudi, we are then introduced to the chorus of the song, one of which repeats a fair amount throughout the song and one that the listener will likely find themselves to become quite familiar with.

“I’m so reborn, I’m moving forward. Keep moving forward, keep moving forward.” – These lyrics within the chorus take up a bulk of the song and repeat quite a lot over the 5 and a half minute track length. On paper, this might seem like lazy repetition, but in my opinion, this repetition is necessary and is what helps the track become as important of a point on the album as it is.

After the initial chorus, we are presented with one of my personal favourite verses on the entire project, which is delivered by none other than Kanye West. Kanye, line for line, outputs one of his most personal, emotional and depressing verses that he has ever performed.

Kanye West in the public eye is seen as an incredibly controversial figure, one that rubs many people the wrong way, but here, we see Kanye reflect on his behavior and outlandish antics in an apologetic, self aware and vulnerable manner. I think that even those who wouldn’t consider themselves a fan of the man, would find it hard not to feel the pain that Kanye spits out into each and every word within this verse.

After another section of the chorus, we are presented with another introspective verse, this time from Kid Cudi. Much like Kanye, Cudi is in a vulnerable and emotional state throughout the delivery of his verse, as he reflects on his struggles in the past with loving himself and falling victim to the vices in life. But the verse also has a positive outlook, with Kid Cudi still looking forward and determined to not give up on the journey of life.

What these 2 deep and personal verses manage to achieve, is the purpose of putting the listener in a vibe of self reflection on their own struggles in life, past or present, and this is where the repetition of the chorus throughout the final 2 and a half minutes of the song comes in to truly capitalize on this vibe in a truly beautiful way.

Hearing the phrase “I’m so Reborn, Keep moving forward” over and over again, like it’s a constant reminder in the listeners mind, combined with  state of self reflection, transforms this track into more than just a song. What Reborn is to me, and many others, is a musical powered therapeutic experience, which for me personally, never fails to help me continue fighting to reach my goals, and to look at my struggles in life, as necessary learning experiences that helped me become who I am today.

The harmonizing, spiritual, and soothing cool-down that the song brings in the final 2 parts with the incredible beat switch, as well as Kid Cudis softly delivered vocals, help ease the listener into a state of peaceful isolation that perfectly sets up for the next track.

Track #6: Kids See Ghosts

Kids See Ghosts, a song from the album, Kids See Ghosts, from the musical duo, Kids See Ghosts. Sorry, I couldn’t help myself , anyways, back to the review. Kids See Ghosts is a track that immediately embodies the name and vision behind the theme and concept of the album, with it’s incredibly eerie sounding beat, and Kid Cudi’s haunted humming throughout.

If I close my eyes while listening to this track, I can just picture myself in a haunted house, or a graveyard, surrounded by spirits. This feeling is helped by Kid Cudi, who comes in with a verse and chorus in which he whispers the words in an almost unsettling manner. Cudi’s verse once again is another brilliant showcase of introspection.

Kanye West comes in after Kid Cudi, and takes a different approach with his verse, in which he delivers in absolute top technical form. Kanye West’s verse details the harsh reality of the struggles that comes with living in the limelight, which include the hard to live up to expectations put upon you by the public, the pressure of always being in the public eye, and the ever lasting and ever growing competitive attitude among the scene.

After Kanye, featured artist Yasiin Bey (F.K.A Mos Def), comes in with a very wise and poetic portion of the track, in which he theorizes the ideas of a Civilization without society, Power and wealth nobility and Stability without stasis. These lines are left for the listener to sit on and think about, but the moral of the story is, all of these concepts, metaphorically represent the idea of a ghost, something that is believed to be there, but may not be.

There is a lot to unpack about the track lyrically, but as far as the instrumentation is concerned, I find it hard to detail just how mesmerizing the track sounds to the human ear in simple words. But do know, that the dark, and creepy atmosphere that the instrumental brings, brings us to the incredible finale that the listener is about to embark on.

Track #7: Cudi Montage

The first thing the listener hears in Cudi Montage, is a grimy sounding guitar solo, which is then looped and placed into the background of the beat. The significance of this guitar beyond its perfect placement throughout the track, is the fact that it is a sample of one of Kid Cudi’s biggest inspirations, Kurt Cobain.

Kurt Cobain, whom was a legendary figure in the genre of grunge and alt rock, 2 genres that often explore themes of self loathing and personal issues, and a man who fell victim to his own personal demons as he took his own life at only 27 years of age.

This haunting and chilling sample sets the listener up for Kid Cudi’s brief verse, in which he recognises his own personal demons that have reduced him to the point that he has found himself in, and as a result, he begins calling to a higher power (God, in this case) for help.

Then, all of a sudden, the listener is sucked into the chorus, which sees Kid Cudi with his signature humming, this time with a pained and emotional delivery, and these masterfully done multi track and multi layered vocals in which he sings to remind himself to stay strong, but also out to a higher power in order to save him.

This powerful chorus, leads into an even more powerful verse, in which Kanye delivers absolutely hard hitting and bone chilling lines detailing the cycle of violence that is prevalent and constant in gang orientated communities. This verse paints a picture of the dark reality that many find themselves in through gang affiliation, and the damage that is caused through being trapped in this lifestyle.

Directly after Kanye’s heart breaking and incredible verse, is the extended outro to the song and the album as a whole. The final minute of the song, no matter how hard I try,  I simply can not do justice with simply words. The best way that I can describe the sound of this final part, is that it is a musical representation of being brought up to heaven.

With a heavenly and spiritual sounding long drawn out beat switch, and Kanye joining in with an extended version of the chorus to deliver back up singing in which he calls to a higher power for help, this song immediately transforms itself into a breath taking and goosebump inducing out of body experience that ends the album off an overwhelming of the senses.

Final Words

There’s nothing more that I can say in regard to the music on the project itself, so I will simply conclude this review with my own personal thoughts and feelings on this album, and what it means to me.

Since this album came out in June 2018, it has been in my rotation on a regular basis and has become an important part of my life. As somebody who has gone through a fair amount of personal struggles, this album acts as the perfect audio powered experienced to help me self reflect and meditate whenever I need a bit of time to be introspective in order to pick myself up and continue moving forward.

I love this project so much, that I created a fan site for it in a web design class of mine, and not to mention, I even have one of the ghosts on the front cover tattooed on the back of my leg.

The amount of content and emotion that both Kanye and Cudi managed to fit in to just 7 tracks over a 23 minute runtime is just awe-inspiring. This project is an absolute masterpiece, an amazing portrayal of mental health issues and self struggles in the form of emotional musical output and is lightning in a bottle in its truest form.

Final Rating: 10/10