Album Cover
The Official Kids See Ghosts Self Titled Album Cover, Courtesy Of Takashi Murakami
Full Album Review
An in depth review of the Kids See Ghosts Self Titled Album, courtesy of online music critic TheNeedleDrop, known professionally as Anthony Fantano.
Track No. 1 - Feel The Love
The opening track of Kanye West’s and Kid Cudi’s first collaborative album, KIDS SEE GHOSTS, features fellow G.O.O.D. Music artist Pusha-T.
Pusha delivers the song’s sole rap verse. Kid Cudi feels the love that is surrounding him, despite the fact that audible gun sounds can be heard throughout the song—courtesy of Mr. West.
The song was first heard at a listening party held in an abandoned ghost town, somewhere in Southern California. It was also available to view in the WAV streaming app on June 7, 2018.
Track No. 2 - Fire
In “Fire,” Kanye and Cudi bring up their failures in life and the people who judge them for it. Instead of caring about this, they choose to ignore it, even going as far as stating that they “[…] love all your shit talkin'”.
The song also brings up their wish to be forgiven for these wrongdoings, with the outro being Cudi begging for Heaven to lift him up, despite all the scars that he’s left behind.
Track No. 3 - 4th Dimension
Sampling Louis Prima’s “What Will Santa Claus Say” to eerie effect, Ye and Cudi touch on everything from accidental anal sex, to Ric Flair and Lacoste.
The sample of “Someday” by Shirley Ann Lee which appears at the end of the song was also used on “Ghost Town” from Kanye’s 8th album ye.
Track No. 4 - Freeee (Ghost Town PT. 2)
This song’s concept is based on the track “Ghost Town,” which was released one week prior on Kanye West’s 2018 album, ye. It is officially designated as the song’s sequel. Kid Cudi provided vocals for the original song’s chorus.
The follow-up revolves around its precursor’s outro, particularly the line sung by 070 Shake:
"And nothing hurts anymore, I feel kinda free…"
The track opens with a quote by renowned activist and Black Nationalist Marcus Garvey, from a 1924 interview regarding charges of mail fraud and political persecution. Kanye and Cudi reinforce a message of self-mastery by transcending the constant criticism of others and defying boundaries set by society.
In October 2018, Kanye and Def Jam Records submitted the track for consideration in the Rock category of the 2019 Grammys, for both ‘Best Rock Song’ and ‘Best Rock Performance.’
Track No. 5 - Reborn
On KIDS SEE GHOSTS' fifth track, “Reborn,” Kanye West and Kid Cudi discuss overcoming their personal issues and moving forward from their previous mistakes.
With verses from both Kanye and Cudi, combined with excellent production courtesy of benny blanco, E*Vax, Plain Pat, and Dot Da Genius, the two artists elaborate on their controversial past, while journeying to rebirth.
Leading up to the release of Kanye West’s ye, the Chicago native had been ever-so-controversial; from voicing his support to Donald Trump to calling “slavery a choice,” ‘Ye explains his recent behavior with his verse—almost apologetically.
Similar to Kanye’s verse, Kid Cudi introspectively details his battles with drug abuse and rehabilitation. Two years prior to “Reborn,” Cudi shared a personal letter on his Facebook page, acknowledging his mental health issues. Appropriately enough, Cudi stated that he would return from rehabilitation “reborn”:
"Love and light to everyone who has love for me and I am sorry if I let anyone down. I really am sorry. Ill be back, stronger, better. Reborn."
It’s not a coincidence that the term “reborn” perfectly describes Kanye and Cudi either—the song details the transition the two have gone through, and to be reborn means to be brought back to life; revived and regenerated. The idea of being reborn is used as a metaphor by Kid Cudi throughout the song, explaining the way both artists have evolved and changed from their past selves.
Track No. 6 - Kids See Ghosts (Self Titled Track)
On the album’s namesake track, Cudi is introspective while Kanye addresses the expectations and pressures that come with fame, as well as his attitude toward his competition and possibly the media.
This is also not the first time Kanye has tried to tap into the youth and made reference to kids interacting with spirits, having noticeably rapped about this on “Dark Fantasy”.
Track No. 7 - Cudi Montage
The melody of “Cudi Montage” is built around the grimy guitar riff from Kurt Cobain’s “Burn the Rain,” a track from the deceased Nirvana frontman’s Montage of Heck – a posthumous compilation of home recordings released in 2015, hence the title of this track.
Kanye uses it to describe the cycle of violence created by a gang mentality, the far reaching damage it causes, and that being freed from the loop requires a higher power.