KIDS SEE GHOSTS is a newly formed hip-hop supergroup consisting of two very well-known artists in Kanye West and Kid Cudi, both part of the GOOD Music label. Kanye needs no introduction, I’ve already covered two of his albums (including his most recent one, “ye”), and you’ve probably heard even more from him than I have. Kid Cudi, however, is someone I haven’t talked about much: in my reviews, he’s only made small cameo appearances on those two Kanye albums, and outside of his widely-known 2008 single “Day ’n’ Nite,” the most experience that I have with Cudi was listening to a small snippet of the title track from his 2015 album “Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven” but quickly turning it off because it was starting to make me physically ill. That’s how bad it was. And NO, I’m not gonna review that album anytime soon. Unless you pay me, I’m not putting myself through it. Much kudos to anyone that had to sit through it even once, and MORE kudos to those that had to sit through it multiple times.
I’m sorry, I’m digressing. Anyway, this was an album I wasn’t sure if I would be reviewing. On one hand, Kanye’s last two albums (the ones I reviewed) were solidly enjoyable and I had some fun with them, so even despite his strange persona and recent media brouhaha, I enjoyed “ye” enough that I wouldn’t mind covering him again with this project. On top of that, like the previous GOOD Music releases of “ye” and Pusha T’s “DAYTONA,” this one is jumping on the whole “short record that’s actually an EP masquerading as an album” trend, seeing as this is seven tracks and 23 minutes. However, as I mentioned earlier, I’ve never been too interested in Kid Cudi (even if he's had an influence on MANY of the artists I listen to), and given what I've heard about his recent output, part of me did have some worry that Cudi could potentially bring down the album to the point where the duo would feel like less than the sum of their parts. Still, early reactions to it seem pretty positive, so maybe this will keep up GOOD Music’s current trend of putting out solid (yet very short) albums. Let’s find out, shall we?
Feel the Love (ft. Pusha T): To start things out, Kanye, Cudi and Pusha T (yep, he’s here too) talk about how they feel love around them, even though there are several loud gun noises around them. Cudi’s vocals on the hook are jump-scare worthy (not that they sound bad, they’re just very weird and out-of-nowhere), but Pusha T’s verse is pretty strong as usual. The production is very minimal (there’s a cool drum beat at one point), but Kanye’s gun noises, while energetic, are pretty laughable. I feel like he wants to enter meme-territory with the gun noises, and I couldn’t help but laugh at them. They meshed well with the beat, but they were just strange. Overall, it’s got some good things going on, but it’s definitely a pretty flawed track. I want to say it’ll grow on me because of the production, but “growing on me” would require me to sit through Kanye’s gun noises a few more times and try not to laugh at them. Wish me luck.
Fire: Here, Kanye and Cudi talk about the failures they’ve had in life, and they basically talk about how said failures wouldn’t stop them, insisting that they “love all your shit talkin’.” Respect for actually liking the shit-talk. I like the kind of swingy, tambourine-driven beat on this one, and I really dig Kanye’s opening verse and his flow. It’s catchy and sticky, and the same could be said for Cudi. Sure, the both of them sound a little bit like they’re half-asleep here, but I must say they at least bring enough energy to not feel like they’re completely sleepwalking. Overall, yeah, I dig it. Pretty good track.
4th Dimension (ft. Louis Prima): Okay, hold on hold on hold on, so I was looking at the Genius.com entry for this song, as I tend to do, and apparently they said that one of the topics Kanye and Cudi talk about on this one is “accidental anal sex.” Excuse me? What in God’s green Earth is “accidental anal sex?” I may not know a ton about sex, but I’m pretty sure no one engages in anal sex, and then claims that it was an “accident.” Wow, that’s something. Either way, I didn’t really take a lot of time to think about the whole “accidental anal sex” thing because I was enjoying myself so much with the song. The duo picked a really strong sample to build this one around ("Someday" by Shirley Ann Lee), and it’s definitely got a very sticky, fun beat to it. Kanye’s verse honestly reminded me of “the old Kanye,” and Cudi’s verse featured some really great flow as well! Really like this one!
Freeee (Ghost Town Pt. 2) (ft. Ty Dolla $ign): The follow-up to the song “Ghost Town” from “ye,” this track sees Kanye and Cudi continuing to discuss the idea of self-mastery and basically defying boundaries and criticisms set on them by others. Good to see them getting away from “accidental anal sex” on this one. This one’s got a more upbeat feel to it, and once again, the sampling of "Stark" by Mr. Chop allows them to build a really fun drum beat. Even so, I personally don’t really dig a lot of the vocal performances here. Kanye’s performance on the hook is somewhat silly, Cudi doesn’t really get enough time to do much on the track, and not even guest vocalist Ty Dolla $ign can bring much strong energy. Definitely a song that could’ve been better.
Reborn: On this one, Kanye and Cudi talk about how they’ve been through so many personal issues lately, but that they are going to learn from their past mistakes, rise above them, and keep moving forward. Good message, and they talk about this over a very nice, moody instrumental with a fun, kick drum-driven beat. Cudi’s vocals are very nice here, and the hook is extremely sticky as well. Kanye once again brings his A-game on his verse, with great flow and energy, and I also like the vocal interplay here: where Kanye just raps through his verse, Cudi’s verse (and presence as a whole, for that matter) is more melodic and sing-y. They work well together and, thus far, they really bring out the best in each other.
Kids See Ghosts (ft. Yasiin Bay): I’ve said this before, but it doesn’t get more meta than self-titling your debut album, and then having a title-track on said self-titled debut album. Thus, we have the track “Kids See Ghosts” on the group KIDS SEE GHOSTS’ first album “KIDS SEE GHOSTS.” Meta, people…meta. Anyway, this song sees Cudi becoming introspective, while Kanye discusses his competition over a more catchy, bouncy beat. Yasiin Bay comes in as a feature, and he brings some decent, if not overly exciting, vocals. Kanye’s verse steals the show here, from his energetic flow and performance to his confident lyrics, but Cudi’s verse does feature some nice, if very minimal, vocals as well. Overall, the song really works in spite of its flaws, and I can see myself coming back to it quite a bit in the future.
Cudi Montage: This song samples Kurt Cobain’s “Burn the Rain,” which you’d think would be shocking if you didn’t know that Cudi’s “Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven” was actually an alternative rock record. All that said, though, anytime I connect/relate a song to anything from “Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven,” my stomach drops a bit, so I definitely went into this closing track a bit scared. Luckily, the song sees Cudi providing some really fast-paced (and really great) flow on his first verse, as he raps over a relatively head-noddy beat about the damage caused by gang-based violence. Once again, Kanye’s verse is really strong, from the rapid-fire flow to his overall charismatic and energetic performance, and he does have some nice vocals on the hook. Very good end to the album!
Overall, I’m gonna try to keep this sum-up a bit short, because a lot of my thoughts on this record are similar to my thoughts on Kanye’s “ye,” which I reviewed a week ago: it’s an enjoyable project that definitely surprised me a bit, but I do wish it was a bit longer. Kanye and Cudi really bring out the best in each other, as Cudi brings some nice, melodic vocals to the record, while Kanye brings great rap flow and solid lyricism, and much like the recent wave of Kanye West-produced albums (Pusha T’s “DAYTONA” and his own “ye”), the production on this record is strong. I was worried that Kanye would end up carrying Cudi on this one, and while I did often gravitate a bit more to Kanye’s verses on the album, I don’t think Cudi brought the record down at all or made the duo feel like less than the sum of their parts. He still played his part to make it enjoyable and make the album work.
Once again, though, the only real issue I have is that it’s too short. While keeping an album from being over-stuffed is a great thing, making a record under a half-hour and claiming it to be an “album” and not an “EP” indicates that you have some pretty high standards for the record and that every song on the “album” is fantastic. Unfortunately, not every song is, and while certain tracks work in spite of their flaws, others just don’t (off-topic, but I think this is the first time in any of my reviews where every single song on an album made it to the favorites AND least favorites, and no song was left off one or the other. I dunno, I just found that interesting). Still, it is an enjoyable project, especially considering it’s their first as this “supergroup,” and I do think that Kanye and Cudi really do have something great going on as a duo. I’m very excited to see what other KIDS SEE GHOSTS projects will drop in the future.
Favorite tracks: Fire, 4th Dimension, Reborn, Kids See Ghosts, Cudi Montage
Least favorite tracks: Feel The Love, Freeee (Ghost Town Pt. 2)
Rating: Good
Cudi Montage: This song samples Kurt Cobain’s “Burn the Rain,” which you’d think would be shocking if you didn’t know that Cudi’s “Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven” was actually an alternative rock record. All that said, though, anytime I connect/relate a song to anything from “Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven,” my stomach drops a bit, so I definitely went into this closing track a bit scared. Luckily, the song sees Cudi providing some really fast-paced (and really great) flow on his first verse, as he raps over a relatively head-noddy beat about the damage caused by gang-based violence. Once again, Kanye’s verse is really strong, from the rapid-fire flow to his overall charismatic and energetic performance, and he does have some nice vocals on the hook. Very good end to the album!
Overall, I’m gonna try to keep this sum-up a bit short, because a lot of my thoughts on this record are similar to my thoughts on Kanye’s “ye,” which I reviewed a week ago: it’s an enjoyable project that definitely surprised me a bit, but I do wish it was a bit longer. Kanye and Cudi really bring out the best in each other, as Cudi brings some nice, melodic vocals to the record, while Kanye brings great rap flow and solid lyricism, and much like the recent wave of Kanye West-produced albums (Pusha T’s “DAYTONA” and his own “ye”), the production on this record is strong. I was worried that Kanye would end up carrying Cudi on this one, and while I did often gravitate a bit more to Kanye’s verses on the album, I don’t think Cudi brought the record down at all or made the duo feel like less than the sum of their parts. He still played his part to make it enjoyable and make the album work.
Once again, though, the only real issue I have is that it’s too short. While keeping an album from being over-stuffed is a great thing, making a record under a half-hour and claiming it to be an “album” and not an “EP” indicates that you have some pretty high standards for the record and that every song on the “album” is fantastic. Unfortunately, not every song is, and while certain tracks work in spite of their flaws, others just don’t (off-topic, but I think this is the first time in any of my reviews where every single song on an album made it to the favorites AND least favorites, and no song was left off one or the other. I dunno, I just found that interesting). Still, it is an enjoyable project, especially considering it’s their first as this “supergroup,” and I do think that Kanye and Cudi really do have something great going on as a duo. I’m very excited to see what other KIDS SEE GHOSTS projects will drop in the future.
Favorite tracks: Fire, 4th Dimension, Reborn, Kids See Ghosts, Cudi Montage
Least favorite tracks: Feel The Love, Freeee (Ghost Town Pt. 2)
Rating: Good
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