2018 Album Retrospective #2: KIDS SEE GHOSTS - KIDS SEE GHOSTS
After the release of Kanye West's eighth solo album, fans can hardly be chastised for feeling apprehensive towards his upcoming collaboration with rapper/singer Kid Cudi. ye was for some an honest, stripped-back glimpse into Kanye's tormented psyche, yet for others was a rushed mess full of half-finished ideas; either way, it certainly couldn't be called a polished record. To make matters worse, KIDS SEE GHOSTS would feature prominently an artist whose recent work was of an even worse standard, considering Cudi simply hasn't been able to match the quality of Man on the Moon since he released that album almost a decade ago.
Fortunately, it appears that unlike his solo effort released just prior to this album, Kanye had put the appropriate amount of time into producing the beats present here, and it really shows. From the grunge-tinged instrumental underscored by Cudi's trademark humming on Fire to the flipped Louis Prima sample on 4th Dimension to the Kurt Cobain-sampled guitar licks on Cudi Montage, this album is meticulous from start to finish.
Of course much of this polish can and should be attributed to the other producers credited throughout the album, including frequent collaborator Mike Dean. But Kanye's unique flair is still present in the odd idiosyncrasies peppered throughout, particularly in how he uses his voice and the voices of others to add color to songs in places where few others could.
Case in point: the first track Feel The Love, which opens with an emphatically sung Kid Cudi hook followed by a smooth Pusha T verse which suddenly bursts into a succession of powerful snare hits. Over top of this, however, Kanye is...imitating gunshots? Scatting? Whatever he's doing, it's attention-grabbing and quirky in all the right ways, and marks the album as an interesting listen at least (an understatement to be sure).
In the hands of an artist like Kanye West who can make the strangest sounds seem appealing, Kid Cudi becomes another expertly layered instrument, whether he's singing (luckily on-key for once), humming, or rapping admittedly excellent verses. The latter is shown prominently on 4th Dimension, as Cudi adds a remarkably smooth contribution on top of Louis Prima's sampled vocals. Still, it's Kanye's hilariously quotable verse that gets the honor of opening the song, where he describes his noises during sex as "Like a mix of Master P and Rick Ross" and then quips "She said I'm in the wrong hole, I said I'm lost".
In contrast, the song Freeee, labelled as a 'part 2' to the song Ghost Town off of ye, is built almost entirely out of half-sung, half shouted proclamations bouncing back and forth between Kanye, Cudi, and Ty Dolla $ign. On top of incredibly powerful guitar licks, Kanye proclaims "I don't feel pain anymore/Guess what, baby? I feel free", and Ty Dolla $ign seems to reference West's divisive media presence: "One day they hate you/Next day they love you/I'm still yelling 'fuck you'". Cudi too is eager to cast off his past demons of drug abuse and mental health with the lines "Feelin' out my past life/Died and came back twice"; the song overall is a brilliant continuation of the theme of freedom from the original Ghost Town track.
Still, arguably the strongest lyrical moment for both Kanye and Cudi comes on the more reserved track Reborn. Appropriately named, both artists deliver thoughtful and personal verses on the topics of their past hardships and struggles, culminating in a 'rebirth' of sorts. As personal as his last solo album was, West here lays out his strife clearer than anything on that work, with cutting lines like "I was off the chain, I was often drained/I was off the meds, I was called insane/What an awesome thing, engulfed in shame". Cudi's verse, too, is a piece of introspective art: "At times, wonder my purpose/Easy then to feel worthless/But peace is somethin' that starts with me".
When Kanye seemed to be in a dark, hopeless place back in 2008, his solution was to hole up in Honolulu to work with some of the most talented musicians alive, an effort which ultimately produced one of the most acclaimed hip-hop albums of the decade. Maybe it was too ambitious to expect something of that level from his musical sessions in Wyoming. But then again, this album's background does somewhat recall that of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy in how it channels Kanye's negative experiences into painfully honest art. This time around, his hardships manifested themselves in a work that is as reserved as that album is flamboyant. But KIDS SEE GHOSTS, while as short as it is stunning, is still a masterpiece in its own right.