Kids See Ghosts is the third album this summer that Kanye has had his prints on and as it stands, it’s the most Kanye-esque in musical assembly and imagery.
Kanye joined forces with Kid Cudi on Kids See Ghosts, two people who have dealt with internal and external disputes and mental illness—and these two adequately unveil the minutia of mental illness without simply using lyrics to detail it.
The project is a cohesive seven tracks much like Ye’s last two projects that he’s piloted this summer.
The album transplants the listener in the hallways of their minds and builds on this roller-coaster that’s involved in the throes of mental health, using a cosmic variance of beats to transmit these feelings.
“Feel the Love” for example, begins with Kid Cudi belting out behind a surge of keys, followed by Pusha T skating the beat at a level song heart-rate with Kid Cudi’s vocalized anthem return and then Kanye scats on the beat ferociously out of nowhere—layered with a banging drumming sound.
The product of this cascading buildup is it establishes a vibe that produces a distinct imagery of intense rage whereas “Fire” seems to diagnose the issues and it constitutes the shared pain via Kid Cudi humming, a tambourine-based sound and Kanye’s vocals.
The dichotomy between each track is symbolic of the nature that psychological disease can take on with the up and down moods related to it.
Conversely, “4th Dimension” is the banger of the album. The song begins with a sample of Louis Prima’s “What Will Santa Claus Say (When He Finds Everybody Swingin’) followed by a velocity of beats sliding underneath the sample as it scratches out and then rises from beneath with “oh, oh, oh/What is Santa bringing?”
The healing and therapy of this album reside in “Freeee (Ghost Town, Pt. 2) and Reborn, which Kanye and Cudi delve into their own recoveries.
“I don’t feel pain anymore/ Guess what, baby? I feel free.”
This song reflects the liberating exuberance from Kanye himself but married with the vocal beauty manifested by Ty Dolla $ign. And “Reborn” digs a little bit deeper into the downsides, despair and drug use that helped to facilitate these psychological lows.
“I’m so, I’m so reborn, I’m movin’ forward/ Ain’t no stress on me, lord, I’m movin’ forward.”
The liberation and therapeutic nature masked by the artistry is palpable and this is a candid response to the struggles that once acted as chains.
This album is succinct, yet jarring with depth and healing throughout each beat.
Kids See Ghosts is a right on time album that stands as a must listen.
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