Kids See Ghosts: an anthem for the fans and a story from Kanye West and Kid Cudi
Kanye West and Kid Cudi have become two of the most influential rap artists of the 21st century. Separately, they have boomed through fans headphones and stereos for the better part of two decades. But together, they will attempt the latest challenge in their respective careers, Kids See Ghosts.
Kanye West announced through Twitter that the production wizard himself and Kid Cudi are working on a new collaborative album due out this week on June 8th. This album comes in the midst of a slew of them Kanye West is producing this summer for artists such as Pusha T, Teyana Taylor, Nas, and himself. Kids See Ghosts seems to not only be the name for Cudi and Kanye’s album but possibly the rap duo as well.
The news of this upcoming project between the Kings of thoughtful Hip-Hop excited fans at every level. However, this new venture strikes a chord in the soul of every kid who came of age during the mid-to-late 2000s. For the kids, who are now in our 20s and 30s, Kanye West and Kid Cudi were beacons of hope in the midst of a rap culture that stuck to the same gangster rap promoting gun toting and refusing to portray the real world. Kids See Ghosts represents the reincarnation of a new wave of rap created by Kanye West first, and then built upon by Kid Cudi.
To understand why throngs of people, from young kids to established adults gravitate towards these two superstars, we need to look no further than Kanye West’s story. The son of a middle-class-single-mother-professor with a doctorate in English, Kanye held an appreciation for the liberal arts early in his life. He wrote poetry and rapped as a young boy, but found his niche in the production world before production transformed humans into celebrity gods. Metro Boomin’, DJ Khaled, Calvin Harris, and Diplo can all thank Kanye West for paving the way to celebrity stardom for beat makers.
Kanye had been set on the right path by his mother, who he adored and held an extremely close relationship with. The introduction of art while young, combined with the freedom of thought his mother encouraged from her son created the music mogul we see today. But Kanye almost never made it.
During the mid 90s, Kanye created beats for many artists, where West was able to perfect his craft as a producer. Kanye was hired on by Jay-Z’s record label in the early 2000s to become their producer, and Kanye flourished. He dropped hit after hit, and even holds much of the credit for making Blueprint the success it was for Jay-Z. Even though Kanye had arrived as a professional producer, Yeezus felt rapping would be where he thrived. But Jay-Z didn’t think Kanye could survive as a rapper. Nearly every record label refused to give the young producer a chance because he didn’t mesh with the gangster persona that had dominated the rap industry since its’ inception.
Downtrodden, but not giving up, Kanye continued working until he became seriously injured in a late-night car crash on his way home from work. He almost died. Kanye suffered a broken jaw that had to be wired shut, but instead of cowering, he dedicated himself to becoming the rapper he knew he could be. Shortly after the accident, Kanye started recording music, with his jaw still broken. For those who don’t know, “Through the Wire” tells the whole story. As it happened, Kanye worked on The College Dropout during his recovery, tweaking and revising his work on the upcoming album religiously. He wanted to perfect it. And perfect it he did.
The College Dropout marked an era of new rap, where Kanye talked about the reality of life, being your own man, and dealing with the world that surrounds us. He changed rap culture with one single album, and did it through the music. Kanye sculpted the perfect storm of retro, sampled choruses, and combined them with new electronically-styled beats to form what would be considered the Hip-Hop of today.
Ever since The College Dropout, Kanye has continued to encourage people with his music and success while maintaining his own conscience mind that won’t be tampered with by the music industry and all of its’ ‘traditional’ ways. Kanye took the young minds of kids everywhere and told them they could be what they wanted, without having to be in a gang, do drugs, or flash Glocks. His music compares to journalism more so than it does rap. While this new way of thinking irked the old heads, it rang too true for young kids struggling, and became their anthem.
Kanye West’s musical style directly led to the emergence of Kid Cudi.
Kid Cudi didn’t have quite the jumpstart that Kanye did, but he had all the makings of a superstar even still. With humble beginnings in Ohio, Cudi struggled as a young man. After his father passed away at a young age, he was hit hard by the death. Out of his struggles, Kid Cudi found what came to be perhaps his most endearing trait: the ability to talk about emotional events and issues to his audience. This was a pretty big leap of faith for an African-American in the business of rap.
After leaving Cleveland to make it big in New York City, Cudi lived with his uncle where he encountered his destiny. While working at a BAPE store, Cudi came face to face with Kanye West. The universe’s unique way of piecing history together touched Kanye and the Kid that day. A Kid Named Cudi dropped sometime after the chance meeting, and the mixtape caught the ire of Kanye. West signed Cudi to his record label GOOD music largely because of A Kid Named Cudi, and the rest is history as they say.
With their respective stories in mind, I can now explain to you the gravity of this new album coming out. It’s not just new music. It’s the meshing of two great symbolic storytellers.
Cudi and Kanye both lost parents too soon, and they will most likely touch on the subject in the upcoming release. The title relflects these events, but also holds another meaning for the rest of us. Everyone who listened to Cudi and Kanye growing up also has their own ‘Ghosts’ they see. That’s why this album means so much to the artists and the fans: it tells the story of what we all dealt with while growing up. It brings us all together. An attribute Kanye and Cudi have used throughout their discographies.
The Mentor and his Apprentice — the one who paved the way making music with the one who walked his path. Whatever you want to call it, Kids See Ghosts represents the culmination of two careers and the rebirth of introspective rap, we hope.
For those of us who grew up on The College Dropout, Graduation, and Man on the Moon, this is the sequel to our story. Kids See Ghosts will tell the story of where the kids are now, years after our lives were changed by these two artists.
BUT, fans are skeptical. Skeptical of Kid Cudi’s ability to reach back and summon up the style that struck a nerve within all of us, but also of Kanye’s willingness to allow this album to come together without too much tampering. Kanye has packed his spring and summer full of music. I get the hesitance. There’s a chance the message could get lost between now and then since Kanye decided to stir up America for his own album. I don’t believe Kanye will get off track, but it’s in the back of fans’ minds.
On the other side of the duo, Kid Cudi hasn’t been himself recently. Plagued by continued depression and suicidal thoughts, Cudi admitted himself to rehab last year.
However, things are looking up as the Kid released a new single off of the Rampage movie soundtrack. Sampling Smashing Pumpkins for the chorus, Cudi raps methodically about violence, war, and rage in “The Rage”.
Some fans see the new song as an extremely encouraging sign as Cudi got back to basics with his hope-filled macabre bars.
West and Cudi have taken us on a journey over the last two decades. Kanye took over the mid 2000s, and Cudi ran the late 2000s. Kids See Ghosts will be part II of our anthem. It’s a clash of production and feel good rap. It’s a version of therapy for all of us who sat playing Kanye and Cudi at night alone. Kid Cudi helped us come of age; encouraging us to go for our dreams. Who’s to know how many lives these two artists touched. One thing’s for sure, they made the world a better place, and their new project is the story of us. We are the Kids (who) See Ghosts.
