After a relatively straightforward release for ye last Friday, we finally got the messy album rollout we deserve. Delayed listening party, crashing WAV app, poor sound quality, sporadic album release across different platforms and incorrectly labelled tracks — that’s more like it. But technical dramas aside, let’s look at how fucking incredible this album is.
Fans knew that Kanye West and Kid Cudi worked well together, but the level of synergy on the album is crazy. The two compliment each other so well. Neither is praised as a technically gifted singer or rapper, but their work on 808’s & Heartbreak, Man on the Moon, and now Kids See Ghosts, proves the collaborative power of their creative brains. Both men finished 2016 receiving treatment for their mental health, and this record is very much the work of two artists who are finally shaking their demons.
It sounds like Kid Cudi especially has come full circle. His 2016 statement announcing he was checking himself into rehab said “I’ll be back stronger, better. Reborn.” On the Andre 3000 produced track by the same name, Cudi sings “I’m so reborn/keep moving forward”. It’s probably the most uplifting moment (of several) on the album. To hear Cudi so positive gave me that bubbly feeling — you know the one.
Related: Kanye confirms mental illness on ‘ye’ but forgets about the whole Trump thing
The rumoured continuity between ye and Kids See Ghosts is there too, although not quite as closely as we thought it would. On 4th Dimension, Kanye returns to the 60’s gospel sample that opens Ghost Town. He pulls from a different part of the Shirley Ann Lee song that says “just do that, and then let the music do something and then do that again…” This functions the same as the Nicki Minaj voicemail that closes Violent Crimes; presenting the female voice as a guiding force in Kanye’s music.
Oh, and Kanye RAPS on this album. Mr West hasn’t sounded like this since Watch The Throne. Of course, he comes with the silly shit;
Made me say, “ooh, uh”
Like I’m mixing Master P and Rick Ross (uh,uh)
She seem to make me always feel like a boss (uh,uh)
She said I’m in the wrong hole, I said I’m lost (uh,uh)
But on the title track Kids See Ghosts it’s all delivered with a pace and aggression we haven’t heard since 2011;
Don’t like bein’ questioned and don’t like bein’ less
Than any a competition in any of my professions
So I gotta guess then, I gotta stay the best man
What else you expect from, uh, Mr. West man
At 23 minutes long, Kids See Ghosts might be short, but it accomplishes so much in that time. It’s a second coming for Kid Cudi with his mantric lyricism. It shows us Kanye West still has real bars. It offers bangers built on hard as f**k drums. It encourages you to feel your feelings and empower yourself. I was skeptical of Kanye’s logic behind the 7 track restriction, but I am totally on board now.
Tracks we love: (F*ck you for making me choose but if I have to…) Feel The Love, Kids See Ghosts, Cudi Montage
