Another week, another major Kanye West produced project. The latest episode features two of my favorite artists in Kid Cudi and West, so trust that I’m excited about it. Interestingly enough, this collaboration was very close to not happening… Just a few years ago, the two midwest legends had a bit of a falling out while they were both going through a few things in their personal lives. Since then, they’ve reunited, and promised to have as good a music relationship as they ever had. With all that being said, I guess the major question to ask is what do I think this album is going to sound like? I say a smidge of cockiness, a good amount of infectious melodies, and lots of craziness!
TOP 5
5. 4TH DIMENSION
Sampling Louis Prima’s “What Will Santa Claus Say” to eerie effect, Ye and Cudi touch on everything from accidental anal sex, to Ric Flair and Lacoste. Kanye’s double entendres and wordplay are the highlight of this song, as he transforms a Santa Clause sample to a summertime bop. genius!
4. KIDS SEE GHOSTS
The sounds used on this song is similar to what dark spiritual people listen to as they cook up a potion.
Similar to ‘reborn,’ Kanye expresses himself confidently on this song. In all honesty, his verse is arguably the best on the album. Yasiin Bey’s chants of “Kids see ghosts sometimes, kids see ghosts sometimes, kids see ghost” coupled with the beat makes this song like an Om Shanti Shanti Shanti—a peaceful mantra.
3. FREE (GHOST TOWN, PT. 2)
“Free” is like an experimentation with rock music. The ghost-like sound effect that precedes Kanye’s vocalization of “free” paints a picture of the idea behind ‘Ghost Town pt. 2’. Matter of fact, Kanye’s chorus will make a good soundtrack for any movie about ghosts.
Kanye has had chemistry with a few artists, and lately, Ty Dolla $ign has been his new favorite. With two of his favorite artists on this track, Kanye has all the secret ingredients in the world to cook-up a hit song, but he misses it and aims for an experiment which likely needs improvement.
The flow and rhythm between Ye, Cudi and Ty Dolla $ign makes me think they’d be great as a boy band. (I hope Kanye doesn’t see this).
2. REBORN
‘Reborn’ focuses on how Cudi and Ye have overcome their personal issues and moved on from their previous mistakes; in other words, the track is practically therapeutic for them. They also use this song as an opportunity to speak their mind in order to feel free and reborn.
I’ll play this song on Sunday because it feels divine like a plea to God for help—We all need help, guys.
1. FEEL THE LOVE
“Ga-ga-gat, ga-gat, ga-gat, ga-gat-gat, grrrat” is my anthem this summer! Kanye West and Cudi can take all my money as long as I get to watch them perform this song live.
“Brrr-ah-da-da-da, brrr-ah-da-da-da” might sound ridiculous for a rapper like Kanye, but that energy made me bob my head so hard that I’m not sure why it didn’t fall off. The Chicago rapper is so creative that he can make a melody out of what could easily be a simple Ad-lib.
Pusha T presents the solo rap verse on this song with Kid Cudi’s resounding, vibrant and melodious chorus. “I can still feel the love” continues to echo even after the song.
SONG BY SONG BREAKDOWN
1. FEEL THE LOVE (5/5)
2. FIRE (2.5/5)
3. 4TH DIMENSION (4.2/5)
4. FREE (GHOST TOWN) (3/5)
5. REBORN (5/5)
6. KIDS SEE GHOSTS (3.5/5)
7. CUDI MONTAGE (3/5)
OVERALL RATING
(B-)
Kid Cudi and Kanye West have been making music together for a long time. During that time, they have had personal problems, and stitched the wounds of their relationship together; but this album is what they both needed to heal. Nevertheless, music is the best way Ye knows how to express himself, and he does that smoothly on this album.
Kanye’s projects as of late can only be described with a lot of oxymorons. They can’t be described as extremely good, but they are far from bad — this project proves my theory to be true. However, in-between the good and bad in this album is creativity, personal views, beauty, freshness, sketchy and intriguing thoughts.
The best thing about ‘Kids See Ghosts’ is the blend of different sounds. (Seriously, where does Kanye find these samples?) With his production, Mr. West continues to create a new dimension of music.
Both lyrically and sonically, this album is very pleasing to listen to. Kanye West’s ability to express himself on songs like ‘Kids See Ghosts’ and ‘Reborn’ is the definition of “free thinking” — Nothing offensive, nothing alarming and nothing that will make you want to delete his entire discography, just words from an artist who has had the time to criticize himself. When Kid Cudi isn’t humming, or singing, he’s spitting some pretty decent bars on his verses. All in all, listening to this album is like hearing the stories of two best friends who have been on quite the adventure.
