Music Review: Kids See Ghosts
This summer, two of the most iconic hip-hop artists of this century, Kanye West and Kid Cudi, dropped their first ever project as an official group. The two rappers, going under the group name “Kids See Ghosts,” released their self-titled, seven-track project on June 8, 2018. At just over 23 minutes, the relatively short tracklist boasts features from Pusha T, Mos Def and Ty Dolla Sign. With a project so short, there is absolutely zero room for filler, of which there is next to none in my opinion. Reoccuring themes of Kanye and Cudi struggling with and attempting to overcome their “ghosts,” which includes drug addiction, depression and suicidal thoughts (Kanye and Cudi have both checked themselves into hospitals for these issues), appear throughout. A lot of the album’s appeal sparks for its heavy inclusion of psychedelics, which brings an out-of-this-world feeling to it. Another important piece of this project is the brilliant use of samples. Samples on “Kids See Ghosts” come from Napoleon XIV on the track “Fire,” Louis Prima on “4th Dimension,” Mr. Chop on “Freeee (Ghost Town Pt. 2)” and most notably Kurt Cobain on the closing track “Cudi Montage”. Songs like “4th Dimension” are where Kanye is at his best, sounding very much like the “Old Kanye” from the early 2000’s.
All in all, the watertight tracklist leaves no room for error nor filler, and Kanye and Cudi come through in a big way. This is Kanye’s best album since his 2010 opus “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” and Cudi’s best album since his 2009 effort “Man on the Moon.” This is a fantastic album and certainly worth a listen.
4.5/5 Anchors
