Released a week after
Kanye West's messy eighth album,
Ye, the eponymous debut effort from
Kids See Ghosts --
West and
Kid Cudi's rap superduo -- became inseparable from its predecessor's narrative, both warranting that album's merit and improving upon its ideas with superior production, imagination, and listenability.
Kids See Ghosts is another seven-track effort recorded alongside a handful of others during
West's so-called Wyoming Sessions. Following the arrivals of
Pusha T's
Daytona and
West's
Ye,
Kids See Ghosts not only emerges atop the Wyoming Sessions ranks, but also as a top release in either artist's respective catalogs. Fully-realized and lushly layered,
KSG is the culmination of a long and fruitful relationship between
West and
Cudi, one that peaked on 2008's emo-rap progenitor
808s & Heartbreak and continued over a decade. No time is wasted here and, even though
KSG satisfies, it leaves listeners craving much more. Continuing where
Ye's insular and complicated mental health therapy session left off,
KSG turns the darkness and confusion around with sharp focus and a dose of optimism. In top form,
West handles most of the production -- from the
Gorillaz-esque stomp of "Fire" to the haunting title track -- while offering choice verses alongside guests
Pusha T (the
Yeezus-y "Feel the Love"),
Ty Dolla $ign ("4th Dimension"),
808s' comrade Mr. Hudson ("Cudi Montage"), and
Yasiin Bey (fka
Mos Def) ("Kids See Ghosts"). Meanwhile,
Cudi handles the bulk of the vocal duties and provides a figurative shoulder on which
West can lean. This support is vital for
KSG's allure, as the two bounce off each other effortlessly, an alchemy produced by their shared demons and struggles. For once,
Cudi sounds like the one who has it together, the apprentice supporting his former mentor. On an album of highlights, "4th Dimension" and "Freeee (Ghost Town, Pt. 2)" are standouts, as exciting and vital as anything
West produced in his early-2000s golden years. Sampling
Louis Prima's swinging holiday track "What Will Santa Claus Say," the former features
KSG's best flow, which, when the hard beat clicks into step with
Cudi's verse, is a thrill; while the latter track builds upon the brief glimmer of hope offered on
Ye's "Ghost Town" in a bold and exciting moment of triumph as
West proclaims, "Nothing hurts me anymore/Guess what, baby? I am free." That energy is peppered throughout, from the mantras of "Reborn" ("I'm so reborn/I'm moving forward") to the
Kurt Cobain-sampling "Cudi Montage," where the song's namesake repeats "Stay strong/Lord, shine your light on me/Save me please."
Kids See Ghosts is everything
Ye wasn't, delivering a worthwhile listen in spite of the extended PR disaster that preceded its release. With
Cudi as the yang to
West's yin, the pair inch closer to finding peace and a light in the darkness. ~ Neil Z. Yeung