“Kids See Ghosts” is a joint project from Kanye West and Kid Cudi. In this album, the two artists talk about their personal problems with drug addiction and mental illness, how they overcame those afflictions, and how they feel free now that they have left their troubles behind them. This album came from a place of power and courage. Kanye and Kid Cudi send a clear message even though the seven song tracklist only clocks in at about 24 minutes long.

The cover art for “Kids See Ghosts” was created by Japanese artist Takashi Murakami. It was inspired by Murakami’s original art piece called “Manji Fuji.” The Kanji characters translate to “chaos,” which ties into Kanye’s personality and also all the chaos the pair went through to reach this point in their life.

The first track on this album is “Feel The Love” featuring Pusha T. His verse is perfect for this album because he talks about his dark past of dealing drugs and how he came to fame. This verse is accompanied by the Kid Cudi’s excellent vocals singing, “I can still feel the love.” After the verse, Kanye comes in with powerful vocals of various boom noises and some intense drums. This half of the track really gets you riled up. 

The second track, titled “Fire,” takes a different approach. It uses a sample of Jerry Samuels’ 1966 song “They’re Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa.” This sample makes sense because the song is about a person’s struggle with mental health, which is the dominating message of the “Kids See Ghosts” album. Kanye and Kid Cudi’s verses are joined by some guitar strums and flute melodies. Overall, this is a very solid track.

The third track, “4th Dimension,” uses a Christmas song from the 1930s as its sample. The eerie vocals of the sample really catch your attention, and when the beat finally drops, the amazing verse from Kanye starts and you can’t help but be captivated by every word. Soon after Kanye’s verse ends, Kid Cudi’s starts and it’s just as good if not better than West’s. The two really compliment each other on this track because while Kanye plays the kind of crazy and wild angle for his verse, Kid Cudi goes for a more calm and well thought-out vibe and it turns out to be exactly what the album needed. The fourth track “Freeee (Ghost Town Pt. 2)” is an extension on the song “Ghost Town” from Kanye’s newest solo album “Ye.” It starts out with some heavy guitar chords and some intense drums then all of the sudden, Kanye yells out “I don’t feel pain anymore” and you can hear the emotion in his voice clear as day. As the track goes on, West talks about how he feels free and then the track begins to slow down and we receive and few lines from Ty Dolla $ign. Then, the song seems to come to a complete stop with the phrase “I feel free” coming in intervals with heavy guitar strums once again and beautiful melodic vocals. Kid Cudi soon breaks the slow pace with his impactful verse and synth decrescendo and brings the track to its end. I believe that this track was beautifully put together and it emphasized on the lighter side of this album is all about.

The fifth track “Reborn” happens to be my favorite because I believe this song embodies what the message of the album is which is overcoming of your problems and feeling free at last. The track starts with a slow piano melody and Kid Cudi’s enchanting humming. He starts off with “ I’m so, I’m so reborn. I’m moving forward.” Cudi continues to go on about moving forward and how he is stress free. Kanye chimes in with his short verse and he talks about his mental illness and how he often stressed out and how he is off of his medicine (“I was off the meds, I was called insane/What an awesome thing, engulfed in shame”). Then the track goes back Kid Cudi with the moving forward lines. After this, Kid Cudi starts his verse, talking about there wasn’t much he could do about his problems but peace is something that starts with him. This is key to the overall theme because you can tell that Cudi is trying to start a new chapter in his life. He continues to go on about how he struggled with accepting himself and knowing what his purpose was in the grand scheme of things (“At times, wonder my purpose/Easy then to feel worthless/But, peace is something that starts with me”). The track comes to an end with Kid Cudi contemplating about which path in life he should take (“Really couldn’t find my way out/ Of the storm/ Which way do I go?”). This is a very motivational track because it focuses on learning from your suffering and moving forward to create bigger and better things.

The sixth track on “Kids See Ghosts” focuses on the obstacles the two artists faced in their childhood. The term “Kids See Ghosts” is used to express how children can see things that adults cannot. It also refers to the grief that both artists experienced from their parents’ deaths and how they can still feel their presence. This track is haunting. It starts out with a feature from artist Mos Def chanting the phrase “kids see ghosts sometimes” in a hushed tone. Then Cudi comes in with an ominous verse talking about how he is sick of running from his problems, but how he also can’t face them alone: “I guessing I’m just sick of running/All this time searching hard for something/I can hear the angels coming.” After this, Kanye begins his verse. Its meaning seems a little incoherent because at first he talks about the time it took him to make music (“Well it took me long enough to rap on this strong enough”), then he talks about his faith and religion (“Constantly repenting cause yes, I never listen”), then he mentions his fashion and art sense. His verse just doesn’t fit the theme for this track which feels off-putting.

The seventh and final track “Cudi Montage” starts with a loop of “Burn in the Rain,” a recording of Kurt Cobain that was released after his death. This track starts out with a few lines from Kid Cudi that set up Kanye for excellence. Kanye’s verse is one of his best in a long time in my opinion. This verse is powerful even though it strays from the main theme of the album. Kanye raps about gang violence, revenge, and the pain that results: “All growing up in environment/Where doin’ crime the requirement/They send us off to prison for retirement.” Kanye proves with this verse that he still has very valuable lessons about life left to offer, and I love to see that from him. This track is among the best of the album.

“Kids See Ghosts” is a very emotional album. It’s full of heartbreaking lyrics that really make you feel like you lived life through Kanye’s and Kid Cudi’s eyes. This album is a huge rebound for both artists’ careers, especially since Kanye has been getting a lot of criticism for his behavior in the media and Kid Cudi’s album, “ Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven,” was a huge flop. “Kids See Ghosts” is definitely their saving grace. I give this album a rating of 9 out of 10.