Kids See Ghosts (Kanye West and Kid Cudi) – Self-titled Review

It has been a busy month for Kanye West, recently releasing his long-awaited album Ye and now his highly-anticipated collaboration with Kid Cudi in a new project called Kids See Ghosts with a seven-track self-titled release.

When it comes to collaborative projects, it's hard to deny that the 2011 release Watch The Throne which saw Kanye West and Jay-Z collaborate is one of the best collaborations in recent years between two artists.

Does Kids See Ghosts come anywhere near the level of Watch The Throne? Most certainly not, but don't discount this review as negativity because this is still an absolutely solid effort and one I enjoyed a lot more than Kanye's recent hybrid full-length-not-full-length album.

On track #2, Fire we finally hear a remnant of Kanye's past self, he is rapping in the beginninf of the aptly titled track over a circus-carnival inspired beat. And then in track #3, 4th Dimension once again we get a glimpse of Kanye rapping in a track that harks back to the Jesus Walks days with the chant vocals in the background before "turning weird" as Kid Cudi comes in.

In terms of the overall theme and production, Kids See Ghosts nails the brief of sounding spacey, eery and otherworldly. It's a weird uncomfortable listen that draws you in and makes you wonder what is coming next, making you sit at the edge of your seat anxiously.

Perhaps the best track on the collaborative effort is the final track #8 Cudi Montage which is a complex layered track featuring Kid Cudi's trademark off-tune digitised vocals over gospel like chants, "Stay strong", "Send me love" and "Lord shine your light on me, save me please" - it's an emotional track that ends with Kid Cudi employing spoken word to drive the track home.

After feeling disappointed with Kanye's solo effort Ye my hopes for this collaboration were understandably low. But I am pleasantly surprised, this is an album that is going to continue to grow on me and get more play time than Ye ever will.