You can listen to “Reborn” by Kids See Ghosts here.

I was late to the party with Kid Cudi and I’ve never been a committed Kanye West fan. With Kanye, I think he has some incredible songs and then I just can’t go any deeper. With Kid Cudi, it’s borderline embarrassing because I heard rappers doing the Kid Cudi humming around 2016 and I didn’t get that it was a Kid Cudi thing for a long time. He’s a big deal in terms of his own work and songs he’s written for other artists, but also for the generation of artists that he inspired. One thing I like about all of his own songs is that he’s very up front. I’m sure there are lots of people who had never heard an artist talk about their mental health, particularly in a hip hop context. I think there’s a lot of value in people hearing about these things from someone they look up to or can relate to.

Lyrically, I like “Reborn” a lot. It’s real hopeful vibe after coming from some dark places. I’ve always thought Kanye had interesting lyrics, I think “Y’all done “specially invited guest”‘d me out” is a great phrase. Kanye’s verse is kinda confrontational and in the context of what he’s saying it seems fair. He was having a hard time and people took the piss out of him. On the other hand, Kid Cudi’s verse is more philosophical and focused on the negative past versus the positive present and future. I like that there’s a real message but it’s also cleverly written by both of them.

“Reborn” is a nice song. It feels very gentle. The piano is nice and soft and Kid Cudi’s backing vocals add a depth. The track has a slightly hypnotic vibe. Musically, it’s quite lullaby-esque and then the chorus is like a repeated mantra. It’s like some positive mentality brainwashing and I think that’s something we always need more of.