Guest contributions are included on Kids See Ghosts from Pusha T, Yasiin Bey, and Ty Dolla Sign, as well as a vocal sample of Louis Prima, who is credited posthumously as a featured artist.

Kids See Ghosts handled the majority of the stylistically fragmented production that includes varying elements, with further contributions by Dot da Genius, Mike Dean, and Plain Pat, among others.

The cover art was designed by Japanese contemporary artist Takashi Murakami; he based it on Hokusai's landscape print series, Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji.

[7] West responded to the tweets at the Tampa stop of his Saint Pablo Tour, threatening Cudi not to mention his name again and assuring "I birthed you", before adding that he felt "hurt" and "disrespected".

[7] Days later, at a Houston show, West retracted his earlier comments, describing Cudi as his "brother" and "the most influential artist of the past ten years".

[8] Cudi, who had admitted himself into a rehabilitation facility following a struggle with depression and suicidal thoughts, thanked West and other supporters in a Facebook post, writing that "words can't really express how much it made my heart glow".

[9] West himself was hospitalized due to heavy sleep deprivation in November 2016, with the tour being cancelled after he brought Cudi out to perform at his Sacramento show that ended early.

[12][13] In December 2016, Cudi released his sixth studio album Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin', which West subsequently described as "super inspiring".

[30][31] According to Jordan Bassett of NME, Kids See Ghosts shows West and Cudi "catch[ing] up with the fragmented, fragile brand of hip-hop that they helped to shape", noting how "the ethereal, low-key beats" characterize the production.

magazine's Andrew Johnston deemed it a "truly adventurous movement in progressive hip-hop", with its seven songs traversing "scatted freakouts, bangers, space odysseys, psychedelic soul, and dream pop".

[12] "4th Dimension" and "Cudi Montage" both include samples of posthumously released music: "What Will Santa Claus Say (When He Finds Everybody Swingin')" and "Burn the Rain" by American singers Louis Prima and Kurt Cobain, respectively.

[39] Shawn Setaro of Complex wrote that due to Dean's presence on Ye, "it makes sense he would be equally involved in Kids See Ghosts".

Kids See Ghosts also includes production contributed by Francis and the Lights, Cashmere Cat, André 3000, Andy C, Russel "Love" Crews, and Jeff Bhasker.

[36][42][44] As Robert Christgau summarized for Vice, they demonstrate male bonding and "acknowledge their madness, with West shitcanning his meds" and Cudi becoming enough of "a rehab nut" that it leads to the mantra of "I'm movin' forward" being heavily repeated.

[35][36][42] The staff of Highsnobiety noticed that the position of "Fire" after the track serves as a reminder "of the ping-pong nature of mental illness — sometimes you're up, sometimes you're down", with the song lyrically seeing Kids See Ghosts take "a softer approach to diagnosing the self, exposing the failures of the aforementioned duo".

[12] Within "4th Dimension", Kids See Ghosts prevent being burdened by their feelings by putting forward the random in the form of the duo's current thoughts; this is an example of bipolar disorder.

[12] The throes of paranoia are addressed on "Kids See Ghosts",[12] which also features political ideas from Yasiin Bey: "Civilization without society / Power and wealth with nobility / Stability without stasis / Spaces and places.

[47] West had previously collaborated with Murakami for the artwork of his third studio album Graduation (2007) and the animated music video for its opening track, "Good Morning".

The black and white image featured two caricatures that appeared to be of West and Cudi stood by a smoke ball with a face, while the title was included in a spray paint font.

[51] The pastel-colored cover art presents a psychedelic scene, showing a ghostly figure riding on top of a sperm-shaped monster that has sharp teeth and haunted eyes.

[1] On April 25, 2018, West revealed via Twitter that the album was scheduled to be accompanied by a short film, slated to be directed by Dexter Navy, who had collaborated with him in the past on the music video for "Flashing Lights" (2007).

[13] On June 5, 2018, Cudi's manager Dennis Cummings announced a listening party for Kids See Ghosts in Los Angeles via Twitter, which was to be conducted a day prior to its release.

[63] Cudi announced on Twitter that the live stream of the listening party was intended to take place through WAV at 8 pm EST, simultaneously sharing a link to download the application.

[68] Kids See Ghosts made their live debut at the 2018 Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival, performing for 45 minutes inside a rectangular glass box that was floating above the stage.

The chemistry is that of two old friends who no longer have to second-guess each other's instincts", concluding that the album reasserts West "as a fun, thrilling rap music-maker that tests the genre's boundaries".

[78] Providing a highly positive review, Russell Stone of Highsnobiety praised Cudi's performance for "fueling the album's immaculate feel" and "sounding [his] most empowered" yet, while complimenting West's "mind-bending" production and focused subject matter, in contrast to his lyricism on Ye.

[42] In a less enthusiastic review for Rolling Stone, Christopher R. Weingarten wrote that the album is "nowhere near as incisive, infectious or rewarding as their best work", but is "still an important step forward into an era of big moods and short attention spans".

[87] For the magazine, Cyclone described the album as where the duo "ventured into hip hop psychedelia, bonding over their mental health journeys", while noting "Reborn" as being the highlight.

[104][105] The debut made Kids See Ghosts the week's third highest entry, though was a position five places lower than Ye gave West when peaking at number two on the chart earlier in 2018.

[107] All of the seven tracks from Kids See Ghosts debuted on the Billboard Hot 100, with "Reborn" entering the highest at number 39; West had previously achieved this feat with Ye.