Shirley JuIt was the day before the release of Kanye West and Kid Cudi’s new album, Kids See Ghosts, which hit all music streaming platforms on Friday, June 1. To celebrate, the G.O.O.D. Music founder decided to throw an exclusive listening party in Santa Clarita, following the success of his Ye album listening event in Wyoming.
Without many details provided, select media, friends and family were invited to join the festivities that were to take place an hour outside of Los Angeles. The only way to get there was via the shuttle buses at the locations provided, with a disclaimer that if you drove a personal car, you would be turned away.
After hours of waiting and traffic, guests arrived on the scene around 9 p.m., where they were greeted by swarms of people. It was immediately apparent this was a much bigger crowd than at the Wyoming ranch. This time, the theme was “Ghost Town,” in light of Cudi’s standout feature on Ye.
The attention to detail was strong. The deserted “town” was somewhere next to the mountains, and a slight fog settled over the old, wooden houses that sat on the perimeter. The entire landscape made you feel as if you were actually walking through a haunted town. The hospitality included comfort food (burgers, hot dogs, fried chicken, mac and cheese, collard greens), open bar and, at the end, cotton candy. The golden opportunity to cop free Yeezy merch was there as well, if you were patient enough to try to catch something as staff frantically passed out items. Many came out with a hat, while a select few got blankets, hoodies or long-sleeve T-shirts.
Kanye West; Credit: Armen Keleshian
When it came time for the album to start, many attempted to go up the hill, only to be stopped by security. It was soon evident that only the chosen ones were granted access to see Kanye and Cudi playback the seven tracks in live-action. The bonfire set the vibe as music lovers got to hear the album play twice … before the rest of the world did.
Celebrities in the crowd included the legendary Takashi Murakami (who designed the album cover), Travis Barker, Lil Dicky, YG, MadeinTYO, G4SHI, Irv Gotti, Dame Dash and Kris Jenner. Kids See Ghosts is album No. 3 in West’s recently announced plan to drop an album a week for five weeks, following Pusha T’s Daytona and his own Ye.
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