4th Dimension (song)
"4th Dimension" is a song by American hip hop duo Kids See Ghosts, composed of the rappers Kanye West and Kid Cudi, from their eponymous debut studio album (2018). The song features a guest appearance from Louis Prima, who was credited as a featured artist due to his work being sampled. It was produced by West, with additional production from Mike Dean and Noah Goldstein. The producers co-wrote the song with Kid Cudi and Prima, with the latter of the two receiving credit as a result of it sampling music by him. A hip hop song, it samples Prima's "What Will Santa Claus Say (When He Finds Everybody Swingin')" and Shirley Ann Lee's "Someday". Lyrically, the song features Kids See Ghosts presenting their thoughts to stop themselves from becoming worried.
For the song by Devo, see Shout (Devo album)."4th Dimension"
June 8, 2018
August 2017–2018
West Lake Ranch, Jackson Hole, Wyoming
2:33
- Kanye West
- Scott Mescudi
- Mike Dean
- Louis Prima
Kanye West
The song received widespread acclaim from music critics, with them frequently praising the sampling of "What Will Santa Claus Say (When He Finds Everybody Swingin')". Some commended the production, while a few critics cited "4th Dimension" as being among Kids See Ghosts' highlights. In 2018, the song debuted at number 42 on the US Billboard Hot 100, marking the first time a track with Prima appeared on the Hot 100 since 1961 and thus breaking Bobby Helms' record. The song further reached the top 50 in Australia, Canada, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. It has since been certified gold in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
On June 26, 2020, "4th Dimension" was used as the soundtrack for a preview of Kids See Ghosts' Takashi Murakami-directed animated show of the same name. The clip features the characters Kanye Bear and Kid Fox, who are voiced by West and Kid Cudi, respectively. In the clip, the characters are sucked into a different dimension, where they successfully manage to escape a cemetery. Kids See Ghosts performed the song live at the 2018 Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival.
Composition and lyrics[edit]
Musically, "4th Dimension" is a hip hop song.[13] The beat was compared by Michael Cyrs from The 405 to Kid Cudi's debut studio album Man on the Moon: The End of Day (2009), while Spectrum Culture's Dylan Montanari viewed it as reminiscent of West's 2010 single "Power".[14][15] The song contains a chopped up sample of "What Will Santa Claus Say (When He Finds Everybody Swingin')", written and performed by Prima.[6][7][16] At the start of the song, a portion of the sample is used.[13] After the beginning, the remainder is built around the sample, which is accompanied by "thumping" drums.[17][18] Prima's vocals are looped, with his voice being accompanied by backing singers' vocals from the recording.[19][20] For the song's chorus, the sample is used.[16] In the middle of the song, cackling vocals appear.[14] The beat switches when Kid Cudi's verse starts, being in time with his vocals.[11] For the song's outro, a sample of the spoken word section from "Someday" by Lee is used.[9] The section sampled includes Lee's producer mentioning that no song should have a length of more than three minutes, which Sidney Madden of NPR interpreted as a nod to the "all killer no filler" seven-song structure deployed by West for the five albums produced by him in the summer of 2018.[b][21]
In the lyrics of the song, Kids See Ghosts prevent their feelings from worrying them by presenting the random thoughts they have on the mind.[22] The song represents bipolar disorder, as its quips heavily contrast other tracks on the album that see the duo destroying their internal monologues.[22] Numerous references are made on the song, which include Kid Cudi name-dropping former wrestler Ric Flair and West rapping about Lacoste clothing.[23] Fellow rappers Master P and Rick Ross are referenced by West, with him asserting that he is like a mix of the rappers.[23] West's verse sees him detailing a sexual encounter and he mentions accidental anal sex, recalling being told that he was "in the wrong hole."[21][24][25] In Kid Cudi's verse, he references his personal struggles in the years leading up to 2018 and asserts that "4th Dimension" is "the theme song."[24]
Critical reception[edit]
The song met with widespread acclaim from music critics, who generally praised the sample of Prima's "What Will Santa Claus Say (When He Finds Everybody Swingin')". AllMusic editor Neil Z. Yeung cited the song as one of the highlights of Kids See Ghosts, calling it "as exciting and vital as anything West produced in his early-2000s golden years."[11] He explained, describing the song as sampling "What Will Santa Claus Say (When He Finds Everybody Swingin')" alongside the album's "best flow," which he said "is a thrill" at the point "the hard beat clicks into step with Cudi's verse."[11] The A.V. Club's Marty Sartini Garner branded "4th Dimension" a "twisted bop" and commented that the backing vocals of the "What Will Santa Claus Say (When He Finds Everybody Swingin')" sample "roll into the thump of Kanye and Mike Dean's beat," while viewing Prima's voice as "rich with delight" and comparing the sample to West's single "Jesus Walks" (2004).[20] Writing in his Expert Witness column for Vice, Robert Christgau named the sample of the recording among the best moments on the album due to it being an example of when Kids See Ghosts "fool around like male bonders should."[36] Arnold Chuck from Entertainment Weekly honored the "sonic exploration" from the sample of "What Will Santa Claus Say (When He Finds Everybody Swingin')" at the beginning of the song, which he said is followed by "some freaky horror hip-hop that is as dope as it is disturbing."[13] PopMatters' Christopher Thiessen pointed out the song's sampling of "What Will Santa Claus Say (When He Finds Everybody Swingin')" for showing West's "ability to over and over drop the unexpected and the experimental."[37]
Michelle Kim of Pitchfork highlighted the song's closing sample of Lee's "Someday" for functioning "similarly to the outro" on Ye track "Violent Crimes", noting that "Nicki Minaj leaves Kanye a voicemail with a few crucial bars for the song about protecting North West" and opining Kanye "presents a woman's voice as a guiding force within his music" with both outros.[9] Kim also liked the song's sample of "What Will Santa Claus Say (When He Finds Everybody Swingin')", analyzing that Kanye West "somehow manages to turn that festive holiday tune about literal sleighs into a haunting loop of chanting voices."[9] Christopher R. Weingarten from Rolling Stone lauded the song as "nothing short of fantastic," writing that after West had "already made Ray Charles, Otis Redding and Michael Jackson sound brand new" on his singles "Gold Digger" (2005), "Otis", and "Good Life" (2007), respectively, "he manages to do the same" with the sample of "What Will Santa Claus Say (When He Finds Everybody Swingin')".[16] He continued, stating the sample is transformed "into an unsettling, funky Greek chorus to West and Cudi's old-fashioned rap boasts," as well as asserting that the "Someday" sample recontextualizes Lee's voice "to almost work like a Dogme 95-style vision for West's output in the Soundcloud era."[16] For Consequence of Sound, Karas Lamb selected the song as one of the essential tracks on Kids See Ghosts.[38] Cyrs wrote that West is "as youthful as ever" on the song and cited the cackling vocals as proof of the album being "a fun house of sound, lucidity, and exploration."[14]
Commercial performance[edit]
Upon the release of the album, "4th Dimension" reached number 42 on the US Billboard Hot 100.[6] The debut marked the first song with Prima included to chart on the Hot 100 since his track "Wonderland by Night" appeared on the issue dated February 13, 1961.[6] This set a record of 57 years, four months and two weeks for the longest break between Hot 100 appearances, surpassing the record previously held by Bobby Helms of 54 years, two months and three weeks as a result of his single "Jingle Bell Rock" (1957) re-charting.[6] That same week, the song debuted at number 21 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[39] On February 25, 2020, "4th Dimension" was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for pushing 500,000 certified units in the United States.[40]
Elsewhere, the song reached number 27 on the Canadian Hot 100.[41] In Australia, it entered the ARIA Singles Chart at number 46.[42] The song charted identically in the United Kingdom on the UK Singles Chart.[43] "4th Dimension" experienced similar performance in Ireland, peaking at number 49 on the Irish Singles Chart.[44]