4th Dimension (song)

"4th Dimension" is a song by American hip hop duo Kids See Ghosts, composed of Kanye West and Kid Cudi, released as the third track off their eponymous debut album Kids See Ghosts (2018). The song features a sample of American singer Louis Prima (1910–1978), who is credited as a featured artist.

For the song by Devo, see Shout (Devo album).
"4th Dimension"
Song by Kids See Ghosts featuring Louis Prima
from the album Kids See Ghosts
ReleasedJune 8, 2018 (2018-06-08)
Recorded2018
StudioKanye West's ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Genre
Length2:33
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Kids See Ghosts track listing
7 tracks
  1. "Feel the Love"
  2. "Fire"
  3. "4th Dimension"
  4. "Freeee (Ghost Town, Pt. 2)"
  5. "Reborn"
  6. "Kids See Ghosts"
  7. "Cudi Montage"

Background
The song samples Louis Prima, who is credited as a featured artist

American singer Louis Prima has a posthumous feature on the song due to a sample of his music being included; this isn't the only time a dead artist's work is sampled on the album, since a guitar riff from Kurt Cobain is sampled on "Cudi Montage".[2][3] Prima's appearance didn't mark the first feature by a posthumous artist on one of West's tracks, since he had previously credited posthumous features to Curtis Mayfield on "The Joy" and Otis Redding on Jay-Z collaboration "Otis" respectively.[2] The staff of Complex reached out to Anthony Sylvester to find out how Prima became featured, which Sylvester explained by saying:

It all happened very quickly, within the last week. Kanye and his people were gracious with sharing the recording with us, and acknowledging the contribution of Louis Prima to the song. They were very, very receptive to the idea that, for all intents and purposes, Louis was featured. I don’t know if they had it in their minds before, or if it was simply something that we thought on our side. I didn’t really expect [the idea of Louis being a featured artist] to go anywhere. And then the next day, there it was. It really speaks to the graciousness of Kanye and his people, I must say.[2]

Gospel singer Shirley Ann Lee's song "Someday" had been sampled for the opening of West's Ye track "Ghost Town" before it was sampled in "4th Dimension".[4] The song isn't the only one on Kids See Ghosts to have a connection to the track, as "Freeee (Ghost Town, Pt. 2)" was released as the sequel to "Ghost Town".[4]

Release

"4th Dimension" was released on June 8, 2018 as the third track on Kids See Ghosts.[5] On the day of the album's release, multiple tracks were mislabeled on streaming services, including "4th Dimension", which was mislabeled as the seventh and final track on the album, "Cudi Montage".[6][7]

With "4th Dimension", Louis Prima set the record for the longest break between Billboard Hot 100 hits, at 57 years, four months, and two weeks; Prima last appeared on the Hot 100 on February 13, 1961, with the song "Wonderland by Night".[8] The record was previously held by the late Bobby Helms, at 54 years, 11 months, and two weeks with his Christmas song "Jingle Bell Rock".[8]

Reception

The song was met with rave reviews from music critics. Michelle Kim of Pitchfork pointed the Prima sample out as where West "somehow manages to turn that festive holiday tune about literal sleighs into a haunting loop of chanting voices".[4] West's sampling skills were praised by Christopher R. Weingarten of Rolling Stone as well, with him writing in response to West using the Prima sample "He already made Ray Charles, Otis Redding and Michael Jackson sound brand new on a handful of hits ("Gold Digger," "Otis" and "Good Life," respectively), and now he manages to do the same with a 1936 joint by big-band jazz great Louis Prima, turning "What Will Santa Claus Say?" into an unsettling, funky Greek chorus to West and Cudi’s old-fashioned rap boasts."[9] The song's "off-the-wall hilariousness" was viewed by Kieran Read of Redbrick as being an example of when "West himself miraculously taps into the essence of the fabled 'old Kanye'" on Kids See Ghosts.[10]

Samples

The song contains a sample of a section from Shirley Ann Lee's track "Someday".[4] The section sampled consists of Lee's producer discussing song structure in spoken word,[4] which Sidney Madden of NPR believes is a nod to the "all killer no filler" seven-song structure of West's five 2018 albums:[lower-alpha 2][11]

Just do that and then let the music do somethin', then do that again, that'd be enough for a record
I mean, you only want two and a half minutes if you can get it, you know, three minutes max—

The song also contains a sample of Louis Prima's 1936 holiday song "What Will Santa Claus Say (When He Finds Everybody Swinging')".[4] Although he was sampled, Prima is credited as a featured artist in the song.[5]

Commercial performance

Upon the release of the album, "4th Dimension" reached number 42 on the US Billboard Hot 100, standing as the second highest charting song from it in the United States.[12] It marked the first song with Louis Prima included to chart on the Hot 100 since his track "Wonderland by Night" in 1961.[13] The song debuted at the similar position of number 46 on both the ARIA Singles Chart and UK Singles Chart.[14][15]

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.[5]

  • Kanye West – producer, composer, lyricist
  • Kid Cudi – composer, lyricist
  • Mike Dean – producer, composer, lyricist, additional producer, engineer, mixer
  • Noah Goldstein – producer, additional producer, engineer
  • Louis Prima – composer, lyricist, featured artist
  • Sean Solymar – assistant mixer, assistant recording engineer
  • Zack Djurich – engineer
  • Mike Malchicoff – engineer
  • William J. Sullivan – engineer
  • Jess Jackson – mixer
  • BoogzDaBeast – programmer
  • Plain Pat – programmer

Charts
Chart (2018) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[16] 46
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[17] 27
Ireland (IRMA)[18] 49
New Zealand Heatseekers (RMNZ)[19] 1
Portugal (AFP)[20] 100
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[21] 67
Swedish Heatseekers (Sverigetopplistan)[22] 20
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[15] 46
UK R&B (Official Charts Company)[23] 25
US Billboard Hot 100[13] 42
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[24] 21

Notes
  1. Credited as additional producer
  2. Pusha T's Daytona, West's Ye, Kids See Ghosts, Nas' Nasir, and Teyana Taylor's K.T.S.E.

References
  1. Thiessen, Christopher (June 8, 2018). "Kids See Ghosts: Kids See Ghosts (album review)". PopMatters. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  2. Setaro, Shawn (June 13, 2018). "How Did a Dead Artist End Up on 'Kids See Ghosts'?". Complex. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  3. Giulione, Bianca (June 10, 2018). "Here's Every Sample on Kanye West & Kid Cudi's 'Kids See Ghosts'". Highsnobiety. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  4. Kim, Michelle (June 8, 2018). "5 Takeaways from Kanye West and Kid Cudi's New Album, Kids See Ghosts". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
  5. "KIDS SEE GHOSTS / KIDS SEE GHOSTS". Tidal. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
  6. Klinkenberg, Brendan (June 8, 2018). "A Brief Guide to the 'Kids See Ghosts' Tracklist". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
  7. Cush, Andy (June 8, 2018). "The Kids See Ghosts Track Lists and Credits Are Full of Errors". Spin. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  8. Trust, Gary (June 20, 2018). "Louis Prima Sets Record For Longest Break Between Hot 100 Hits, Debuting on Kids See Ghosts' '4th Dimension'". Billboard. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
  9. Weingarten R., Christopher (June 11, 2018). "Review: Kanye West and Kid Cudi's 'Kids See Ghosts'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  10. Read, Kieran; Rivera, Jaime; Sun, Kenny (June 15, 2018). "Album Review: Kanye West & Kid Cudi - KIDS SEE GHOSTS". Redbrick. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  11. Madden, Sidney (June 12, 2018). "The Strange, Subdued Catharsis Of Kanye And Cudi's 'Kids See Ghosts'". NPR. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
  12. Post, Chantilly (June 19, 2018). ""KIDS SEE GHOSTS" Marks Kanye West's Double Debut On The Hot 100". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  13. "Louis Prima Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  14. "ARIA Chart Watch #477". auspOp. June 16, 2018. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  15. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  16. "Australian-charts.com – Kids See Ghosts feat. Louis Prima – 4th Dimension". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  17. "Louis Prima Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  18. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Kids See Ghosts". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  19. "NZ Heatseeker Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. June 18, 2018. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  20. "Portuguesecharts.com – Kids See Ghosts – 4th Dimension". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  21. "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 201824 into search. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  22. "Veckolista Heatseeker – Vecka 24, 15 juni 2018". Sverigetopplistan. Archived from the original on June 15, 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  23. "Official R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  24. "Louis Prima Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
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