For nearly a decade now, Kanye West has brought the best out of his protégé Kid Cudi, and in turn, Cudi has left an indelible mark on several Kanye albums. Now they’ve teamed up as Kids See Ghosts for an album of the same name, and on the title track, they bridge the gap between Cudi’s stoner hymnals and the cursed, self-flagellating ego trips of Kanye’s ye. Cudi brings a sort of balance for Kanye, and so there is less tension here. The song feels rejuvenating for everyone involved.

Produced by Cudi and Kanye with help from Plain Pat and Andrew Dawson, “Kids See Ghosts” find the duo at their most likeable—and their most compatible. Their verses are each personal (if not topical), alluding to Cudi’s private fight for his mental health and Kanye’s public fight for his soul as they swim through a gentle rush of ambient noise, whirring synths, and the soft pitter-patter of hand drums. Notably, Kanye is back rapping with gusto: There’s a fleetness to his verse that seems to imply an actual interest in rapping and in being understood, as opposed to simply being heard. “Don’t like being questioned and don’t like being less than/Any competition in any of my professions,” he spits, putting his point into practice. Cudi verses can often feel like rambling, but here his fortune-cookie wisdom is potent and sung in earnest: “Many things that will trouble you/Look beyond for a feelin’ like you never knew/Reachin’ out, huntin’ for the truth.” But it’s rarely ever about what Cudi is saying; it’s about the effectiveness of those awe-inspiring hums, crashing waves of thrumming vocals that bring new meaning to the words “drone strike.” As Cudi murmurs and Kanye rhapsodizes, it’s like they’re discovering their chemistry anew.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this review inaccurately stated that André 3000 and Boogz co-produced “Kids See Ghosts.” This has since been fixed.