Kanye West fans are going through a pretty rough time these days, as no amount of extra tracks can diminish the disappointment of VULTURES 2 with Ty Dolla $ign. However, at least one lucky die-hard got a welcome surprise after purchasing some of his old storage units from the mid-2010s era. These boxes contained Yeezy clothing samples, pictures of designs, schematics and drawings, studio equipment, microphones, and even the outfits that Ye and company wore for his 2015 Hollywood Bowl performance. While it’s a lot of random stuff that might not even work or be fashionably relevant anymore, there are still some curious details throughout. One shirt in the pile, for example, looks a lot like the VULTURES merch designs that would arrive years later.
Furthermore, we’re sure that so many people out there, Kanye West fans or not, would love a chance to peruse these storage units themselves. But sadly, fans are concerned with more pressing matters related to the Chicago artist right now, mainly his alleged nitrous gas addiction. His former presidential campaign affiliate Milo Yiannopoulos made these accusations online, which have sparked a lot of debate, discussion, and discomfort. Considering all of the controversies that Kanye’s been involved in over the past two years, this is either a possible explanation or a sign that things are more difficult than we imagined.
Speaking of which, Kanye West blamed his antisemitic rants in 2022 on being under the influence of alcohol. “You wanna know what alcohol I had inside me? Hennessy,” he told Candace Owens during their sit-down interview in 2022, conducted very soon after these attacks resulted in heavy public fallout. Unsurprisingly, many don’t find this to be an acceptable excuse, or think that it’s just a fake ploy to get him out of accountability. All of this is mostly speculative and unconfirmed, so take it all with a grain of salt.
Elsewhere, we know that Kanye West will continue to make headlines for all the good and bad reasons under the sun. On a more positive note, he explained during this Candace Owens interview why he thinks that Jay-Z and Drake are “the greatest rappers ever” for two very different reasons despite his conflicts with them over the years. Still, many of these more expected and music-related takes fall under a whole lot of baggage. So like this TikTok user, a lot of fans are digging back through history to remember simpler times, or at least, times in which we didn’t know all of the disturbing and worrisome sides to this story. And that’s whether you’re saving empathy for Ye or not.
Donald Trump is offering a new opinion on Kanye West. During his stream with Adin Ross, Trump called Ye “very complicated.”
“He’s a really nice guy, but he can get himself into trouble and get some other people, but you know,” Trump said. “He’s got a good heart, he does. But he’s complicated.”
Donald Trump about Ye on the Adin Ross livestream :
“He’s a very nice guy but he can get himself in trouble, but you know, he has a good heart but he’s very complicated” pic.twitter.com/yd20y9NC0Q
Just last month, former President Donald Trump was close to making Kanye West a de facto Secretary of Religion. During an appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, former Trump staffer Alyssa Farah Griffin revealed Trump wanted Ye to perform a church service on the White House lawn to unite the country.
“One day, he [Trump] wanted to have Kanye West come and doa church service on the White House lawn to unify the country. I can think of a few things less unifying than that.
Kanye West’s art is impossible to engage with solely at face value, something that his collaborative album series with Ty Dolla $ign, VULTURES, proves in a pretty ugly way. Their latest release, VULTURES 2, is drawing conversation online for reasons related only tangentially to the music it contains. Uncleared samples, verses allegedly generated by artificial intelligence (Ye-I?), unfulfilled release dates followed by surprise launches, and absolutely abysmal mixing on this LP are taking precedence over any considerations of songwriting, creativity, performance, or any other elements you would look for in a new body of work. Of course, that’s not counting all the politically and socially abhorrent narratives that Ty and Ye (mostly and especially Ye) have been involved in or propagated since… well, we’ll let you pick your starting point. After all, even TLOP’s “new Kanye” is old Kanye by today’s standards.
However, what makes VULTURES 2 such a lackluster and disappointing release, even compared to the already dull and unsatisfying first installment, is a shocking lack of effort, originality, and sense of purpose. Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign released half-baked demo editions of these songs on this album, and regardless of whether the ideas behind these mixes are satisfying or not, it contributes to this project feeling like a scam tracklist from a random YouTube page, not the result of deliberate studio time after multiple delays already. If you scrape through quietly mixed verses, muddy rhythmic tones, mid-performance audio shifts, and head-scratching panning, there is certainly some quality throughout this tracklist and even some thematic depth. Still, not only is this achievement scant, but it feels damningly derivative from past (and recent) work.
To start with VULTURES 2‘s highs, there are some engaging, vivid, and appropriately grand excursions into the dramatic, raw, and nocturnal hip-hop/R&B that Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign have championed throughout their collaborations. The big highlight is “SLIDE,” with its THX synths opening the track in an immediate and captivating fashion. The hectic and enveloping percussion makes for one of the most uniquely groovy and enjoyable bounces on the album. It also succeeds at achieving this quality standard in some softer moments on occasion, such as cohesive electronic embellishments to a vocal sample on “FOREVER.” Producers like London on da Track, Wheezy, Fred again.., James Blake, BoogzDaBeast, AyoAA, and The Legendary Traxster make up a massive list of co-producers, but this doesn’t translate into ambitious soundscapes.
Rather, the fact that Kanye West is actually absent from many beats here speaks to how thrown-together and un-curated many of these production ideas feel. For example, nothing comes of a rock sample on “ISABELLA. Cuts like “PROMOTION” and “DEAD” contain some of the most generic synth tones and drum sounds you’ll hear all year. Other Ye albums definitely felt like too many chefs were overcooking their meals in the kitchen, but this time around, we’re not comparing it to last year’s album – we’re comparing it to what we just got in February. Through that lens, there’s even less of a reason to act impressed by Donda and Jesus Is King retreads. Speaking of repetition, “FRIED” is an embarrassing attempt to copy the appeal behind “CARNIVAL” with even worse lyrics, and “TIME MOVING SLOW” sounds like an alternate demo version to the already meager “Flowers” off Donda 2.
Kanye West & Ty Dolla $ign’s Pessimistic Performances
Just how VULTURES2‘s most generic missteps overshadow its sonic ambition, Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign’s thematic goals on the album fall victim to some of their most poorly written hedonistic material about money, women, the rap game, and passing partners to their friends like a piece of meat. Similar to VULTURES 1, Ty is a more consistent and skilled performer in this second round thanks to his melodic dominance and despite Ye taking even more of a center stage. The first installment, however, Ty held higher and more dependable peaks far more consistently. The Chicago rapper has some passable verses on here like the first half of “530” and chemistry-filled trade-offs between him, Ty, and Lil Baby on “FOREVER ROLLING,” where he actually tries to engage with wordplay and provides a clear narrative. But alas, his hollow pen is mostly his least inspired and most irrelevant yet.
While guests like Lil Durk and Lil Wayne try to sharpen things up and follow Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign’s lead, their contributions don’t really amount to much beyond a short but solid reprieve from the monotony. Playboi Carti and Don Toliver go a bit further, providing much-needed vocal dynamism to the eerie “FIELD TRIP.” Yet no one stands out the way that guests did on albums like Donda because of how rickety the foundations for their appearances are. One definite exception is “RIVER,” with progressive production and a charismatic Young Thug verse that (if only for its inclusion) speaks to Kanye’s themes of freedom and justice on the track. Ye’s passionate vocal performance and lyricism are a rare highlight here, and Ty Dolla $ign leads the outro with heavenly vocals.
Sadly, despite occasional glimpses of loving care, VULTURES 2‘s poorly executed formulas don’t earn the benefit of the doubt sequel projects usually get. It takes two steps back from VULTURES 1, which at least had novelty and controversy at its side. Now, it feels like an easy paycheck that doesn’t entice you with its bravado: it just expects you to punch in and praise it for being the same album Kanye West’s made for half a decade. The filler is also staggering, as “HUSBAND” is an unnecessary isolation of the second half of “LIFESTYLE” and “SKY CITY” is a Yandhi-era leak whose official release absolutely guts its previous structure. At least “BOMB” provides a glimmer of West family wholesomeness, even if the discussions of family contrast lazily and messily with disgustingly indulgent misogyny.
That’s perhaps the most salient failure of VULTURES 2: it’s all of Kanye West’s expected vices with his least compelling attempts at contrasting them with his values. The album’s shoddy release, perhaps the shoddiest in Ye’s entire catalog, represents this unwell egomania. As for the moments on here that do have something to say, he and Ty Dolla $ign lack originality, notable production, and noteworthy performances. The last exception to mention is the final verse on “MY SOUL,” delivered by Ty Dolla $ign’s incarcerated brother, which most overtly embodies the album’s “theme”: freedom. But they only focus for a blink of an eye. Elsewhere, it’s a Jersey-house-trap-moody-synth corpse whose scandals, successes, and self-satisfactions not only turn the duo’s few meaningful ideas into ghosts but place shockingly little importance on the album experience that Ye was once so revered for. If they don’t care about their music, why should we?
Former President Donald Trump was close to making Kanye West a de facto Secretary of Religion. During an appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, former Trump staffer Alyssa Farah Griffin revealed Trump wanted Ye to perform a church service on the White House lawn in an effort to unite the country.
“One day, he [Trump] wanted to have Kanye West come and doa church service on the White House lawn to unify the country. I can think of a few things less unifying than that.
Kanye West is no stranger to landing on pretty much every music publication’s top ten lists at some point, although they aren’t always for good reasons (especially as of late). Moreover, Rolling Stone recently released their 50 Worst Album Covers Of All Time list, and Ye’s 2016 effort The Life Of Pablo landed at number seven. It’s kind of a wild choice considering that he has a literally blank and completely black album cover in 2021’s Donda, which coincidentally is facing a new copyright infringement lawsuit. Whether you love or hate this Pablo cover, though, you can’t deny the massive influence that it had and the divisive but compelling conversations that it inspired in graphic design and other artistic circles.
“The Kanye Conundrum: Does he mean it?” the publication wrote of Kanye West’s TLOP cover. “In this case, does he actually believe that this is a compelling album cover, or is he trying to push an eyesore aesthetic so far that it goes around the bend and becomes art, or is he just too distracted by the squirrels inside his head to care? The answer: It doesn’t matter! Just like Ye said actual antisemitic things, and you don’t have to waste your time parsing whether he was being ‘ironic,’ you can say that whatever his intentions were, this album got hit by the ugly stick and then move on.”
Speaking of unknown intentions, a lot of folks believe that Kanye West may have played a role in leaking Big Sean’s new album. This is because the leaker in question is a big Ye fan who claimed that he told him to do so. Sean doesn’t believe that theory, although we can’t really say for sure at press time. All we do know is that it seems pretty unlikely.
Meanwhile, Rich The Kid recently dropped his new album Life’s A Gamble, which Kanye West executive-produced. We don’t know if this indicates that Ye will move into a more backseat role with music or if his retirement announcement was just a random but ultimately false statement. It’s probably the latter, but who knows? Maybe one of the next VULTURES projects will have a modest cover, too.
Eminem’s new album The Death Of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce) is a fitting title: while the Detroit rapper tries to shed his old ways, much of the project is still fully in tune with his alter ego. And what’s a Shady comeback if he’s not dissing a whole bunch of controversial celebrities and previous rap rivals in his music? Moreover, fans noticed more than a few famous names that he dragged on this new record, with some of the hip-hop figures making the most noise. Specifically, a lot of folks noticed Em’s bars against Kanye West, Diddy, and Ja Rule, as well as reflections on his MGK and Melle Mel beefs, among many more.
“Next idiot ask me is getting his a** beat worse than Diddy did [muted] / But on the real, though / She prolly ran out the room with his f***ing dildo / He try to field goal punt her, she said to chill / Now put it back in my a** and get the steel toe,” Eminem raps on “Antichrist,” referencing the footage of the Bad Boy mogul assaulting his then-girlfriend Cassie.
“I’m like a R-A-P-E-R / Got so many essays, S-As / Wait, he didn’t just spell the word ‘rapper’ and leave out a P, did he? / R.I.P., rest in peace Biggie / And ‘Pac, both of y’all should be living / But I ain’t tryna beef with him / ‘Cause he might put a hit on me like Keefe D did him,” Eminem adds on “Fuel” featuring JID. There are other Sean Combs jabs here and there, but let’s look at what he said about Ye. “Say they wish that I wasn’t so angry / They wanna see me going off the deep end like Ye, aye / Rather see me do like Kim Kardashian they say, yeah / And find a way to get rid of all of this rage, aye [Ray J],” Marshall raps on “Antichrist.”
Finally, here’s the stray that Ja Rule caught from Eminem on “Guilty Conscience 2.” “When I say, ‘F**k midgets,’ I mean Ja Rule.” While this controversy isn’t surprising (or, frankly, interesting), The Death Of Slim Shady does see its artist make some more fleshed-out remarks on cancel culture and his obsession with it. The opening track, “Renaissance,” sees him talk about the criticism of other rap legends, and how it can’t take any of them down. Whether you agree or not, it’s exactly the sort of thing that Em would comment on these days.
Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign have absolutely been through the wringer this year given the chaotic rollout of VULTURES 1 and the absence of its promised sequel project. However, it turns out that there’s still another chapter in the bizarre VULTURES saga, as the album is no longer available on Spotify. You can still listen to some singles like “CARNIVAL” and “TALKING,” but the LP as a whole disappeared for unexplained reasons at press time. We don’t know if this has to do with its distribution deal, sample clearance issues, or Ye and Ty’s plans to only stream their material via the YZY app.
This was already the planned release method for VULTURES 2, so we don’t know if this VULTURES 1 removal means that Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign’s next collaboration is in jeopardy. Still, it’s possible that the album will just reappear on Spotify in due time, as had already happened when the album dropped in the first place. As for other streaming services, it seems like Apple Music still has it up, so that suggests this is more of a distribution issue with Spotify in particular. Still, that’s just speculative, and there’s a big chance that we will never find out for sure.
Also, this is curious because Kanye West seemingly announced that VULTURES 1 would be his last album, since he claimed to retire from music recently. Nevertheless, as with all things Ye, this didn’t really last long, as Rich The Kid announced that he would have a new feature on his new album Life’s A Gamble. Maybe this is just a promo stunt or another plea for attention, but it’s easy to presume that the Chicago artist just doesn’t have the same relationship to music that he used to. It was only a matter of time, and we’ll see how true his words are.
Meanwhile, perhaps this VULTURES 1 removal will have an impact on the duo’s planned Korea listening event for VULTURES. Whether or not Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign shelve their collaborative series, that wouldn’t close the door on new Ye music for the rest of time to begin with. So maybe we’ll see the album back on Spotify tomorrow morning… or users on the platform will never bump “BURN” again. It’s all a mystery in Ye’s world right now, and maybe a break is more reasonable than outright abandonment.
Julia Fox has come out as a lesbian, and amid a whole slew of supportive and heartening messages of love, there were a few fans looking back at past relationships with a very different lens. But first, the important part: she responded in a TikTok to a user who had the following message. “I love when I see a lesbian with their boyfriend. It’s like ‘Aww, you hate that man. You literally hate him.’” “Hey, that was me. I was that lesbian. So sorry, boys. Won’t happen again,” the actress remarked. While she married Peter Artemiev from 2018 to 2020, she had previously spoken about wanting to “explore” her true sexuality.
“Like, maybe my ex-boyfriends weren’t wrong when they were calling me a lesbian and complaining that I never wanted to have sex with them,” Julia Fox said in a 2022 Ziwe interview. This recalled the short-lived fling she had with Kanye West in many fans’ eyes, especially her recent claim in a New York Times interview that she and Ye never had sex. As such, many wondered what his reaction to this news must be, and whether or not it was something that Fox already confided in him or other partners or members of her inner personal circle.
“You know, it was actually a blessing that he came into my life,” Julia Fox said of Kanye West during this NYT conversation. “He kind of shook up my team in a way where a lot of the creative control was then given back to me. I’d get into fights with my creative team about it and be really upset about it, but then ultimately always concede and just do what they wanted me to do because it was easier than arguing.
“When he left, it was like, ‘Well, I’m gonna do what I wanna do,’” Julia Fox continued. “I kind of felt like, ‘Oh my god, the world is my oyster.’ I’m my own muse.” She also recently celebrated two and a half years of celibacy, so we’re wishing her the best on her journey and hope she feels more fulfilled, self-confident, self-loved, and within her personal truth than ever.
Julia Fox has come out as a lesbian, and amid a whole slew of supportive and heartening messages of love, there were a few fans looking back at past relationships with a very different lens. But first, the important part: she responded in a TikTok to a user who had the following message. “I love when I see a lesbian with their boyfriend. It’s like ‘Aww, you hate that man. You literally hate him.’” “Hey, that was me. I was that lesbian. So sorry, boys. Won’t happen again,” the actress remarked. While she married Peter Artemiev from 2018 to 2020, she had previously spoken about wanting to “explore” her true sexuality.
“Like, maybe my ex-boyfriends weren’t wrong when they were calling me a lesbian and complaining that I never wanted to have sex with them,” Julia Fox said in a 2022 Ziwe interview. This recalled the short-lived fling she had with Kanye West in many fans’ eyes, especially her recent claim in a New York Times interview that she and Ye never had sex. As such, many wondered what his reaction to this news must be, and whether or not it was something that Fox already confided in him or other partners or members of her inner personal circle.
“You know, it was actually a blessing that he came into my life,” Julia Fox said of Kanye West during this NYT conversation. “He kind of shook up my team in a way where a lot of the creative control was then given back to me. I’d get into fights with my creative team about it and be really upset about it, but then ultimately always concede and just do what they wanted me to do because it was easier than arguing.
“When he left, it was like, ‘Well, I’m gonna do what I wanna do,’” Julia Fox continued. “I kind of felt like, ‘Oh my god, the world is my oyster.’ I’m my own muse.” She also recently celebrated two and a half years of celibacy, so we’re wishing her the best on her journey and hope she feels more fulfilled, self-confident, self-loved, and within her personal truth than ever.
VULTURES 1 was supposed to be the first installment in a trilogy, and Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign (for whatever reason) have failed to follow up on this series. But don’t fret, fans: a new announcement indicates that the hype cycle is back, and that new music could arrive pretty soon. Moreover, Ty recently announced on social media that he and Ye will host a VULTURES listening event in Korea (presumably South… right?) on Friday, August 23 of this year. This follows the Los Angeles artist’s previous claims that VULTURES 2 will have a “new sound,” further fueling fan excitement.
“We got all the songs,” the “Dream Girl” singer said of his next collaborative album with Kanye West in a Billboard interview. “Basically, it’s just like, ‘How can we get it there? How can we go bigger than the first album?’ Certain people will probably expect you to just do the same exact sound. But that sound’s already out.” “The album is almost done and could be released any day now,” he reportedly expressed per NFR Podcast. Of course, fans are also taking all this with a massive grain of salt, as there have been far too many disappointments and missed teased release dates (again, perhaps out of their control) in the past.
Elsewhere, Ty Dolla Sign also spoke of his relationship with Ye, particularly in regard to this rollout and his many, many controversies. “Ye is the best artist of this generation, besides me, and I don’t give a f**k about what people were talking about,” Ty shared. “I know my n***a. He’s one of the best people I’ve ever met. Just with my analysis of how it goes with him, he goes all the way to the top. And something may happen and he’ll say [something people find offensive] -– and then people [get] right back, you know. Because this s**t is undeniable.”
Speaking of which, Kanye West is facing multiple lawsuits right now for assault, sexual harassment, and labor exploitation, among other things. As such, this might not be the best time to pick VULTURES back up again. But then again, when would be a good time for Ye to pop out considering all he did and expressed? Like Ty Dolla Sign said, fans will still line back up to see what the latest update is.
(@lesbianpopstar)