★★★★

It is finally here. After months of waiting and countless disappointing nights, Ye’s newest album is here. “Vultures 1“ released by Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) with collaborator Ty Dolla $ign was released Feb. 10.  

The long awaited LP from Kanye West is his first full release since 2021’s “Donda” which similarly had a roll-out full of long delays followed by an eventful listening party in Chicago. Ye is known for delaying his albums for extended periods, with several albums having been delayed indefinitely before being scrapped altogether. “Donda” was delayed a total of 401 days, while “The Life of Pablo” holds the record at 531 days. Even his first LP “The College Dropout“  was delayed around 193 days from its initial release date. 

On “Vultures 1″, one can see the culmination of many memorable moments in Ye’s career. However, this project is stained with the context of Kanye’s recent controversies with antisemitism and hate. Following the events after he made some remarks about his belief that Jewish people control of the media, Ye made an appearance on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’s show, where he expressed blatant holocaust denial and even sympathy for the views and actions of Adolf Hitler. Following the event, Ye experienced a “fall from grace” in which he lost many brand deals and his reputation in the music industry suffered greatly. 

Now, several months later, Ye is attempting a comeback. Releasing this album and his new clothing line completely independently, as he wants to prove that he does not need industry support to be successful. Though time will tell, and helped by seeing the immensely positive response from Ye’s fans already, with his show at the United Center selling out in less than ten minutes. 

It appears the comeback is real.  

 The opening track, “STARS” sees Ye emotionally reminiscing about the past. Featuring angelic vocals from Ty Dolla $ign and a soft-spoken verse from Ye himself, it provides a gentle opening to the album similar to the track “Ultralight Beam” from “The Life of Pablo”. In it, Ye references some of the career events from past years, saying, “Just black out / Keep a few Jews on the staff now / I cash out” and “We finna go where the stars at / And beyond that / This that rip up the contract.” This melodic opener sets the tone for what will be an album of contrasts and great variety. Often Ye and Ty have placed chaotic and loud bangers emblematic of modern rap’s sound right next to more soft-spoken tracks showcasing the Gospel and R&B influences in Ye’s discography. 

One such energetic track is the bombastic track “F** SUMN”, featuring verses from Ye protegés Playboi Carti and Travis Scott. With the masterful bass-heavy production of hip-hop legend Timbaland and the chaotic sampling of JPEGMAFIA, and combined with the signature warped vocals from Carti and Scott. This track takes Ye into the state of modern trap music. With a catchy hook from Ty Dolla $ign and features from two of rap’s new icons, Ye is showing here that he is not out-of-touch with hip-hop today – far from it. Ye clearly has his figure on the pulse of today’s musical currents and knows exactly what makes a hit. 

Perhaps the craziest song on the album is “CARNIVAL”  featuring Rich The Kid and Playboi Carti once again. It features epic production from Digital Nas and Ye that uses synths and choir vocals to create an intense stadium atmosphere. Once again, Ye shows that he can take verses from lesser praised rappers like Playboi Carti and Rich the Kid and elevate them to create something truly incredible. Ye’s verse is quite memorable with him calling out many celebrities from the likes of Elon Musk to Taylor Swift. Carti’s following feature is equally memorable, proving the theory that Ye and him make a great duo, with this track a standout on the album. 

Overall, “VULTURES 1” is far from disappointing; one could even call it impressive. Ye combines all the lyrical and production aspects of his career up to this point, with elements of his classic sampling techniques on “BACK TO ME” and “GOOD (DON’T DIE)”. Ye even brought back his melodic  and introspective style reminiscent of albums “808s & Heartbreak”  and “ye” on the track  “PROBLEMATIC,” while also bringing back the gritty, industrial sound of “Yeezus” on “PAPERWORK.”

★★

Years after the disastrous release of his previous album, Ye, famously known as Kanye West, surprises fans with a proper release for his newest collaborative project with Ty Dolla $ign, “Vultures 1” on Feb. 10.

“Vultures 1” emerges the controversial rapper back into the spotlight after he notoriously made a slew of hateful, anti-Semitic comments in late 2022 that sent him into an exile away from the public lens. Infamous for pushing albums beyond their intended release dates, Ye surprises many with only a one-day delay with his latest project.

The album marks Ye’s third collaborative project, followed by 2011’s “Watch the Throne” with Jay-Z, and 2018’s “KIDS SEE GHOSTS” with Kid Cudi. Working with Ty Dolla Sign, the album is the first part in an expected three volume project hinted at by a now deleted Instagram post.

“Vultures 1” is Ye’s first proper wide release on streaming platforms and physical media since 2021’s “Donda”,  and after the messy release of the 2022’s incomplete “Donda 2”, which was released  exclusively on Kanye’s audio mixing tool know as the Stem Player.

Widely anticipated by many hip-hop fans, the album unfortunately falls short, despite having some good elements. Ty Dolla $ign and many of the album’s features present solid vocals and rap bars, being enough to scratch an itch in the listener’s ear. “Vultures 1” greatly excels with Ye’s best musical production in years. Despite its many strengths, the album ultimately suffers from the main star of the project, Ye himself, and his tasteless lyricism reflective of his problematic behavior.

The production quality returns to Ye’s signature maximalist style. Tracks often linger with a dark tone; with uses of heavy bass and strong synths increasing intensity, ultimately establishing the strength of the rapper’s wicked might. “CARNIVAL” is a menacing villain anthem. “BURN” is a return to the “Old Kanye’s” classic pop-rap style. “GOOD (DON’T DIE)” is even an emotional, vulnerable look into the mental state of Ye. Songs on the album have musical variety with a good mix of moods to keep things from becoming repetitive.

“Vultures 1” also gathers many iconic artists as features. From Travis Scott to Freddie Gibbs, each artist contributes their own signature style to add to the album’s maximalism. Ty Dolla $ign adds to many of the album’s purposeful moments, including his verse in “TALKING”.

Where the album suffers, ironically comes from Ye, the hip-hop “genius” himself. He fills the album with crass, mindless lyrics that serve no purpose other than to be bold and problematic. In the track “BACK TO ME”, Ye references a line from Kevin Smith’s 1999 film Dogma, in which actor Jason Mewes’ character Jay shouts, “Beautiful, naked, big-t**ed women just don’t fall out of the sky, you know?” With slight alterations, Ye repeats the line numerous times throughout his verse.  However, where Dogma utilizes the crude line for purposeful low comedy, Ye’s verse has no objective other than crying about how hard it is for him to find and attract women of those characteristics.

The vulgarity sprinkled throughout the album perfectly represents Ye’s lack of common sense. Any attempt made to redeem or justify his behavior simply bombs due to idiotic lines. Ye disastrously addresses past antisemitic controversies during his verse in “VULTURES”, where he raps, “How I’m anti-Semitic? I just f***ed a Jewish b***h.” Yikes.

Making matters worse, Ye further acknowledges the claims made against him in the album’s closing track “KING”, and utilizes it to feed his ego. He is aware he is seen as an antisemite, and yet in his own words, he raps he’s “still the king”.

Aside from being hateful and tasteless, Ye continues to ruin the album with poor creative decisions. He stains the track “TALKING” by including a feature from his 10 year old daughter, North West, which goes as well as one would expect it to be. The listener is forced to sit through insufferable, childish vocals and rap bars before finally reaching an emotional, heartfelt verse from Ty Dolla Sign. One West behind the mic is bad enough. No one needs another.

“Vultures 1” attempts to present Ye and Ty Dolla Sign as an unstoppable hip-hop force, with powerful, menacing production and a wide selection of iconic features, though manages falls short from the influences of the controversial star of the project. Instead of fearing him, listeners will only pity hip-hop’s most influential figure in this edgy reflection of his inevitable downfall.