The first 10 years of Kanye West’s career were nearly perfect, weren’t they? From his 2004 debut masterpiece The College Dropout (when he was just 20 years old) to his genre-bending album Yeezus in 2013, Kanye was truly at the peak of his powers. But even in interviews promoting Yeezus, Kanye seems to carry a busy demeanor that only seems to grow more pronounced as time goes on.
After everything that has happened to Mr. Ye in recent years, a few years after his Yeezus tour ended, it was “the beginning of the end” for his artistic dominance. Sure, 2016’s The Life of Pablo had some great musical moments, solid raps, and songs that have stood the test of time, but the album’s clunky and confusing writing detracted from its overall legacy — puts Kanye West on a path that has seen the same thing happen to him in his career.
Since 2016, Kanye has released four “studio” albums, each one becoming increasingly chaotic in design, execution and immediate output. Now, with a year-long hiatus in 2023 due to constant clashes with the media and his hurtful comments about Jews, Kanye’s stock has never been lower. But if anyone loves a comeback, it’s Mr. West.
Enter: Vultures 1. Part one of a three-part album extravaganza featuring Ye and Ty Dolla $ign. When this project was announced in late 2023, the first question on everyone’s mind was: “Why Ty Dolla $ign?” It’s clear that a deep understanding of musicality and a love for writing great songs exist in both Ye and Ty , yet how and why Ty jumped aboard Kanye’s sinking ship remains a mystery.
Throughout his career, Dolla $ign has been thoughtful and well-intentioned about his albums and collaborators, which begs the question why he would willingly decide to join Kanye on an odd, sometimes even On a wonderful album. Still, he did it.
After several haphazard release events and multiple album delays, the 16-track album was finally released late Friday (February 11). On first listen, it’s hard to decide whether this album is exciting or just exciting to finally see it on a streaming service. It opens with the slow-building, gospel-infused intro “Stars,” with Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign sounding calm and confident.
Second track “Keys To My Life” has more of the same hat-in-hand serenity, while “Paid” and “Talking” kick the energy up a notch (thanks to the cheerful pulsating drums) but remain Keep a cool head. A quarter of the way through, the album does such a good job of glossing over Ye’s past year of turmoil that the songs fit nicely into Tang Da’s reference tracks.
“Back To Me” is where things get a little weird, not necessarily for Kanye, but by listener’s standards. Centered around Jay’s (of Jay & Silent Bob fame) iconic line: “Beautiful, naked, big-boobed women don’t fall from the sky, you know that?” When the actors’ original sound bites are repeated, their creative output becomes a bit mundane.
More lackluster songwriting rears its ugly head on “Hoodrat,” which pairs some soothing vocals with a messy beat and a monotonous chorus that chants: “Hoodrat, hoodrat, hoodrat.” From that point on, the album began to fall apart, and all the Kanye stock fans had repurchased after hearing the first few songs was sold.
The most obvious sign of the album’s energy and lyrical content is the title track “Vultures,” which features Bump J and Lil Durk. The song itself is actually pretty good and sounds better in 2024 than when it was released in 2023. Heavy synths, pounding drums, and beat switches can make your head spin—especially at any high volume. But Kanye dropped lyrics like, “How come I’m anti-Semitic? I just fucked a Jewish bitch,” a theme that echoes throughout the album. Especially in “Problematic”, he reflects on last year’s experience and some changes. “I’m not a racist, it’s a preference” tells you all you need to know.
Kanye West doesn’t want to hear this, but the best songs on Vultures 1 are when he sounds most like the “old Kanye.” “Burn” is the happiest, most upbeat song on the album, with Ty gliding over a brisk beat and Ye delivering his best bars yet.
“Who doesn’t rejoice in my pain?/Who won’t honor my name?/When my campaign turns into canned pain/I burn eight billion dollars to break free of my chains” is Kanye’s classic songwriting , and he did a great job coordinating the final chorus with Ty. It only lasts two minutes, but it’s enough to keep fans and critics hopeful for the next two parts.
There are few other high points on this album. It’s not all Death Hoax 3’s valley. Freddie Gibbs’ verses on “Back To Me” are intense, the sheer energy and Ty Dolla $ign’s crooning on “Fuk Sumn” are outstanding, and even the throwback beat of “Good (Don’t Die)” deserves it Add favorites to your playlist.
All in all, “Vultures 1” didn’t bring about any changes for Kanye West or Ty Dolla $ign. Listeners, fans, haters, and hopefuls alike will be in the same place they were before the album was released: confused, disappointed, but adamant that the Kanye we all fell in love with can still deliver undeniably good music worth defending.
Release date: February 9, 2024
Record company: YZY
Listen to “Condor 1” below:
