Album of the Issue: Vultures 1

The Lackluster Return of the World’s Most Popular Anti-Semite

After releasing his album DONDA in late 2021, just before the freshman year of our current juniors, Kanye West, or Ye, began publicizing his anti-Semitic beliefs for the world to see. Just months prior, he went through a divorce with his wife of seven years, Kim Kardashian, likely contributing to his mental health and infamous breakdowns. However, his actions remained unjustifiable, and thus he lost commercial ties with corporations like Adidas, who promptly stopped promoting their Yeezy brand line. In March of 2023, Ye seemingly “renounced” his anti-Semitism after watching the film 21 Jump Street, lauding Jewish actor Jonah Hill and claiming to now “tolerate” Jews. Since then, Ye has mainly remained as quiet as a boisterous celebrity can be, reappearing on tabloids occasionally with pictures of his new wife snagged by paparazzi and rumors of his new independent Yeezy line. 

However, Ye returned to the spotlight in October, hinting at an album in collaboration with rapper Ty Dollar $ign. By late November and December of 2023, leaks and snippets of Ye’s new album Vultures 1 were secretly released across all music platforms, notably Youtube and Soundcloud. Perhaps in outrage against said leaks, Kanye hosted a listening party in December for the upcoming album whilst wearing a provocative outfit evidently inspired by Ku Klux Klan hoods. The original Vultures 1 art also seemingly reflected the double-headed German coat of arms, reminiscent of Nazi imagery. The current album cover is similarly offensive, with Kanye fully suited in black while his wife Bianca Censori stands half nude and back towards the camera. Additionally, the leaked namesake song of the album, “VULTURES,” also has deeply offensive lyrics of Kanye attempting to justify his views by proclaiming to have had intercourse with Jewish women. This purposely agitating and in-your-face behavior, along with copyright issues with the sampling of the song “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back),” led to the album being further delayed, with critics jumping to condemn Ye’s prejudiced actions and legal infringement.  

Vultures 1 officially dropped on February 10th, 2024; however, the struggles with copyright made the physical accessibility of the album difficult for excited fans. Spotify listeners, for example, were unable to hear the album until half a week later.

Ye jumps into the album with a song reminiscent of classic Ye, sampling Dijon’s “Good Luck” as an instrumental echo to his melancholic lyrics. Of course, Ye immediately ruins the song by boasting about the removal of Jewish staff from his record label. Ye temporarily moves on and continues his experimental style inspired by previous albums such as Yeezus, with questionable sampling on the song “BACK TO ME,” Alvin and the Chipmunks-inspired pitching on “FUK SUMN,” and, of course, the debut of his daughter North West in “TALKING.” Ye temporarily returns to the style of the “old Kanye, chop up the soul Kanye” for the song “BURN,” sampling “Love Me or Leave Me” by the R&B group Band of Thieves, a song reminiscent of soul music. While this temporary expression of love and its ardor captivates the listener, the album quickly returns to its less-than-optimal state. “HOODRAT” repeats the words “hoodrat” for the majority of the song, an unconventional choice that Ye is nonetheless known for; however, the shock factor does not make the song sound any better. The fan favorite, “CARNIVAL,” temporarily improves the album, showcasing a rousing chorus and featuring an infamous rapper with a sizable cult following––Playboi Carti. Carti’s purposefully deepened voice and the song’s trap beat make “CARNIVAL,” according to junior class president Kwame Addison, “a very good gym song.” 

While Vultures 1 does have a few notable songs, it ultimately fails by a long shot in meeting the hype Ye has been building for the past year. Ye failed to maintain the “no-skips” album quality he has tried to keep so pristine for his entire music career. The once provocative, charismatic, young rapper-producer is now simply just provocative and offensive. That being said, all Ye albums are looked upon with immense nostalgia and regarded as “ahead of their time.” With sequel albums Vultures 2 and Vultures 3 looming on the horizon (although who knows judging by Ye’s procrastination and false expectations), perhaps Vultures 1 will soon join the sentimental collection of “classic” albums that Ye fans hold near. With fresh judgment, free of blinding nostalgia, Vultures 1 remains a sub-par album: a 6 at best on a 10-point scale––a solid 4 on most days.

Ethan Yuan