In February, Ye (formerly Kanye West) shocked the music industry when Vultures Ithe first album in a planned trilogy with Ty Dolla $ign, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts. Just a year ago, his outspoken anti-Semitism and adoration for white supremacists had prompted an exodus among his supporters. Then, with Vultures Ihas joined a cadre of “cancelled” men who are reestablishing ties with polite society. Some critics, hurt by his incessant anti-Black taunts, have grudgingly admitted that Vultures was impressively produced. “The kids love Kanye,” declared a Complex account on the X platform.
Vultures I benefited from a debut that occurred during the annual post-Christmas lull of the music industry—it reached number one on shockingly low numbers—but also from a certain inexplicable goodwill that led, for example, gold-winning American Olympic gymnasts to quote his memorable 2005 Grammy acceptance speech. Never mind the “White Lives Matter” T-shirts, the multiple lawsuits surrounding his Donda Academy, the sexual harassment lawsuit, and the countless allegations of financial crimes against his employees. Most of the public believes that Ye has done nothing wrong. Sure, he has indulged in questionable comments and behavior. But he’s no R. Kelly. He hasn’t physically harmed anyone… right?
For old fans who remember seeing Kanye West's name in the credits of the rapper's 1996 album Grav Down to Earththe evolution of the Atlanta-born, Chicago-raised musician – from a talented beatmaker in his time The Blueprint by Jay-Z to wonder-kind in 2004 with The College Dropoutthen to visionary in 2010 with My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and so far – it must seem discouraging at the very least.
But let's give Ye this: the man still knows how to “get on the Zeitgeist wheel.” His sudden turns seem appropriate for an era in which mainstream rap is designed for the whims of the manosphere. There's a lot of chatter about the power of the penis and the accumulation of fame and fortune. Admissions of pain, whether spiritual or romantic, are intended primarily for male salvation, not as extensions of empathy toward others. At the end of HoodratMalik Yusef instructs the audience to become willing sycophants. “What Kanye says is basically affirmations for successful people,” he tells us. “There’s no doubt he has some fucking mental issues. Most leaders do.”
Unfortunately, Vultures 2 It feels like a second helping of a not-so-pleasant meal. It has fewer catchy samples than the first volume, which is a good thing since the use of I Feel Love by Donna Summer in the deleted track of Vultures I Good (Don't Die) it ended up in court. Field Tripwhich has the liveliness of a mid-level action movie on Netflix, uses the piano arpeggios of Machine Gun of Portishead. Sky City sees Ty Dolla $ign harmonize the chorus of the Five Stairsteps' 1970 incandescent soul classic Ooh Child. The cover of Vultures II features Ty holding a framed photo of his brother Big TC, who is currently serving a life sentence for murder (and has pleaded not guilty). At the end of the album, Big TC himself harmonizes on My Soul and says he maintains his Muslim faith despite his imprisonment. “God has a plan.”
Looking at the cover, it seems that Vultures 2 It must be Ty's time to assert himself in the Ye-enterprise. But he remains a junior partner. His intentions don't seem as impactful as Ye's or guests like Young Thug's.
But never mind: this is Ye's operation, from the demo construction of Vultures 2 to pseudo-innovations, like when Future's voice is sequenced to repeat Cook up the yay, make it jump out the gym six times out of Dead. And his obsessions are faintly familiar. He raps “fuck Adidas” on My Souland compares his brand YZY to the liberation from “picking cotton” on Sky City. It gets lost in Husbandsanother plea to ex-wife Kim Kardashian. “The only thing you really need is a husband/The only thought you need is, ‘I trust him,'” she sings. 530 finds him rapping wistfully, “It’s game time, it’s Ye time in fact/Last year’s been a strange time/FaceTime visits/And who’s gonna break whose heart first, always breaks mine.” He generously invites daughters North and Chicago West to play in the studio on Bomb. That track is immediately followed by Riverwhich starts with Thug harmonizing, “Big bitch, I know who pays for this.”
In the past, Ye’s delusions of grandeur and acidic misogyny scratched at deeper truths about sex and spirituality, and how we struggle to center ourselves as we gain power and influence in a ruthlessly capitalist society. But it was eight years after he declared himself a “Make America Great Again” acolyte before embarking on his current path as a “freethinker” and aspiring billionaire plutocrat. The textual delights of his imperial phase have long since dissolved into broken promises of deeper meaning and beyond spectacle. Despite the cover of Vultures IIlittle time is devoted to the ravages of the justice system beyond vague reminders of “Free Larry [Hoover]» and « free [Big] Meech. And then there’s clearly nothing about black women being victimized by the police state.
Vultures 2 It is not entirely devoid of pleasures. Husbands It's a vivid moment of characteristic selfishness. Longtime GOOD Music ghostwriter Cyhi delivers a great line about visiting the “ancestors” in Sky Citya track that recalls Thugz Mansion by 2Pac where Ty echoes the chorus of the Five Stairsteps soul classic Ooh Child. Joining them are 070 Shake and Desiigner, and then other rappers like Playboi Carti, Kodak Black, Don Tolliver, Lil Wayne, Lil Durk and Lil Baby. According to a quote from Genius.com, Todd Rundgren's voice is buried somewhere in My Soul. Given that Rundgren said in 2021 that Ye is “a shoe designer,” disparaging him, this could be old session material that Ye unceremoniously threw into the bouillabaisse of Vultures.
In the end, Vultures 2 seems like a chore. Congratulations: you've made it through Ye's latest disaster. Why can't the world unsubscribe from this content? Maybe we're doomed to submit to this Trumpian pact, giving him our time, money, and attention for nothing in return. “Never let them split the gang, we gotta stick together,” Ty implores on Forever Rolling. Lil Baby adds, “The world’s got a lot to offer, you gotta live a little/Things I’ll never understand, I probably never will.”
This article is translated from Rolling Stone US.
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
