Since Kanye’s 2021 DONDA release, fans have been itching for a new album, unfortunately instead of expectations being exceeded they have barely been met. On Feb. 9, Kanye and Ty Dolla $ign (collaboratively known as ¥$) released their album VULTURES 1. This was highly anticipated, after the idea was scrapped multiple times until the listening experience on Jan. 8. Although this album sounds complete, it barely contains anything worth remembering.
The album opens with STARS, a melodic opener with a very little amount of lyrics, this track is one of the ones with no complaints from anyone about the contents of it. On the other hand, the most controversial song on this record is CARNIVAL, where West compares himself to individuals who are convicted sex criminals. Many of the lyrics on this song are offensive to Jewish people, and it’s common knowledge that Kanye is no stranger to anti-semitism, publicly and hatefully sharing his opinions on social media.
The bar was set quite high, but the outcome was maybe six to seven solid songs out of the 15 total featured. The most popular and fan favorite song has to be BURN, a track just short of two minutes. This song was very enjoyable to listen to with an upbeat melody, although West did include the lyric: Man, the world gone mad, heard R. Kelly in the next Balenciaga ad
That being said, VULTURES 1 is not the most positive album to be listening to, musically the additions of Ty Dolla $ign allows for more in depth and deliberate textures and rhythm. Lyrically it’s a minefield, but West shows exactly how adept he is at the coordination and arrangement of melodies and samples with songs like Good (Don’t Die) sampling Donna Summers I Feel Love and Wu-Tang Clan’s Can It Be All so Simple on KEYS TO MY LIFE.
Overall, this album was okay, it had a few enjoyable songs, but with that, VULTURES 1 is not completely bare of all positive tracks. If you’re a fan looking for some Graduation or Late Registration Kanye West, this is not the best album for that. Musically and melodically it’s not bad, but the lyrics just ruin the overall vibe of the album.
