By Landon Rogers-Neubarth

     Kanye West is no stranger to acting out for attention. Being one of the most famous men on Earth, Ye (Kanye’s new legal name), has truly tested his fans loyalty in the past few years. Kanye has always had his loyal supporters defending any outrageous statement he made or even ignoring the comment entirely. This changed in 2022 when Kanye pushed the boundaries of being edgy into sounding radical and racist. To begin the saga, Kanye was seen at Paris Fashion Week in a “White Lives Matter” shirt immediately causing uproar. This was coupled with comments regarding the death of George Floyd, with Kanye defending the Minneapolis police and instead blaming fentanyl. After these racially charged actions, Ye switched to antisemitism, in essence Kanye slanders the Jewish people, blaming the issues of the music industry’s management, banking and access to wealth, exploitive record labels, and other stereotypes. The final line was crossed preceding these comments when Kanye tweeted “I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE. The funny thing is I actually can’t be Anti-Semitic because black people are actually Jew also…” After this Kanye was effectively shunned being removed from several social media platforms and losing his partnership with Adidas. The controversies in the past few years as well as the divorce of his former wife, Kim Kardashian, are the foundation for Vultures 1. Ye explores these topics in a way that makes him seem like the victim and that he had gone through a lot to overcome the hate. Regardless of the controversies, Kanye’s album went number one the day it released.

     The opening song on Kanye’s Vultures 1, “STARS,”samples Good Luck by Dijon. This sample begins the album with an angelic intro and gives the listener a floating effect. 20 seconds later Kanye begins his first verse and then his beat begins. After Kanye’s major controversy regarding comments about the Jewish people, it took him only 35 seconds to attempt to address this stating “Keep a few Jews on the staff now.” Kanye’s bar comes off as extremely insensitive as this line offers little lyrical value. The sample repeats at 48 seconds, however during the second occurrence Kanye raps over the beat with the sample for a longer duration, which is the core of the song. Ty Dolla $ign, the second artist on the collaborative album, has the second verse where he raps in and out with the sample from Dijon. This song, although touching on anti-Semitic topics, should be listened to strictly for the creativity and uniqueness of the beat. Kanye is responsible for the use of this sample as one of the producers on this album, but he largely underperforms in his rap verse on the album’s opener. 

     The beginning of “KEYS TO MY LIFE” uses a beat sample from Slow Down by Brand Nubian combined with a high-pitched female whaling. Kanye opens up by discussing relationship trouble. His lines come off as distraught from his previous relationship or marriage and talk about difficulties with jealousy. Kanye talks about the hardships of his breakup with his former significant other. “Guess we had an awesome run. Ever since I lost my mom, you was like my foster mom.” This is Kanye West acknowledging the hardships of losing his mom and how he coped; however, things have since changed since his divorce in 2022. Ty Dolla $ign acts as Kanye’s voice of reason, repeating twice “Wasn’t it always this way?” His verse offers a reminder that although Kanye misses the good old times, there was still plenty of struggle. Kanye’s following verse has a sample from the Wu-Tang Clan using a variation of the beat from “Can It Be All So Simple.” Kanye himself raps the line from the song and Kanye once again reflects on his past relationship and overcoming the wounds from this time period. India Love ends the song repeating the song title twice. Overall, Kanye comes off as emotional and sad. Both Ty Dolla $ign and Kanye perform well despite Ty’s verse being short. A large majority of the nearly three-minute track is the beat. The beat is the large reason to listen to this song once again as the song aims to deliver a message as opposed to being a traditional catchy song.  

     The first upbeat song of the album, “PAID,” has a very rheumatic beginning with Ty Dolla $ign repeating the chorus “I’m just here to get paid” along with a catchy background ad lib. Although it’s subtle the background ad-lib, a sample from Brighter Days by Cajmere, adds a level of complexity to the song that Kanye has made a career out of. This sets the upbeat tone for the rest of the song. Although it doesn’t have the most clever wordplay, this is a song that will get stuck in one’s head and that’s the goal. Unlike the first two tracks, this song is meant to be one to get up and dance to. Kanye’s first verse starts with a high-pitched voice and then transitions to his signature flow. He does experiment with fluctuating his voice throughout the verse which fits the unique beat and the groovy flow. Ty Dolla $ign is the real star of the song, rapping the best verse on the song along with the chorus. KC-i closes off the song with a very similar verse only slightly different than the chorus repeating “Friday night, let’s all get paid.” This song was meant to be a hit and this comes through successfully.  

     “TALKING” is likely the most polarizing song on the album starring Kanye’s daughter, North West. To begin, the chorus is played early without much development from the beat, James Blake yells “You don’t want no problems you just” then it gets cut off by singing “talking.” North West has a terrific performance perfectly fitting the unorthodox chorus. Her best line “It’s your bestie, miss, miss Westie” is extremely catchy. North’s verse despite being first makes the song. The chorus repeats and then a Kanye signature beat switch occurs halfway through the song. Ty Dolla $ign once again has a great performance rapping about the hardships of a daughter growing up quickly and maintaining being a good influence. “How much to stop my daughter from growin’? I just can’t take it now.” Ty and Kanye are both fathers going through the same struggle of balancing their careers with home life. Kanye finally raps on the song at the very end repeating Ty Dolla $ign’s line “Once again, the clouds are gathering to release what they hold in.” This is a metaphor for a breaking point that he has reached. Although many other possible meanings for this line, it seems to fit the theme of Kanye’s previous spontaneous outbursts and serve as his reasoning that there’s more going on with him behind the scenes.  

     Ye samples on “BACK TO ME” the 1999 movie, Dogma, to open the song. He also uses the following line in the movie from the main character, Silent Bob, as the chorus of the song. Kanye plays the line from the movie as well as his interpolation later on. Ty begins the song with a good verse which serves to set up Kanye. Ye’s first verse has a lot of added reverb and sounds quite similar to his verse on the previously released song, Easy. Kanye talks about his doubters and how he overcame the hate. “This the **** that make rap ****** mad. Them think they cool ****** mad.” The beat then plays for 15 seconds without any lyrics and then transitions to the aforementioned second sample as a bridge to Kanye’s second verse. This second verse, although non-literal, talks about the struggle of finding a new girlfriend after his divorce. “…women just don’t fall out of the sky, you know? Tell me how you know, I been searching high and low.” Kanye repeats the chorus eight times and then the song is handed back to Ty and Freddie Gibbs’ to finish the song. Gibbs attacks the beat with a deeper voice and a more aggressive tone. His lines express his experiences through relationships and being single. Although different then the rest of the song, Freddie Gibbs different sound contributes to the song by offering some much-needed variety. The song is slightly repetitive and goofy but is enjoyable to listen to. “BACK TO ME” contributes to the themes of heartbreak and being alone already displayed on this album while not being a “sad love song.” 

     The sixth song, “HOODRAT,” begins with the words “Hood rat” repeated over and over in a digital voice until it fades, becoming a part of the beat of the song. Kanye then has a long, largely mediocre singing verse. He raps about the physical appearance of his new wife, Bianca Censori. “One maker, real breath taker, real rump shaker, Do that whip what her mom gave her.” Although the album so far seems disjointed, this continues the one underlying theme of Kanye talking about his ex and current wife. This song does not have much contribution from Ty Dolla $ign with him having a limited amount of lyrics spontaneously throughout the song. The repeating of the word “hood rat” once again occurs to conclude the song, however, the second time around it comes off as more annoying than anything. It’s a very repetitive song that isn’t catchy. The final monologue of the song is Mike Tyson and Jason Lee talking about the hate Kanye West has overcome to maintain his superstar status. This part offers nothing of value whatsoever. Mike Tyson, although a boxing legend, should not be given any role speaking, at all. This is the first truly disappointing song that offers the listener very little.  

     “DO IT” begins with an aggressive start from Nipsey Hussle that then transitions to the smoother Ty Dolla $ign. Ty continues his streak on this album of rapping some of the best lyrics and flows. He begins with the chorus that’s very catchy. This verse keeps the theme lines about jealousy and relationships stating, “Heard you got a man, but he ain’t like us.” Kanye and Ty have both recently lost a previously long-term relationship and they reflect on their following emotions throughout the album. After his second verse, Ty repeats the hook and then lets Kanye rap. His verse is brief, talking about wealth and caring very little about spending it. Then he has a line that almost perfectly summarizes Kanye’s mindset. “We ain’t even stress, we the new kings and sheiks. We done made a mess they gon’ have to clean for weeks.” The chorus repeats, YG gives a forgettable performance, and then the chorus closes off the song.  

     “PAPERWORK” starts with a beat that sounds similar to the album “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Kanye reflects on his past actions and talking about money. “Went crazy, now let’s go amazing.” This brings back the idea of Kanye’s irresponsible past few years that make Kanye the ultra-polarizing villain that he’s become. Ty gives us a different sound than seen in all albums after Ye’s verse, having a deeper and less melodic sound. He then passes the torch to Quavo who takes the role of the higher pitch verse. This concludes the song and although isn’t a bad part, it almost doesn’t fit the song. With this crazy beat Kanye made, it’s understandable that the artist would let that be the focal point of the song. However, the three talented artists left a lot to be desired.  

     “BURN” is a masterpiece most reminiscent of his studio debut album, The College Dropout. The song begins with Ty’s chorus performed brilliantly. He raps about the end of his relationship once again. “Burnin’ like a candlelight, your love is dangerous, your love is, my love is, our love is.” Kanye then has the best verse he’s had so far talking about how he effortlessly entertains and makes money. He then gets into a deeper topic about mistakes. “Man, a couple wrong turns, could fry you forever, it’s a permanent burn.” While one can argue Kanye has been burned by way more than a few wrong turns, the message is understood. This song brings together all the key elements of modern-day Kanye while using wordplay centering it all around the word Burn. Kanye talks about how he burns money, has been burned by his actions, and how his relationships have burned down. This is Kanye being honest and that is why this song is so special. BURN then closes out with Ty’s chorus making the song comparatively short, but it delivers all it needs to.  

     “*** SUM,” begins with a sample from the song “Smoking on a J.” The audio is distorted and quickly cut off by a very different sound. Ty Dolla $ign comes in abruptly bringing the energy. He repeats the song title in various ways to develop the chorus. The following verse comes from Playboi Carti. This verse previews his new “deep voice” seen only before on Travis Scott’s Fein. This sound is very different from his former extremity high-pitch squealing but has been well-received by fans. Carti’s verse is incredible, utilizing words from the chorus but adding his own lines in between. In typical Carti fashion, it begins a little repetitive but as he gets comfortable he spits his best bars. Playboi Carti primarily talks about his riches and the unique style that has become his persona. The dulcet Chorus from Ty repeats and then Kanye’s high pitch bridge plays, and honestly detours from the previous sound. Kanye has an aggressive verse almost imitating Carti. Then Ty Dolla $ign raps when an ad-lib from Travis Scott announcing his appearance on the song plays. This is when it becomes apparent that Kanye has effectively assembled ‘The Avengers’ for this song. Ty essentially sets up Travis’s verse. Travis Scott fits this song very well and performs his segmented verse well. This is concluded by Ty’s chorus and another repeat of the Carti verse. Overall this song has a lot of elements that come together cohesively to make one of the best songs on the album.  

     Next is “VULTURES,” the song the album is named after. Before the album was released, various versions of this song excluding and including different features were released. Alongside these, was the “havoc version” with a different beat and all the different features. This variation is the best of all of them but unfortunately was not put on the album. This version of the album has all the different appearances with the standard beat. The song begins with Kanye singing a few lines but then quickly transitions to a less melodic sound with Bump J’s monotone verse. After about a minute, Lil Durk comes in talking about his large quantities of women and money. His Chicago cadence adds a lot to this song. Durk’s versatile sound contributes contrast to the previous monotone verse. Following Kanye enters delivering the most question bars so far. Kanye brings up his past controversy once again stating “How I’m antisemitic? I just ****** a Jewish *****.” He continues to talk about the many women he has been with recently. Ty then raps while Kanye repeats “With the trenches” in between lines which is the best part of the song. Ty Dolla $ign begins the conclusion of the song and once again effortlessly performs exceptionally. Eleven closes out the song with a closing few bars that do contribute to the song but very minimally.  

     “CARNIVAL” is by far the most popular song on the album after its release. The legendary intro features Inter Milan fans chanting the chorus. Rich the Kid, a rapper most forgot about, has an astonishing performance to begin the song. Rich is given 40 seconds and he utilizes every moment to the fullest extent. Concluding his verse, he repeats the chorus of the song. Then Ty Dolla $ign puts in another spectacular verse despite being shorter than the previous songs. Then Kanye samples his intro from **** of a life. This acts as a way to summon Kanye, and after he delivers while rapping about very explicit topics. Following, Rich the Kid comes in once again with the chorus. Then enters the star of the show: Playboi Carti. This is the best part of a magnificent song. He does continue the vulgar depictions but does such in a melodic way. Carti also flaunts the wealth he and Kanye have accumulated. “It’s Ye and Carti, tell me who ****** with we?” The Inter Milan fans conclude the song in the same way it started. This song is extremely catchy, highlights Kanye’s talented production ability, and has the best surrounding performances so far.  

     “BEG FORGIVENESS” starts with Chris Brown singing with a filtered voice “you’ve gone too far.” This kind of drags on longer than expected taking up three minutes of the six in the song. After Chris Brown’s verse, Kanye finally begins rapping about his kids. Ye preaches for his kids to have freedom growing up and to pursue their own interests. A choir repeats the lines begging forgiveness repeatedly then fading into the background for the remainder of the song. Ty then sings about how he will wait and the pain he’s gone through. “Yeah, you know, I’m still suffocating on your every lie. Yeah, you know, I’m still wakin’ up with murder on my mind.” After this, the choir comes back and closes out the song.  

     “PROBLEMATIC” starts with Ty singing two lines then Kanye coming in confidently to take over. He raps about the difficulties of having his life publicized. “When I speak my mind, it’s gon’ be some lawsuits and furniture movin’.” This sounds like a direct reference to him lashing out and eventually being divorced by his former wife, Kim Kardashian. Following this Ty and Kanye go back and forth talking about their similar struggles. “Gotta get this **** off my chest, I got some **** to spill.” He concludes by being more optimistic talking about how he’s doing better. With the final line, “This **** is ******* ridiculous.” quoting his own song, “So Appalled.”  

     In the final song, “KING,” Kanye essentially says that despite his controversies he’s still “the king.” To begin he declares his popularity after everything he said has not dwindled. Despite the hatred, Kanye believes he will overcome everything effortlessly. This album has since gone number one on all streaming services. “After everything said, huh, wait, wait, ‘crazy, bipolar, antisemite’ And I’m still the king.” He talks about how his critics have attempted to silence his ludicrous comments to no avail. “They thought headlines was my kryptonite…Paparazzi love me, they show up to everything.” Kanye believes that because his actions were condoned, yet he still finds success, they are excusable when this is largely not the case. His fans love Kanye the musician and that’s evident however he has hurt numerous people and has lost a lot of support for Kanye the celebrity, deservingly being effectively outcasted.  

     Overall, Kanye’s production of the beats makes the album. Ty Dolla $ign had one of the best performances on any collaborative album. Ty and Ye are no strangers to working together and for good reason, both of their flows and sounds complement each other greatly. Kanye and Ty not only work well musically but are also going through similar situations in life allowing for the music to connect on a deeper level. While not all the songs offer tremendous replay value, a large majority due to Kanye let his personality shine through for better or for worse. “BURN, CARNIVAL, TALKING, PAID, and PROBLEMATIC” are the best songs on the album. There is good wordplay throughout and almost all of the features contribute rather than take away. The album is a solid length but does somewhat lack cohesiveness with modern albums transitioning smoother. The message through the tracks is similar and apparent while remaining catchy. Kanye and Ty Dolla $ign have the best performances on this album. Vultures 1 despite lightly touching sensitive topics, is still a solid listen, being an eight out of ten album.