Is “Vultures 2” really out?
Heavy bass-lines, hooligans, dramatic gospel sounds… and yet another unfinished Kanye West album. Ye and TY Dolla $ign come through with the second part of the Vultures trilogy, carrying on with the sounds of the first album. The duo’s villain arc seems to be just getting started.
Cards on the table, we are fans. Yet for the past few years Ye seems to be doing his best to make us think again and again. One thing is for sure, from day one, he’s always spoken only what’s on his mind. And this has made us really love his pure, raw and absolutely authentic sound. “Vultures 2” follows the same ideology, a look at Kanye’s vision of a dystopian world. The only world in which he himself lives. This rose has many thorns and indeed it’s getting harder and harder to see the sun through all these clouds. All these realities make us ask the question, “What’s left of a person who is completely cut off from his old life?”
Similar to the first album of the trio Vultures 2 carries a dark, brooding tone, interspersed with moments of ethereal lightness. Tracks often shift from heavy, bass-driven beats to softer, more melodic interludes. These sounds create the discreet identity of the Vultures universe giving its characteristic flavors. There is a persistent sense of urgency and unrest, mirrored by discordant sounds and unexpected shifts in tempo and rhythm. This undercurrent of tension is balanced by soulful vocal samples and gospel influences – signature sounds of Ye.
The real stars of the show are the contributing artists, each carefully placed in their place. The musical genius is still there gluing the correct sound with the correct spot. Future makes the songs almost listenable, Playboi Carti and Kodak Black bring in the edge/flavor the album desperately needs, 070 Shake comes up on a song to change its vibe briefly yet completely and our next gen Ye, North West rapping in Japanese for whatever reason.
Vultures 2 truly stands out with how incomplete and uninspired it is. It is so bad that it makes “Vultures 1” seem like a masterpiece. It’s hard not to get mad at the project’s lack of effort and low-effort execution. There is a clear concept to get excited about in the Vultures universe, if only this whole album had remained a concept. The obvious similarities make the songs feel more like cheap imitations than a structured universe. Looking at you “Fried”! I guess this is Kanye West’s Feezy moment…
Music is definitely subjective, words on the other hand, not so much. That’s the only thing we want to comment on Ye’s recent ideologies. I think Kanye would rather live long enough to be a villian than die as a hero. As we’ve said before, we’re still fans of Kanye because we’re fans of ourselves. There is no one else to rate the song but Ye himself, so we give the album our score with a quote of his:
“Yikes”
-Kanye West