'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFgABAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUH/8QAFQEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQL/2gAMAwEAAhADEAAAAMumkH//xAAeEAACAgICAwAAAAAAAAAAAAABAgMRAAQFIhIxcf/aAAgBAQABPwCbgoIpdSAqWk2PIo4eggQW1rXa7HysfhkDsOvvP//EABURAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAC/9oACAECAQE/AJf/xAAVEQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAv/aAAgBAwEBPwCn/9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign's second volume of their Vultures album series has finally been delivered to all streaming platforms. The project faced several delays since its initially scheduled release in March but has finally arrived to fans hosting an updated tracklist.
Although many believed the project would be sold on Ye's YZY website, based on the various announcements made leading up to the project's release, VULTURES 2 was distributed to all major DSPs (Digital Streaming Platforms) via YZY on August 03, 2024.
Trending
The project features guest appearances from Young Thug, Kodak Black, Lil Wayne, Playboi Carti, and more. The duo, popularly known as ¥$, also brought on several producers like Grammy-winning artist Fred Again.
Breaking down Kanye West and Ty Dolla's newest album 'Vultures 2'
The project was announced via Ty Dolla's Instagram account, where the rapper uploaded a series of stories leading up to VULTURES 2. Along with an official DSP launch, the duo also conducted a listening event at the time of the LP's release, which was live-streamed on Kanye West's YouTube channel.
Ye and Ty's latest project hosts 16 full-length tracks with a complete runtime of 51 minutes. The album takes listeners on a sonic adventure through various synth bass-fueled productions, diving into themes like:
- Relationships
- Love
- Intimacy
- Womanizing
- Pain
- Heartbreak
- Loyalty
- Brotherhood
- Religion
- Success
- Wealth
- Luxury
- Fatherhood
- Politics
- Violence
- Status
Disclaimer: This review is rated explicit. Reader discretion is advised.
SLIDE
(Production Credits: Kanye West, Wheezy, Fred again.., Apollo Parker, ryderoncrack, London on da Track, AyoAA, and Lester Nowhere)
¥$ introduces VULTURES 2 with an anthemic record titled SLIDE, where Ty opens with a verse professing feelings of love and desire before delivering a harmonic hook that highlights feelings of intimacy and connection.
Kanye opens on the second verse with a staccato cadence that finds the rapper bouncing in and out of sonic pockets, delivering bars like,
"We gon' paint the city red, it's tie-dye, ask Ty (Yeah) / Addicted to the nightlife, jumping off a jet, skydive / Your life a movie, mine a sci-fi (Yeah) / Told her friends she a ten, I lied / Really she in the high fives (Yeah)"
TIME MOVING SLOW
(Production Credits: Fya Man, AyoAA, Azul, Nathan Butts, Kanye West, SHDØW, and The Legendary Traxster)
Kanye opens on TIME MOVING SLOW with upbeat drum progressions, where he speaks on themes revolving around relationships, skill, status, love, and intimacy. Ty Dolla contributes to the hook, with an emotional vocal performance building on ideas set during Ye's verse. Notable bars from this track have been included below,
"I can't believe in you n----s, I see through you n----s / Exceeded the limits, took over my story and rewrote the ending, I did / Had to show up and deliver that s--t / Had the yacht out on the ocean, I did / Go ahead and cry me a river, you b---h"
FIELD TRIP (Feat. Don Toliver x Playboi Carti x Kodak Black)
(Production Credits: Wheezy, Dez Wright, and The Legendary Traxster)
Listeners are introduced to the star-powered, bass-fueled track titled FIELD TRIP where ¥$ team up with Don Toliver, Playboi Carti, and Kodak Black. The record is filled with enticing flows and cadences, which makes for a very interesting listen.
This record appears to revolve around the artist's affinity for wealth and success, with Kanye delivering bars like,
"Ain't on my level, lil' b---h, don't reach / Always hollerin' 'bout you rich, we riche / This ain't no regular cheddar, this quiche / You ain't outside, I wish it was different (Uh-uh, uh-uh) / You ain't outside, I wish it was different (Uh-uh, uh-uh)"
FRIED
(Production Credits: TheLabCook, Digital Nas, and Ojivolta)
After dominating the charts back in February with their No.1 song Carnival, Kanye brings back The Inter Milan Ultras to provide similar supporting deep background chants on the track titled FRIED.
The intense production on this track is fueled by the bass-heavy drum progressions and aggressive vocal performances, especially in the chorus, where Ye repeats,
"Boy, don't play with me, you know I'm fried / Boy, don't play with me, you know I'm fried"
ISABELLA
(Production Credits: Kanye West)
The album breaks into a nine-second interlude, acting as a bridge between the fourth and sixth tracks. In ISABELLA, Ye plays a skit of a woman demanding she be bought shoes when she states,
"You better buy me those f--kin' shoes"
PROMOTION (Feat. Future)
(Production Credits: Kanye West, AyoAA, London on da Track, and The Legendary Traxster)
¥$'s crowd-favorite collaboration with Future, PROMOTION, which was played at almost all of their private listening events and also leaked online, has finally been released as part of the tracklist for VULTURES 2.
The track features bouncy cadences, interesting lyricism, and an extremely memorable production. Ty Dolla opens on the first verse fueled by thick drum progressions, delivering bars like,
"She want a-- shots (Shots) / Give her face shots (Face) / Back of the Maybach ('Bach) / Your h-e get slayed, yeah / Tryna get saved, yeah / Who am I to hate? Yeah (Yeah, yeah) / I just wanna get paid / Give my h-e a brea-ay-ay-ay-ak"
HUSBAND
(Production Credits: Kanye West)
Listeners are then introduced to a solo performance from Kanye, where he composes an intimate track referencing his relationship with ex-wife Kim Kardashian.
Throughout the record, Ye explains that although he still holds feelings of love for Kim, he doesn't wish to return to that relationship and hopes she ends up with another man.
"I don't really wanna go back to that / If I do, I know I'm goin' back to back / Breakin' backs and bags, imagine that / That's so hazardous, so I handle that (Handle that) / All you really need is a husband, show you love him"
LIFESTYLE (Feat. Lil Wayne)
(Production Credits: Nico Baran, FNZ, and Wheezy)
Kanye West and Ty Dolla teamed up with Lil Wayne for a track titled LIFESTYLE, where each rapper speaks on themes of relationships, love, intimacy, success, and wealth.
Interestingly, Ye repeats his verse from HUSBAND as the closing performance on this record, with a revamped production. Lil Wayne's verse stands out for notable bars like,
"I twist my Taylor spliffs tight at the end like Travis Kelce / Got that BBL, then you put on a couple LVs / BBWs be tryna eat me like I'm healthy / She say she wanna live this lifestyle / This life's a b---h, I make her love her like she dyked out / Alright now, you act like you 'bout that life now"
MAYBE
(Production Credits: James Blake)
James Blake appears on this project, bringing elements of house-inspired music on the track titled MAYBE, which samples portions of the 2018 record of the same name from German duo Kettenkarussell.
¥$'s verses on this track revolve around intimacy, love, infatuation, and romance, with Kanye grasping with a failing relationship and Ty calling himself a "hopeless romantic," as seen on lines like,
"Do or die, you and I / Like a blank page (Maybe we—) / See inside, most high (Maybe we don't—) / Maybe (Maybe we don't last forever) / Like a hopeless romantic, oh-oh / Hopelessly, yeah"
BOMB (Feat. North West x Chicago West)
(Production Credits: The Legendary Traxster, Cruza, Noah Madrid, and Tech Club)
After the success of North West's debut single, TALKING, on VULTURES 1, the 11-year-old musician is back for another appearance on BOMB, where she performs a verse alongside her sister Chicago West.
Kanye takes a step back on this record, supporting the song with distorted adlibs and auto-tuned hums, allowing his daughters to take the lead on the bouncy track filled with elements of a Jersey sonic production
"It's Chicago, you know I'm the one (Oh) / I like to have fun (Oh) / I like to go to the beach (Oh) / I like the sun (Oh) / You know it's Chi (Oh) / I only wave when I'm telling them bye"
RIVER (Feat. Young Thug)
(Production Credits: Kanye West, AyoAA, Digital Nas, London on da Track, The Legendary Traxster, Pi’erre Bourne, Gren808, Lamm, Taydex, and Wes Singerman)
Listeners are then introduced to the final version of ¥$'s collaboration with Young Thug on the track titled RIVER. Kanye and Thug feature on this record, diving into themes of freedom, success, brotherhood, loyalty, religion, wealth, and luxury.
Both rappers appear to delve into themes of the final chorus sampling Leon Bridges' hook from his 2015 track River, with added vocal performances from Charlie Wilson. Notable bars from Kanye's verse include lines like,
"They say to trust the process, but all I trust is me / 'Cause all I trust is, I gotta go and tell 'em, I said, God bless / Holy water, take me to the river / Holy Father, forgive me for my sins / Holy water, holy water, holy water / Free all my friends, protect my sons, protect my daughters"
530
(Production Credits: Kanye West, E.Vax, FNZ, and BoogzDaBeast)
On 530, Kanye delivers one of the most emotional tracks he's written for the Vulture series so far. Ye divides the song's production into two parts, with the second half of the track ending with him still wondering whether he was the reason his relationship with Kim Kardashian ended.
The track is extremely self-reflective and appears to center on Kanye West and Kim Kardashian's 2022 divorce. Ye creates a storyline where he highlights coping with his failing marriage with alcohol, hoping for him and his ex-wife to rekindle their relationship and family.
Although the entire record could be a metaphorical conversation between the rapper, music industry, and society at large, the second half of the track interestingly finds Ye abandoning these sentiments, delivering slurred bars with the rapper even referring to Kim as "Fake," as seen on lines like,
"One phone for the whole list and goin' up with the thunder / I can't take it, I can't take it, you a fake b---h / You don't really love Ye, go listen to Drake, b---h / You don't livin' those songs, what it take, b---h / Go listen to Lil Baby, go listen to Future, b---h / Go soft, you don't think about your future, b---h"
DEAD (Feat. Future x Lil Durk)
(Production Credits: ATL Jacob and London on da Track)
¥$ then introduces listeners to their collaboration with Future and Lil Durk on the track titled DEAD, which features thick synths, bouncy melodies, and extremely memorable drum progressions credited to producers ATL Jacob and London on da Track.
Future opens on the track with a vocal performance perfectly blending into the hard-hitting trap production. Ty Dolla's verse is notable for its reverberated production, building up to Durk's verse, where the R&B singer delivers lines like,
"Ooh, yeah / My new b---h a whole mood, yeah / The top floor nice, I'ma move here / F--ked all her friends, she got two left / Ayy, in my robe, I'm the new Hef' / I'm a dog, I DM my ex / She rockin' clothes from five days ago / It's gettin' cold, you need a different coat"
FOREVER ROLLING (Feat. Lil Baby)
(Production Credits: FOREVEROLLING, Flex on the Beat, Audiovista, Kanye West, Mattazik Muzik, and Leon Thomas III)
Kanye West and Ty Dolla teamed up with Lil Baby on the track titled FOREVER ROLLING, with Ye opening the record by speaking on themes of resilience and determination, citing how his successful reign in hip-hop will never end.
The second verse is extremely memorable given how effortlessly Lil Baby and Ty go back and forth, delivering hard-hitting bars like,
"Damn, if I don't even sometime, even damned if I do / Had somebody knew what we talk about, that s--t lame, too / All we ever had was the block / Bro, we damn near raised each other / Never let 'em break up the gang, we gotta stay together"
SKY CITY (Feat. CyHi, 070 Shake, and Desiigner)
(Production Credits: Kanye West, BoogzDaBeast, Timbaland, DRTWRK, Federico Vindver, Angel López, and Damn James!)
On SKY CITY, ¥$ team up with CyHi, 070 Shake, and Desiigner, to deliver an acoustic bass-fueled amped-up production. The vocal performances reportedly appear to stem from Ye's 2018 Yandhi session.
Ty Dolla's bridge draws inspiration from Tupac's 1993 record Keep Ya Head Up, interpolating Pac's hook to deliver lines like,
"Ooh, child, things are gonna get easier / Ooh, child, things'll get brighter / Ooh, child, things are gonna get easier / Ooh, child, things'll get brighter"
MY SOUL
(Production Credits: BoogzDaBeast, FNZ, 88-Keys, 30 Roc, Camper, and Rory Noble)
¥$ close out VULTURES 2 with a track titled MY SOUL, where the duo put together an emotional track that speaks on themes like injustice, politics, religion, slavery, and police brutality.
A majority of the introduction on this track acts as a tribute to the thousands of prisoners who reportedly helped put out wildfires in California for an hourly pay of $1. Kanye's verse highlights the various social issues he's witnessed, regarding cancel culture and Adidas, which are best evidenced on lines like,
"When I act like the n-word, somebody get injured / That's why we stay in court and go to the pen' for it / Before I forget, let me go get a pen for it / Cancel culture, before I get censored / All I really meant for is you to get mentored / Before we get sentenced, before we get sent for / Remember this sentence, remember repentance"
Where VULTURES 1 was praised for its composition, VULTURES 2 follows up with a mix of trap, hip-hop, house, R&B, Lo-Fi, and rage productions that highlight Ye's gift to create iconic beats fueled by chopped and pitched-up samples.
Kanye West is clearly the lead artist on this LP, with several themes brought forward in his lyrics that draw and address his personal life and experiences.
Given the complaints of there being several "incomplete" tracks on this LP, Ye's official website (Yeezy.com) issued a public statement confirming "updated songs will be published" to DSPs soon.
