Controversial rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, and frequent collaborator Ty Dolla $ign were supposed to release their anticipated album, “Vultures” on Dec. 15 under the group name ¥$. The album was never released. A new release date was shown as Dec. 31, but the album did not release then either. Now, the album is expected to release on Jan. 14, but only time will tell if this ends up being the case.
The delayed release of this album is mainly due to clearances from other collaborators. Fellow rapper Nicki Minaj, who was supposed to appear on the album for the 2018 unreleased song, “New Body,” didn’t end up clearing the feature. Furthermore, Ye’s sample of the Backstreet Boys classic song “Everybody” on a previewed song of the same name has yet to be cleared for usage,
While Ty Dolla $ign has typically stayed out of controversy in the public eye, the same cannot be said for Ye. It has been a little over a year since Ye was quoted on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ show, Infowars, by stating some very hateful and anti-semetic remarks; such as placing Nazi leader Adolf Hitler on a pedestal.
“Every human being has something of value that they brought to the table, especially Hitler,” Ye said.
These comments were even difficult for Alex Jones to fathom, which was bewildering for many considering Jones is most well known for his denial of the Sandy Hook school shooting in Connecticut.
Ye’s comments also resulted in his loss of many brand deals, most significantly his deals with Adidas and GAP. He has reportedly lost over $2 billion in net worth due to his remarks.
Ye has stayed relatively quiet since this event, remaining out of the public eye for the past several months until announcing the release of “Vultures.” A single, also titled “Vultures”, was released on Nov. 22, featuring fellow Chicago rappers Bump J and Lil Durk. The song further fueled Ye’s controversy with the lyric, “How I’m anti-semetic? I just f—d a Jewish b—h.”
Furthermore, at a listening event for the upcoming album, Ye was seen in a black pointy hood, presumably symbolizing the same hoods worn by members of the Ku Klux Klan. Ye has previously used KKK imagery for his music video, “BLKKK SKKKN HD” (Black Skinhead) back in 2013, a song discussing the evils of racism, so some believe his more recent outfit references this. However, his recent racist comments make this increasingly unlikely.
“It was actually kind of sad,” Stella Greenberg ’24 said. “When I really started to get into [Kanye] was the summer before everything kinda started happening. Not to say that he hasn’t been problematic, because he has, but when I saw [the comments he made], I was like, dang.”
Despite all of the controversy Ye has been through since the genesis of his career, he still maintains a strong fanbase due to his incredibly solid and world-renowned catalog of music and his influence throughout the hip-hop sphere. In fact, Billboard rated his fifth album, “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,” as the best album released in the 2010s decade, showing his musical impact and prowess. With over 62 million monthly listeners on Spotify and countless others on other streaming platforms, it is clear that the drastic comments he made have not put a halt to his streaming numbers whatsoever.
“He’s anti-semetic, he’s racist and he’s an awful person, but his music is real good,” Georgia Mori ’24 said. “So I try to disconnect him from the music and just listen to the songs.”
His comments seem to have not made a significant dent in his influence in the rap industry, as the new album is planned to feature multiple contributors, particularly other major rappers such as Kid Cudi, Young Thug, Future and Playboi Carti, the latter in which Ye recently produced a song for titled “2024.”
While damage has been done to Ye’s overall image as a person, his musical influence will continue to shine as listeners from all around the world gather to see what the self proclaimed “genius” is going to do next in his career. It is clear that regardless of his actions, whether they be from pure ignorance or Ye’s history of mental illness, he has cemented himself as someone who will always be successful in their musical career.
