Kanye West Drop Surprise Album "Vultures 2" After Long Anticipation - Fama

Photo: Scoot Dudelson/Getty Images

After months of speculation and anticipation, Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign have released their highly anticipated album "Vultures 2." The surprise launch came shortly after the release of their single "Slide" on Yeezy.com and a live-streamed event on YouTube. Fans were left in awe as the duo dropped the album across digital streaming platforms (DSPs), marking a major moment in the music world.

The unexpected release of "Vultures 2" caught fans and critics alike by surprise. Although the full credits for the album had not been published on streaming platforms by Saturday afternoon (August 3), sources like Genius.com and close listening to the album suggest a range of collaborators. 

These include Lil Wayne on "Lifestyle," Don Toliver, Kodak Black, and Playboi Carti on "Field Trip," Future on "Promotion" and "Dead" (the latter also featuring Lil Durk), Lil Baby on "Forever Rolling," and 070 Shake, CyHi, and Desiigner. The track "River" features Charlie Wilson, Young Thug, and the Inter Milan Ultras, while "Maybe" and "Slide" include contributions from James Blake and Fred Again. Notably, the album concludes with a collaboration involving Big TC and rock legend Todd Rundgren on "My Soul," though Rundgren's specific role remains unclear.

"Vultures 2" also features interpolations of Leon Bridges’ "River" and the Five Stairsteps’ 1970 classic "Ooh Child." As of now, representatives for these artists and their publishers have not confirmed whether permission for these interpolations was granted. This is particularly significant given West's earlier legal issues with interpolating Donna Summer’s "I Feel Love" without clearance, which resulted in a lawsuit from Summer’s estate and the removal of the track from major streaming services.

Photo: Zach Schuss

Several tracks from "Vultures 2" had previously appeared on shortlists for other West projects or had been showcased at advance listening events. For instance, songs like "River" and "Time Moving Slow" had been teased for West’s "Donda 2" and the unreleased 2018 album "Yandhi." The track "Slide," which was initially the only song available across DSPs, was first previewed in September 2023 during a West and Ty Dolla $ign listening session at Le Baroque in Geneva. It was later performed by Fred Again at his Shrine Expo Hall shows in Los Angeles and again at the Vultures Rave in Miami.

The path to the release of "Vultures 2" has been fraught with delays and false starts. West first announced the album as the second installment in a planned trilogy back in January. "Vultures 1" had been released on February 10, with "Vultures 2" initially scheduled for March 8. That date passed without a release, and subsequent teases of a May 3 launch also failed to materialize. The cancellation of multiple listening events worldwide dampened any remaining optimism about the album's release.

Despite the tumultuous journey, the release of "Vultures 2" has generated significant buzz. The surprise nature of the drop, combined with the high-profile collaborations and the long wait, has ensured that the album is a hot topic among fans and music industry insiders. The album's tracks, including those that had previously been teased, have been met with excitement and curiosity.