At long last, following several years and an extra 57 days and nights of waiting for Kanye to drop Vultures, we’ve finally received the long-awaited album. And on top of that, its only the first of three Vultures albums, making this Vultures 1. Leading up to this, Kanye has pushed it back several times from its original release date of December 15th, 2023, as well as an impromptu cover change to him standing next to his almost naked wife. Although these changes were unpleasant and widely disliked, the contents of the album speak for itself.
In its runtime of 55 minutes and 40 seconds and with 16 songs to the album, Vultures makes up for years of missed time and interesting decisions. Before this, the only releases we’ve had from Kanye was a couple singles and Donda 2 (which didn’t even officially release anywhere) and with his previous remarks, Kanye was shaping up to crash out for good this time. However, with a loyal fanbase waiting avidly for his next drop, the hits he took evened out, and lo and behold we have Vultures to speak for it.
And speak it did, as Vultures is one of Kanye’s best albums since The Life of Pablo’s release in 2016. Nearly ever song on the album was an immediate hit, with songs like BURN and BACK TO ME being my personal highlights.
Let’s go track-for-track:
STARS is a great intro to the album, and it sets the scene for the album well. The choir mixed with the calm beat feels like a nice bit of peace before the album begins, and the drum sets a good tone for the song as a whole.
KEYS TO MY LIFE, however, is definitely notable, with beat and key changes making this song stand out from the rest of the album, let alone his entire discography. This is one of my favorite songs off the album, as the instrumental really does wonders for the track.
PAID is alright, with the lyrics being nothing special but the beat being rather nice to listen to. The part where Kanye goes off key isn’t a highlight, but the instrumental and beat certainly clutches up and makes this song at least decent.
TALKING is poor, as it featured Ye’s daughter North West who clearly did not get her skill from her father. At least the second half feels heavenly to listen to, with the drop and choir combined bringing a serenity that evens out with the tragedy in the first verse.
BACK TO ME is a song iconic before the album even dropped, with a beat that got me hooked and a feature by Freddie Gibbs which improved an already amazing song. Ignoring the unsavory hook it uses, BACK TO ME is a song that can be played anywhere, anytime, in any mood. It’s by far one of Kanye’s best, and can be considered on par with songs from Kanye’s earlier era.
HOODRAT had to grow on me after the first couple listens, as its intro is annoying, but the dirty beat it uses is fun to listen to, and the outro with Mike Tyson was a pleasant surprise to hear. The piano is also nice in the background, adding some consistency to the grimy song it is.
DO IT is a solid song as well, with the beat and sound effects making it memorable for me. The lyrics can be somewhat strange, but the beat near the end makes this a song that remains in my playlist.
PAPERWORK is a weak track, primarily due to the beat, as it sounds like a Yeezus outtake that never should’ve reached the public. It’s aggressive to a fault, repetitive, and a song that feels like a worse version of PAID.
BURN, however, was an amazing song that only suffers because it’s too short. It’s just a nice song to listen to in every aspect, and it’s a contender for my favorite song on the album. FUK SUMN was a good song as well, with Carti and Travis appearing on the song and improving an already great track. The middle section has a weird beat drop with some high-pitched vocals that throw the song off a bit, but its recovered by the remainder of the song.
. VULTURES is by far the weakest song on the album despite being the named track, as the verse by Bump J ruins the song completely. The beat is nice, and the other verses aren’t bad either, but Bump J’s verse is just so poorly written and worse executed that it just drags the entire song down.
CARNIVAL is the most popular song on the album, and for good reason as Carti’s verse set this song apart, while Dolla Sign and Kanye’s verse is solid as well. The beat droop at the beginning is intense and memorable, and I expect this to be a threat for the mosh pits.
BEG FORGIVENESS is a good song as well, but there’s nothing significant to say about it. It highlights how everyone wanted Kanye to apologize for his remarks and actions, but he just wants to live a decent life with his kids. The second half, however, has a great transition into a very intense verse from Kanye which makes this track stand out in particlar. It shows a conflicted Kanye, and it’s a much appreciated addition to the album for that, as we haven’t seen that introspective Kanye in a long while.
GOOD (DON’T DIE) would be a better song if there was more to the beat, but it’s a very plain beat that doesn’t do enough to make the song good. Unfortunately, it left streaming services due to copyright, so while it may be gone, you’re already not missing much.
PROBLEMATIC has a very good instrumental to it on top of the beat, but the lyrics are rather alright. It’s a song that gasses up Kanye’s ego, and it’s not a bad song to use to get motivated. Although it may be alright, some of the lyrics are pretty funny and memorable, making this a good enough song.
KING, however, is a very basic song, and it just falls short of the other songs by being very average compared to the highs and lows of the rest of the album. It’s another Kanye album ending where if they cut this song and went with the previous song as the ending, it would’ve been perfect. KING just isn’t as good of an ending as PROBLEMATIC, nothing more.
And with that, Vultures 1 is over. Vultures 2 is expected to drop March 8th, but knowing Kanye, that’s more of a rough estimate that a promise. Until then, Kanye’s finally back after years of being the king of controversy, and as the final track declares, Kanye”s still the king.
