First of all, fuck Kanye. He continues to put anti semitic dog whistles in his music, including in this album. He has consistently aligned himself with right wing conspiracy theorists like Nick Fuentes, Tucker Carlson, and Donald Trump. Even when it comes to this album, the original cover art was a direct reference to Burzum, a group headed by Varg Vikernes, a neo-nazi who has burned churches, been charged with murder, and multiple hate crimes. Even in 2022, he did an interview where he said he was proud to be called a Nazi. And this is the type of person that Kanye is directly referencing with his art, and it’s so disappointing because his music has meant a lot to me throughout my life.
I remember being nine years old in the van with my two younger brothers listening to “Heartless” on repeat through our headphones. On the day we had graduation practice, I remember listening to Ye on the walk there and taking in songs like “Ghost Town” and “Violent Crimes” for the first time. And then a week later being serenaded by Kanye and Cudi’s mental health opus Kids See Ghosts that carried me through the next year of some of the most turbulent mental health issues I’ve experienced. I even did a project in my first year of college about these two albums and how much they helped me. And then, right before the pandemic, I saw the Sunday Service choir and got to see Kanye perform songs like “Jesus Walks” and “Selah” live. I even got to see Virgil Abloh walking around before his passing. It was such a healing performance that is now forever tarred. Even after the pandemic, he had the final Donda listening party in Chicago that I got to go to with a friend and had an amazing night! Songs like “Come to Life” and “24” have brought me to tears multiple times in the months after the album’s release. And now, after all that, here we are with his newest album.
That connection with his music has forever been severed, and even though this album is good, what drew me to his previous material isn’t here. Sure, there are still plenty of funny/cringy/random lines here like there have been before, but that emotional connection in his music is gone. Even when he would act like an asshole, the music would have endearingly personal looks into his life. The contradiction between Kanye talking about loving pornstars but then telling his daughter not to be one on the same album is what’s missing here. He no longer feels like a real person that is making mistakes while trying to be his best self. Instead, he’s fully indulging in sex and hedonism to the point where it’s clear that he’s off the deep end. There is no acknowledgement of his issues, in fact, it seems like he doesn’t think he has issues anymore. At least even a couple years ago he would acknowledge his mental health diseases. Now, it’s just sex and debauchery without the attempt of improvement.
So even if he didn’t do and say all of the terrible things in the past year and a half, this album still wouldn’t connect with me like that. Sure, there are some entertaining bangers, but that’s mainly due to the production and features. Songs like “Fuk Sum” and “Carnival” succeed in spite of Kanye, especially when it comes to the insane choir and Carti feature on the latter. But then there are painfully boring songs, and especially specific moments, on here. Kanye repeating “Big tittied butt naked women don’t just fall out of the sky, you know,” for 2 minutes on “Back To Me” absolutely ruins the great beat and Freddie Gibbs verse. “Burn” would be a great track if it wasn’t under two minutes long. “Do It” is just the same Ty Dolla $ign and YG song they’ve been making the past decade. The constant sample in the back of “Hoodrat” is ear-grating. I understand why some people love this album, but it’s just not for me. At this point, Kanye belongs in the category of musicians that I feel guilty for listening to, and Vultures 1 is nowhere near good enough that it demands attention given the circumstances of the person who made it, especially when he makes it impossible to separate art and artist by surrounding the art with those same things we are supposed to ignore. It’s like if Michael Jackson released an album with him holding a kid on the cover, there’s no separating the two anymore. Either way, I’m ending this now, I don’t want to think about this album or Kanye anymore.
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