It may be hard to believe now, but at one point in time, Kanye West was seen as an icon. After making highly praised albums, such as “The College Dropout,” and letting the world see just how big his ego truly was, he had his fans in the palm of his hand. However, over the years, his ego has done everything except shrink.
West is gaining more attention for his antics by the minute, and it does not seem like this will stop anytime soon. After making antisemitic comments during an interview in October 2022, for some time, it truly seemed like the infamous career of the man who once proclaimed himself as “this generation’s closest thing to Einstein” had come to an end.
Despite all of this, somehow, someway, West made a comeback, and after many delays and teases, released the album “VULTURES 1” in February 2024 alongside fellow artist Ty Dolla $ign. Of course, West came back as the same man he was before, and many things about this album just show how that is the case.
With all of the things that go against the man that made the album, it is very easy to instantly shrug off the album and pass it off as something that one should not listen to because of all of the controversies, but is that really the case?
It all really depends on the way you want to look at it. When listening to any piece of music, especially one of this nature, it is important to separate the art from the artist. What sticks out about West’s old style of music is that it was very recognizable. If you played a few seconds of a song from his older albums from the 2000’s to someone, they would likely recognize the artist in an instant.
As the years have gone by, the sound of his music has changed. Gone are the days of Mr. West rapping about the troubles of being a young adult and his rough Chicago upbringing, and in are the days of “Yeezus” rapping some of the most egotistical, borderline insane lyrics you will ever hear.
The first single that was officially released prior to the album was the song that the album would eventually be named after, “VULTURES.” When West’s verse begins just under two minutes into the song, it is obvious that nothing has changed. Rather than easing you into it, West chooses to start his verse by rapping his controversial lyrics instantly.
He starts off by saying that he does not remember who he was with last night because he has Alzheimer’s Disease. Believe it or not, that is not even his most controversial lyric in this song, as just a few lines later he addresses his nearly career ending antisemitic comments in quite possibly the worst way he could. With all of that being said, I, admittedly with some shame, do enjoy the song as a whole.
The most popular, and most well received song on the album is titled “CARNIVAL.” The song is very fast paced and upbeat, clearly designed to be a hype song, and it does its job perfectly. The song debuted at #3 on the charts, but on it, he refers to himself as “Ye-Kelly,” and Bill Cosby all in one line. The controversy behind a line where he claims he is two sexual predators is very self explanatory. He even doubles down on his ego, as he also calls himself “the new Jesus” in the same song, as well as once again name dropping Taylor Swift, someone who West has no shortage of history with.
Despite it all, despite some of the most controversial lyrics of his entire career, a sexually explicit and negatively received album cover, and him doing many things that just about any other celebrity could never get away with, West has been able to find a way to climb his way back to relevancy once again.
Kanye West is nowhere close to the same man he was when his career first started, his reputation is forever solidified for the rest of time as, quite possibly, the most controversial artist of all-time, and that alone has prevented some from even giving his music a chance. However, to those who do listen, this album is very love-hate. Some will think it is great, some may hate it.
Will this be the last we see of Kanye? It is always hard to tell, as we probably have not even seen his worst comments yet.
