Artist Ye West released his first album of the Vultures trilogy on Feb 9, 2024.

This album marks the first collaborative album between West and Ty Dolla $ign and shows West’s impressive return after a long absence from the music industry.

With fans weary of his abrupt return off nearly three years of no work, and the vultures are ready to tear the album apart with many critiques. However, West both appeased his fans and silenced the skeptics with an astounding comeback.

West is currently dominating the Billboard Hot 100 chart, having every song on the new album placed on it.

More impressive is the lead single, Carnival, which is currently the second biggest song in the world per Billboard’s Top 200 global chart. Consequently, Vultures is on top of the charts across many streaming services. Most notably, staying at No. 1 on both Apple Music and Spotify.

According to Forbes, even before it was released to the rest of the world, Vultures debuted at No. 1 in Australia.

Part of this success is attributed to marketing. The marketing for Vultures has been nothing short of genius.

West has recently created a clothing line to go along with the album’s release, which marks his independence from Gap and Adidas. This clothing line gives West more creative liberty and the opportunity to make as much profit as possible.

To reach these maximum profits, West uses the strategy of low prices and good quality to move as many units as possible while keeping his high fashion branding.

According to West, he has made over $19 million in a day solely from this new clothing line.

As of now, West has more than 12 items in his online store. The store also has a variety of products ranging from the YZY Pod sock shoes to vinyls and CDs. Impressively, all items are priced at twenty dollars flat.

This album is also a fresh restart for many fans alike. Songs like “BURN,” “BACK TO ME,” and “PROBLEMATIC” give the fans a flashback to West’s classic, soulful production that made him famous. Many sources, such as “The New York Times,” think this is one of the main reasons for the album’s success. Many of West’s fans crave and miss this sound after being deprived of it for years because of his recent attempts to modernize his music.

Fans like u/SmashandCrashBros of r/Kanye on Reddit miss this sound but are also satisfied with West’s talent to evolve and the versatility of his music. “People often say this because they miss the old style, but it’s not like he’s going to make the exact same songs. What’s made Kanye so popular is the fact that he’s been able to transform himself. Honestly, if you miss the old Kanye, just go and listen to his old stuff.”

West’s ability to change with the times and modernize his sound has kept him relevant in the rap scene from the early 2000s. One of the most noticeable ways West has modernized his sound is by including trap beats and digital production.

These trap beats are categorized by their drum patterns, deep 808 bass, and hi-hat rolls.

Although trap beats drastically differ from his classic soul music sampling production, some of West’s most popular songs are built off of trap-inspired beats. For example, “Off The Grid,” “Father Stretch My Hands Pt.1,” and Travis Scott’s “GOD’S COUNTRY.”

Besides the more modern-sounding production, the album highlights West’s and his feature artists’ lyrical talent. On tracks like “BURN,” the fan is treated to two minutes of Ye’s most heartfelt rapping on the album. With this, it is worth mentioning that other artists on the project, such as Freddie Gibbs on “BACK TO ME” and Playboi Carti on “CARNIVAL,” put on such an outstanding performance that almost outshines West’s.

However, the most notable performance on the album is Ty Dolla $ign’s vocals. Dolla $ign puts forth the most effort to harmonics onto each track. On paper, the duo of Ye West and Ty Dolla $ign might seem out of place, but on the project, it brings both catchy hooks and a full sound to each song.

Sophomore Lane Hamaker is impressed by West’s and Dolla $ign’s performance. “After listening to Vultures for the first time, I began to think it was subpar to almost all of West’s discography. But after going back to it and the tracks I liked the most, it is crazy to see a 46-year-old Ye can still rap as well as he does. This goes without mentioning the near-perfect vocals of Ty Dolla $ign that add an extra touch to each song.”

While many of West’s fans praise Vultures, the critics feel differently about the album. For example, Jon Caramancia of The New York Times feels the album is subpar. “Ultimately, Vultures is a simulacrum of a strong Ye album — sometimes thinly constructed but thickened with harsh sound and polished to a high shine.”

Alongside Caramancia, Paul A. Thompson of Pitchfork, rap’s go-to source for album reviews, believes the album is slightly better than mediocre. On rating it a 5.8 out of 10, Thompson’s general opinion is that the project “actually sounds finished, but hardly puts anything worth remembering onto it.”

Thompson also feels the album sounds good and is what fans have been hoping for, but he argues it needs more robustness, which many of West’s prior albums have been filled with: “There is an uncanny, even hollow air to the album. It can feel a bit like watching a Super Bowl commercial: the budget is all there on the screen, the lighting and set dressing and sound design just so, but you can’t shake the nagging sense that there is no center, just a lot of references without a referent.”

With the release of this album, two more Vultures albums, new clothing, and possibly a solo album on the way, it is clear that West is attempting to become the giant he once was in the rap game.

Seeing his streams skyrocket and his clothes selling millions of units proves this is only the beginning of a new legacy for West. Fans are left questioning when West will release new music, whether will there be any more sneaker releases, and what awards there are left.